Under Minnesota Statute 517.01, Minnesota marriages are a civil contract. So what does that mean and why is it important? In lawyman’s terms, a marriage is a contractual relationship between a man and a woman where the couple makes certain promises to one another and, in turn, those promises are recognized by the State of…
There was a another interesting post over at the Family Law Professor Blog this morning. It a link to an article in The Atlantic titled “How To Keep Parenthood from Making Your Marriage Miserable.” Me being me, I had to go read the article. In turn (as the internet so often does) it lead me to…
Many family law courts in the United States have court-ordered, mandatory parenting classes for all separating or divorcing spouses who have children. A good group of divorce lawyers will be able to point you in the right direction if you are going through a family law or divorce proceeding for the first time. Typically, states will…
The first step you must follow to get a divorce is to file a document called a “Petition for Dissoluton of Marriage” and a “Summons” with a court. Each state has different laws; however, it is likely not an overstatement to say that the “Petition” and the “Summons” are two universals across the country. Furthermore,…
Apple Valley Divorce attorneys will explain to you that a putative spouse is generally defined by the law to mean a person who has cohabitated with another for a period of time with the understanding that they are married when they actually are not. I know, in this day in age, it would be a hard sell…
In the field of family law, there are laws in every state which provide who may perform a marriage ceremony. In most states, a person may perform a marriage ceremony if they meet certain prerequisite requirements. The requirements to perform a marriage ceremony include: Being over the age of 18 or 21; The official must…
In the field of family law, there are laws in every state which state that, in certain situations, people can’t get married even if they want to. There are many reasons why a state government would dissallow a marriage. Although the laws vary in every state, the typical reason for disallowing a marriage are: A marriage…
The laws in every state in the United States require that a person meet a minimum age and mentally competency requirement in order to get married. For instance, in some states, a person has the right to marry someone of the opposite sex as long as they are at least 18-years-old or, with parental consent,…
