Why Divorce.com?
Benefits of an online divorce
Divorce.com is a very convenient and ideal service for spouses who have chosen an amicable and uncontested divorce. The good thing about this tool is that it sorts divorce papers based on your case's specifics and helps the applicant fill out the necessary forms.
Within just two business days, you will be able to get documents ready for downloading in your personal account. Our service is completely budget-friendly and saves countless hours of your valuable time.
All you need to do is fill out a special questionnaire and using your answers, the system will generate the necessary papers. With Divorce.com, you don't have to adjust to the busy schedule of a divorce lawyer and pay them enormous sums.
Minnesota
Divorce Forms
All the forms required
The list of forms that spouses need to get a divorce in Minnesota depends on the specifics of the particular case, the presence or absence of children, etc. However, there are initial forms that need to be filed with the court including:
Summons
Petition for Dissolution without Children
Admission of Service
Notice to County Support & Collections
Answer and Counter Petition without Children
Notice of Intent to Proceed to Judgment
Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Order for Judgment and Judgment and Decree
Affidavit of Default
Affidavit of Non-Military Status
Stipulated Findings of Fact
If the couple has children in common, they also need to fill out the following papers:
Affidavit of Personal Service — Dissolution with Children
Answer and Counter Petition with Children
Petition for Divorce with Children
Moreover, a couple with an uncontested divorce must sign an important document — the Settlement Agreement. In it, the spouses prescribe all the critical points of their divorce, such as child support, property division, alimony, child custody, etc.
Steps to consider
Filing Requirements
Residency Requirements
To divorce in Minnesota, the couple must meet the residency requirements.
One of the spouses must have resided in this state or be a member of the armed forces stationed in this state for at least 180 days before filing for divorce.
One of the spouses must be a domiciliary of this state for not less than 180 days immediately before filing for divorce.
Grounds for Divorce
Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state (in other words, the court does not require one spouse to blame the other for the divorce), but this does not mean that the judge allows a couple to divorce only if they ask. Instead, the spouses must show the court why a divorce is necessary, even if both parties agree to marriage dissolution.
Ex-partners need to prove that the marriage has ended irrevocably and have no chance of reconciliation, if:
The spouses lived separately and apart for at least 180 days;
There is a severe marital discord that adversely affects the attitude of one (or both) spouses toward marriage;
There is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.
Initial Filing
In Minnesota, spouses can request a divorce package online (at The Judicial Branch of Minnesota site) from the local court or law library.
If the couple has a Settlement Agreement, they can file a "Joint Petition for Dissolution of Marriage" (with or without children). Filing such a petition in Minnesota simplifies the process and saves money on filing fees. Also, there are separate forms for an even more straightforward divorce process called "Summary Dissolution."
Ex-partners can file online through the e-filing system, send papers by mail to the court, come to court in person and file divorce forms, or use the additional services of Divorce.com for filing documents with the court.
Filing Fees
The petitioner needs to pay a fee to file divorce documents. The basic statewide filing fee is $365, but county district courts add small additional fees. Also, Minnesota couples who use dissolution by joint Petition can split a single filing fee. Finally, they can request a fee waiver if they can't afford to pay the filing fee.
Serving the Respondent
The plaintiff must serve the defendant with copies of all documents they filed with the court. In addition, the claimant must have someone over 18 (friend, family member, or sheriff) serve the divorce forms directly to the respondent for personal service.
Waiting Period
Minnesota does not have a waiting period like many other states. So, the couple can immediately receive a final court decree upon finding an irretrievable breakdown in an uncontested divorce. Also, the order can be appealed.
Finalizing a Divorce Case
If the couple filed a joint divorce petition in Minnesota, they might not have to do anything else to finalize the divorce. First, a judge will review the documents, including the Settlement Agreement. Then, the judge will sign the final divorce decree, and the couple will receive a notice in the mail that their divorce is final.
Filing basics
Filing for Divorce
Minnesota
How to get started
The list of forms that spouses need to get a divorce in Minnesota depends on the specifics of the particular case, the presence or absence of children, etc. However, there are initial forms that need to be filed with the court including:
Summons
Petition for Dissolution without Children
Admission of Service
Notice to County Support & Collections
Answer and Counter Petition without Children
Notice of Intent to Proceed to Judgment
Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Order for Judgment and Judgment and Decree
Affidavit of Default
Affidavit of Non-Military Status
Stipulated Findings of Fact
If the couple has children in common, they also need to fill out the following papers:
Affidavit of Personal Service — Dissolution with Children
Answer and Counter Petition with Children
Petition for Divorce with Children
Moreover, a couple with an uncontested divorce must sign an important document — the Settlement Agreement. In it, the spouses prescribe all the critical points of their divorce, such as child support, property division, alimony, child custody, etc.
Custody Basics
There are two types of guardianship in Minnesota — physical and legal.
Physical custody is the daily care and control of the child (bathing, raising, preparing food for the child, etc.). Legal custody is the ability to make crucial decisions for a child. For example, these are issues related to education, religion, and health care.
In Minnesota, both parents can have joint physical custody of their children, which does not mean that children have to spend the same amount of time in each home. The only requirement is that the children live in each household for a set period of time.
Minnesota courts consider vital factors in determining what is in the child's best interests when making a parental custody decision. Among them:
Wishes of parents
Child’s preference
Child's primary caretaker
Close parent-child relationship
Child's relationships with parents, siblings, and other key people
Adjusting the child to home, school, and society
The life expectancy of a child in a stable, satisfactory environment
The permanence of an existing or proposed house of care
Mental and physical health of all persons involved
The ability of each parent to give the child love and care
The impact of domestic violence on a child
The child's cultural background
The effect of domestic abuse on the child.
Uncontested Divorce
Divorce does not have to be an exhausting and expensive process. Spouses can get an uncontested divorce in Minnesota, if they agree to handle all legal and financial issues related to the dissolution of the marriage.
These issues include the division of joint property and debts, alimony, spousal support, child custody, including where the children will live, medical expenses and insurance, visitation times, etc.
Minnesota offers couples two types of uncontested divorce:
Summary dissolution
Dissolution by Joint Petition.
Conditions for summary dissolution:
The spouses have no minor children born or adopted during the marriage
The couple has been married for less than eight years
None of the ex-partners own real estate
Joint assets are not worth more than $25,000
The spouses do not have more than $8,000 of outstanding debts
There was no domestic violence in the relationship.
The conditions for dissolution by Joint Petition are to provide detailed information about the finances and other matters of the spouses, including:
Property and unpaid debts
Health insurance
Living expenses with a child
Agreements for custody, parental time, and child support.
Support Basics
Child support is a monthly payment that a parent pays to cover raising a child. Both parents are financially responsible for the child.
Usually, the parent with primary physical custody who takes care of the child most of the time receives child support. The law assumes that the parent already spends money directly on the child. And the parent with less parental time usually pays child support.
In Minnesota, parents must pay child support until the child turns 18, but there are some exceptions. For example, payments stop if the child is married with the parents' consent, entered the military service, etc.
