The Unpublished Opinion

June 30, 2008: It has come to our attention that our information request page has some bugs in it. If you have tried to contact us, please try emailing us at MFL@moorefamilylawmn.com or calling us at 763-951-7330. We are working on the problem and it should be fixed soon.

And yes! we do offer free consultations!

By the way, in order to further our commitment to families, we will be closed July 3rd and July 4th, 2008 for the Fourth of July holiday. We will return your calls on Monday, July 7th.

April 14, 2008: On the ocassion of my fifth wedding anniversary, I was contemplating the myth of the simple uncontested divorce. How ironic! Seriously, though, many people believe that their divorce can't be that complicated, because they agree on almost everything.

In order to complete a divorce in Minnesota, your family's life must be compiled and summarized for the Court. Often, in sifting through our client's lives, we discover issues that they haven't thought about. We have a duty to inquire--maybe investigate. And sometimes, it turns out that the agreeable couple don't actually agree on everything.

Even where a couple agrees on everything, the price of a divorce includes the cost of preparing the summons and petition for dissolution, preparing the several documents necessary for filing, obtaining service on the other party, preparing draft proposed Marital Termination Agreements and parenting plans, and the Judgment and Decree itself, researching real estate title descriptions, preparing the documents necessary to divide pension assets and retitle real estate, and in Minnesota where one party is unrepresented, appearing in Court for the default hearing. And I didn't even mention the time to meet with the client and answer their questions by email and telephone!

It *is* significantly less expensive to reach agreement on the issues, but if you own real estate or have children, your divorce cannot be uncomplicated. Uncontested? Yes. Uncomplicated? Well, no.

The end result is that an uncontested divorce will be significantly less expensive than a contested divorce, but it will not be cheap.

March 31, 2008: We have moved!

March 26, 2008: We are moving to Plymouth!

Effective April 1, 2008, our new address will be:

3350 Annapolis Lane North, Suite C

Plymouth, MN 55447

With our move, we will also be changing our phone number to (763) 951-7330. Our fax and email addresses will remain the same.

Our webpage should be updated with the new information by March 30th. If you do have trouble reaching us during our move for whatever reason, please email us at our alternate email address at moorefamilylaw@yahoo.com. We do not anticipate any problems, but we will remain open during our move.

March 18, 2008: It's been awhile since I've updated this page, but that's because we are working on new and great projects!

Many people call to ask us for a phone consultation. Unless the person is out of state or homebound for some reason, we ask them to make an appointment for a complimentary consultation, instead. There are several reasons why it is important for you to meet with us personally, rather than obtain advice over the phone.

First, and most important, you will get better advice. No family law issue is so simple that it can be answered over the phone in a few minutes. There are typically years of family history behind the initial question. There are typically serious consequences to consider in making a decision that affects your family. I can get a sense of some of these issues over the phone, but I cannot read body language that might suggest a new area of inquiry over the phone.

Sometimes, the legal issue that is asked of me is not the real issue that might need to be addressed. I am surprised how often an issue that is presented as a family law issue might be best answered with a comprehensive estate plan. Sometimes, a complicated social services question becomes a family law issue. The likelihood that I will be able to advise you in such cases is greater if I can take the time to meet with you.

Second, there are ethical issues that arise from telephone consultations. If I accepted telephone consultations, I would also have to keep detailed records from these calls, including sufficient information about the identity of the caller so that I would not accidentally incur a conflict of interest by advising both parties to a divorce.

Finally (and quite frankly), I could spend all day on the telephone working for free if I accepted phone consultations. By asking you to make a commitment to actually come see me for a free consultation, I reduce the amount of time I spend with people who are not actually interested in hiring my services. That allows me to pay more attention to your matter.

February 1, 2008: It's been a year since the new child support laws went into effect. In case you were not aware, however, if you are subject to a support order calculated under the old guidelines, your child support will not be automatically recalculated. Depending on your unique circumstances, you may qualify for a modification of your support award. Call today to schedule a complimentary consultation.

January 10, 2008: It's tax time for divorce lawyers. According to an article in the New York Post January 2nd through February 14th is the busiest time of year for family law attorneys.

http://tinyurl.com/2cftqf

Whether this is due to the need to defer decisions until after the holidays or the desire to start fresh in the New Year, we have noticed a significant increase in requests for divorce consultations in the last week or so.

December 7, 2007: The holidays present many opportunties for conflict between parents. Litigation may not resolve these issues in a time-sensitive way. Here are some tips for resolving parenting time issues without litigation:

1. Follow the Court schedule, if there is one. It may be tempting to try to work out a deal that, for whatever reason, works out better for you this year. If you can't agree to an alternative schedule, default to the Court order.

2. Give the other parent a written itinerary with a phone number where you and/or the children can be reached. The itinerary should include pickup and dropoff times. Make sure you have insurance and medical information for your children just in case there is a crisis.

3. If a dispute arises, consider hiring a parenting time expeditor or parenting consultant, or try mediation to resolve your dispute.

4. Be generous. Your children will appreciate time with both of you, but they will be even more grateful that you have managed to work out something without a lot of conflict or uncertainty.

5. Remember that if you miss court ordered parenting time, you may be entitled to compensatory parenting time. In other words, you can make up time with your children. It may not be the same, but it may be the only realistic alternative, given the cost of litigation and the difficulty in obtaining a timely hearing from the court.

November 21, 2007: There was a very sobering article on Slate this week about the stress of family law litigation. I find it heartbreaking how many cases end up locked in the endless cycle of litigation.

http://www.slate.com/id/2177971

October 29, 2007: If there is one resource every parent contemplating divorce in Minnesota should read, it is the Minnesota Supreme Court's Parental Guide to Making Child- Focused Parenting Time Decisions.

http://tinyurl.com/yuasgk

This document is referred to extensively by Minnesota courts, court services professionals and family law attorneys. A review of the document may provide you with valuable insight as to how a court might view your family.