Child custody issues have a daily impact on thousands of Minnesota families. For anyone who is going through a divorce or is otherwise involved in a custody action, understanding the framework set out in Minnesota's statutory code is essential.

Spousal maintenance, perhaps better known as "alimony" or "spousal support," is sometimes awarded as part of a divorce decree or legal separation agreement.

Gone are the traditional days when getting married meant automatically commingling all money in a common bank account and putting both names jointly on every property title.

Ask any Family Law attorney and they will tell you that collecting legal fees is high on the list of the stressors in the practice of Family Law. In the past year, the situation has gotten much worse with home values falling and retirement accounts losing, on average, more than a third of their value.

When divorcing spouses cannot agree on how to divide their property, Minnesota law requires the court to do so fairly and equitably. But when the major asset is the family business — often a closely held corporation running a retail, service or professional enterprise — assigning a realistic, reasonable value to such a unique enterprise can be daunting.

The Family Justice Center in downtown Minneapolis handles more than 3000 cases each year. With most of these cases being divorces, a study surveying nearly 2500 couples by the University of Minnesota found that about one-third of divorcees are ambivalent about dissolving their marriages.