During the difficulties involved in a divorce, finding an aggressive and ethical attorney to sort out your options is important. There are many factors to consider, and having a trusted law firm on your side to help you understand these becomes invaluable. This is why finding experienced spousal maintenance counsel in Minnesota, ensures your ability to get an optimal outcome in court.

Attorney Experience and Expertise

Understanding the laws around spousal maintenance (alimony) in Minnesota, comes from experience and expertise. Attorney Matt Gilbert focuses his practice in family law, and was even named one of the Top 10 Family Law attorneys in Minnesota in 2015. Matt’s expertise and experience in spousal maintenance will help you understand specific laws, in order to navigate your court case successfully.

Spousal Maintenance Factors

The complexities around spousal maintenance are determined from a myriad of factors. Having sound counsel to help navigate these specific complexities is essential for an optimal outcome in the courts. Going through a divorce is difficult enough, and trying to supervise a big firm’s inexperienced associate litigating for you, is a situation to avoid.

Gilbert Alden PLLC is a small, independent and personable law firm you can trust. We take the needed time and effort to get the optimal outcome: without frivolous motions and inexperienced mistakes. We’ll help you understand the following spousal maintenance factors which include but are not limited to:

• Standard of living established during the marriage;
• Ability of spouse paying support to meet their needs;
• How long the marriage lasted, length of time spouse was out of workforce;
• Needs of the spouse seeking support;
• Time needed for spouse being supported to receive education or training needed to support themselves;
• Contribution of each spouse in the acquisition, depreciation, and preservation of property;
• Contribution of homemaker to other spouse’s business or employment; and
• Age, physical and emotional condition of spouse seeking support.

It’s also important to note that “fault” in the divorce doesn’t determine the amount of spousal maintenance received.  Minnesota is a “no fault” state which means Courts will generally not consider information which led to the breakdown of the marriage.

Length of Minnesota Spousal Maintenance Awards 

A general rule of thumb is that a spousal maintenance award should last half of the length of marriage.  However, there are unique facts with every case which may support a different spousal maintenance award.

Spousal maintenance awards may be: (1) temporary and last for a short period of time; (2) “permanent” awards; (3) waived or (4) reserved for a future determination.

Temporary spousal maintenance awards may last anywhere from months to dozens of years.  A new trend in spousal maintenance awards is for a Court to award rehabilitative spousal maintenance where a spousal maintenance obligee’s support award would gradually decease over time as the spousal maintenance recipient is able to “rehabilitate” and earn more income over time.  A permanent spousal maintenance award is typically awarded for a long term marriage, 15+ years.  Other factors such as the mental health of the spousal maintenance recipient may lead to a permenant spousal maintenance award.  Please note that even if a permanent spousal maintenance award is made, most spousal maintenance obligor’s are able to eliminate the spousal maintenance award upon his or her retirement at a traditional retirement age.  Many cases do not justify a spousal maintenance award and neither party is awarded spousal maintenance.  Lastly, is some cases, the issue of spousal maintenance is reserved so the parties can gather more information regarding their respective incomes and needs.

Hiring a Minnesota Divorce Attorney

Duel income households are changing the traditional husband paying the ex-wife alimony model, and now spousal maintenance is determined more around the higher wage earner. The factors mentioned in the above section, help courts consider exactly what permanent or temporary financial support is needed.  Many families now have situations where the Wife is the high income earner and the Husband is the stay at home father.

Whether you’re the higher wage earner or the spouse needing support, hiring an experienced law firm will help you receive the optimal outcome in the court’s decision. Each case has its own unique variables to factor, and the details can easily become overwhelming for either party. To ensure fairness, hiring an experienced lawyer who can fight for you is key.

Big Law Firm vs. Small Law Firm

For those involved in a divorce in St. Paul or Minneapolis, finding sound legal counsel to ensure fairness will prove to be an invaluable asset. Yet, when hiring a big law firm to take on the case, many times people will end up paying high legal fees and getting inefficient results. Large firms delegate these cases to inexperienced associates, often handling the case through impersonal practices and resulting in high fees with disappointing results.

With a smaller, independent law firm like Gilbert Alden PLLC, clients will get the personal attention needed from experienced and expert lawyers. We value our clients’ time and money, and avoid frivolous costly motions and procedures. We work to obtain the best results for our clients.

Working with a smaller independent law firm, allows clients to get the attention and time they need for their important spousal maintenance cases. In regards to our firm, clients also get a premium service with the experience and expertise needed to gain optimal results. To learn more about how we can help your spousal maintenance case, please contact us, Gilbert Alden PLLC, a Burnsville, Minnesota law firm today.