Lakeville Family Law Blog

Minnesota parents will probably want to spend as much time as possible with their children -- and this usually translates into living full time with the child. The problem is, as a divorced parent, it may be impossible to live with your child full time unless you receive full physical custody.

This brings us to the question of how to divvy up parenting time and the two most common ways that parents go about doing this: (1) the 50-50 child custody solution, and (2) the custodial parent and non-custodial parent arrangement.

Raising your child as a co-parent creates a difficult dynamic if you want to move away from your current location. Many parents find themselves tied to the location where their child happens to be at the time of their divorce. If one co-parent wants to move for a better job or a better life in another place, for example, the other co-parent could nix the move by refusing to give permission.

Since one parent's wish to relocate could represent a significant issue in the years after your divorce, you may want to clarify how to handle the issue by including a series of specifically worded parenting provisions in your child custody agreement.

Adults and children view divorce very differently -- especially when you're comparing adults with young, preschool-aged children. An adult will experience different complicated facets of a divorce, but a preschooler will see it in simple, concrete terms.

While you're concerned about the long-term consequences of your ending relationship -- and trying to keep an eye on the big, positive picture -- your preschooler is worrying about whom the cat's going to live with and whether he'll ever see his dad again.

Imagine you received an inheritance of $100,000 from your uncle and a year later you decide to get a divorce. You're probably concerned about whether you'll get to keep your inheritance money or if you'll need to split it with your soon-to-be ex.

The answer to this question largely depends on what you did with the inheritance after receiving it.