Washington County Divorce Attorneys

Washington County Divorce Attorneys

If you are going through a divorce, it can feel like you’re facing a mountain of uncertainty, and you may have no idea where to begin. Breaking divorce down into its basic parts, however, can help. And one of the most important steps that you can take to help ensure you make it through the divorce process as effectively and efficiently as possible – with your parental and financial rights intact – is working closely with an experienced Washington County divorce attorney from the outset. 

Dividing Your Marital Assets

One of the primary tasks of nearly every divorce is the division of marital property. This marital property refers to anything that you and your spouse acquired over the course of your marriage. Things like your cars, your home, and all those other assets that married couples tend to accumulate over the years make up your marital assets – regardless of who made the purchase, to begin with. 

Upon divorce, these assets will need to be divided in an equitable manner, which means fairly given the circumstances involved. Those assets that either of you brought into the marriage with you will remain your separate property – if you were able to keep the property separate throughout your marriage – which can be exceptionally difficult.

Parenting Time and Legal Custody

Your child custody arrangements will break down into both legal custody and physical custody (or parenting time). Legal custody can be either sole or joint, and it addresses who will be making important parenting decisions, such as the following on your children’s behalf:

• Their schooling
• Their health care
• Their extracurriculars
• Their religious upbringing

Parenting time refers to how your children will divide their time between you and their other parent, and the options include either dividing your time somewhat equally or one or you taking on the primary custodial role (while the other has a parenting time schedule). Within these two basic classifications, there is a good deal of room for flexible scheduling. 

Child Support

Child support is the payment system that is designed to help ensure that both parents continue to support their children financially. Child support payments are based on state calculation guidelines that focus primarily on each parent’s income and the amount of time the children live with each parent. Even if you split your parenting time evenly, however, the parent with the higher income will generally bear the child support obligation. 

Alimony

Alimony is called spousal maintenance in Minnesota, and it is a payment system that is intended to help balance any post-divorce financial discrepancies that arise. If one ex needs time to gain financial independence and the other has the financial means to help, the court may order alimony. 

Seek the Legal Guidance You Need from an Experienced Washington County Divorce Attorney

The accomplished Washington County divorce attorneys at Atticus Family Law dedicate their impressive practice to skillfully advocating for the parental and financial rights of clients like you. Your case is important, so please don’t hesitate to contact us today.