By: Letty M-S Van Ert

Social Security is essentially a worker's program.  In other words, if FICA taxes were withheld from your paycheck during your working years, and you worked long enough, then under the Social Security Act, you can collect Social Security at age 62, at the earliest.  Note: the full retirement age for Social Security is approximately 65, depending on your year of birth.  However, a person can elect to receive a reduced Social Security benefit beginning at age 62.

Pensions can be a difficult entity to address in divorces. They can be (1) a current stream of income, (2) a future stream of income, (3) a marital asset or (4) a nonmarital asset or some combination of the four. Though the Minnesota Supreme Court addresses only one or two family court cases each year, this issue did get the Court's attention this year. In the Lee case, the husband had earned pension benefits before, during, and after the marriage. The portion of the pension earned during the marriage could be divided.

By Elizabeth Lee, Paralegal

I have only been working here for about a year but have come to realize what a tremendous benefi family law legal advice can have in a Hmong famly.  It can help some people feel like they have a voice.  It can help divorced parents have a fair portion of time with their children.  Most importantly, it can open the doors for erasing the gender bias that exist within this community.

By Nicole Billings

Financial judgments ordered by the family court and contained within a divorce decree (or other family court order) are enforceable by methods similar to the procedures used to enforce any order issued by other civil courts.

By Lisa Pletcher

When you need to transfer an interest in a qualified retirement plan, you'll need to use a QDRO, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. In QDRO language the person whose interest is being transferred is called the "participant" (because they're a participant in the retirement plan). The person to whom the interest is transferred is called the "alternate payee."

A "qualified domestic relation order" (QDRO) is a domestic relations order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right to receive, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive, all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a retirement plan, and that includes certain information and meets certain other requirements.  ERISA § 206(d)(3)(B)(i); IRC § 414(p)(1)(A)

By Valerie Arnold

Minnesota lawmakers may be making improvements to our state laws concerning parental child abduction prevention.  In 2006, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws promulgated the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA). The purpose of the UCAPA is to help deter parental child abductions by establishing uniform guidelines for identifying risk factors and preventative measures to deter parental child abductions.

By Mitch Irwin and Scott Rodman

Over the last 18 months local real estate values have declined, loan programs/sources have contracted, and lending guidelines have tightened.  Gone are the days of virtually everyone qualifying for a loan regardless of income, credit or down payment.  This increased scrutiny has created new specific challenges for divorcing couples with respect to how they handle current and future housing issues.

By Letty Van Ert

Most people have three goals in mind when creating an estate plan: 1) getting the right stuff, 2) to the right people, 3) in the right manner.

Many clients wonder what happens to their wills and other estate plans following a divorce.  I would advise these clients to review the above goals to make sure those goals can be met following a divorce.

By Thomas Tuft

A key consideration to address with a family law attorney is the procedure or method that will be used to resolve the issues in dispute.  These are commonly referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or Family Dispute Resolution (FDR).  In some cases, multiple approaches are necessary.  The most common methods are mediation, early neutral evaluation, collaborative law, cooperative law, settlement conference, moderated settlement conferences arbitration, and, of course, court litigation. I intend to touch on each of these briefly in this entry and go into more detail about each of them in the coming weeks.