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Under the current child support guidelines that became effective as of 2007, both parents’ gross incomes are used to calculate child support.� Prior to the “new” guidelines, only the non-custodial parent’s income was used to determine the amount of child support payable to the custodial parent.� Under the “old” guidelines, the non-custodial parent paid a percentage of his/her net income with the percentage based on the number of children eligible for support.� Not only do the “new” guidelines use gross income instead of net income but both parents’ incomes are considered.

The procedure for computing basic support under the new law is set forth in Minnesota Statutes section 518A.34 and the table for the basic support guidelines is found in Minnesota Statutes section 518A.35.� The table sets forth what level of child support is implicated based on the number of children and total monthly gross income of both parents.� The basic child support payable by the child support obligor is determined by multiplying the obligor’s percentage of the total gross income of both parties by the level of child support implicated by the child support guideline table mentioned above. If the obligor’s percentage of overnight parenting time is more than 10%, then basic support is reduced by 12%.� This is referred to as the “Parenting Expense Adjustment”.� If parents share overnight parenting time on an approximately equal basis,� basic child support may not be payable from one party to the other or, at least, would be greatly reduced.

The other components of child support include medical and daycare support.� � Contribution for these expenses is based upon each parents’ percentage of the total gross monthly income of both parents.

The divorce process is basically comprised of four phases:� Commencement Phase, Information Gathering Phase, Settlement Phase and Trial Phase.� � Phase 1 is the beginning or commencement stage.� A divorce is commenced by the personal service on the other spouse of documents called the Summons and Petition for Dissolution.� Service of the Summons and Petition can be accomplished by a third party delivering the papers to the spouse or if the spouse is willing to acknowledge receipt of the papers by signing an “Admission of Service”, the papers can be delivered through the mail. After the Summons and Petition have been properly served, the spouse will have 30 days to serve upon the initiating spouse his or her Answer to the claims in the Petition.

The second phase of the divorce process is the informational gathering stage.� During this phase, information is gathered and exchanged regarding such things as the assets and liabilities of the parties, incomes and monthly expenses.� � Lawyers are able to procure the necessary information through process of either formal or informal requests for documents and information.� Sometimes depositions of the parties are taken to gather information but generally the needed information is obtained through written requests for information.� This stage is often referred to as the “discovery” stage.

Phase 3 of the divorce process is the Settlement Phase.� During this phase, settlement of the issues will be attempted through negotiation or by employing some form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).� The most common form of ADR is mediation.� This is a process where a neutral third party assists the parties along with their lawyers in reaching settlement of the issues.� Mediation is a confidential process and the mediator does not have any decision-making authority.

The fourth phase is the Trial Phase.� If the parties are unable to reach a settlement of all their disputed issues either through negotiation or some form of ADR, then any unresolved issues will be decided by a judge after a trial.� A trial is a process where each party is given the opportunity to present testimony and evidence on the disputed issues to a judge who then makes a decision for the parties.� Most cases never get to the trial phase due to settlement which is quite fortunate since the Trial Phase is very expense due to the great deal of preparation needed for a trial.

Prior to the enactment of the “No Fault” divorce system, a party needed to show some fault on the part of the other party such as adultery or abuse to obtain a divorce. The guilty spouse was punished by getting a smaller share of the couple’s property or being denied custody of their children while the innocent spouse was rewarded by getting more of the property or custody.

Minnesota is a “No Fault” state for purposes of divorce. “No Fault” divorce is a divorce system where a person can seek a divorce without having to allege some basis of fault of the other party.� A divorce will be granted if either party believes that the marriage is over and reconciliation is not likely. Neither party is penalized in the division of property or award of child custody on the basis of “fault”.

Because fault is not required to obtain a divorce, the reasons for failure of the marriage generally are not relevant and will not be allowed to be introduced in the proceeding.� This is very difficult for some parties to accept especially in those cases where infidelity is the reason for the marriage failure. In a recent publication by the Minnesota Judicial Branch entitled “From the Judges of Family Court: What to Expect…Divorce in Minnesota“, the contributors reaffirmed that the law does not allow the courts to be used as a tool for punishment of the unfaithful spouse or allow judges to compensate parties for emotional wounds in most cases. Since emotionally driven cases tend to be the most difficult cases to settle and therefore the most expensive, it is vitally important for the lawyers in these types of cases to identify the issue early on so that the client may be counseled and redirected before settlement becomes unlikely.

Custody is made up of two components:� legal custody and physical custody.� An award of custody includes a designation as to the legal and physical custody of the child or children.

First, “legal custody” is defined as the right to determine the child’s upbringing, including education, health care, and religious training.� In Minnesota, provided domestic abuse as defined by statute has not occurred between the parents, there is a rebuttable presumption that parents will share legal custody of their children.� Sharing legal custody provides both parents with input and an equal say in the upbringing of their children.� In most custody cases, the parents are awarded joint legal custody.

The second component of custody is “physical custody”.� Physical custody is defined as the routine daily care and residence of the child or children.� Unlike legal custody, there is no presumption that parties should share physical custody of their children. The court may award joint physical custody to the parents provided the court finds such a designation to be in the child’s best interest and that the parents have shown an ability to cooperate in parenting their children, have proven methods for resolving parenting disputes and that it would be best for the child for both parents to have equal responsibility for the child’s upbringing.� Like legal custody, there is a presumption against joint physical custody if domestic abuse as defined by statute has occurred between the parties.

If all issues are undisputed, a divorce can be completed in as little as a few weeks. If there are major disputes that need to be litigated in court, the divorce can take many months. On average, a divorce that settles out of court takes two to five months. A divorce that requires a court trial takes, on average, twelve to eighteen months. The amount of time it takes to obtain a divorce depends on the specifics of the case; however, there are ways to help speed up the process.

Most cases settle before trial during the settlement phase of the divorce proceeding.� The sooner the parties have gathered and exchanged the information needed to start settlement negotiations; the sooner settlement may be achieved.� Thus, parties can substantially affect the length of a divorce proceeding depending on the level of cooperation in gathering and providing the information requested by the other party.� Not only does being obstinate in responding to information requests hinder settlement, but that type of conduct could result in sanctions being imposed by the assigned judge.