Seemingly Minor Changes in the Law Can Have Big Effects

On August 1, 2014, the legislature made a seemingly minor change to the custody statutes affecting joint custody.  Prior to the change in law, one of the factors the Court was to consider in deciding to award joint legal or physical custody was the ability of the parents to cooperate in making decisions.  Sometimes, the Courts would take the mere fact that one party wanted different custody arrangements as evidence that they could not cooperate in making parenting decisions.

The law now provides that “Disagreement alone over whether to grant sole or joint custody does not constitute an inability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their children.”  Minn. Stat. Sec. 518.17, Subd. 2(b).

This law change had a dramatic effect for my client Richard who lives in Maple Grove.  Richard filed a motion to establish custody and parenting time for his son James.  Richard had signed a recognition of parentage, but in Minnesota Family Law, signing a recognition of parentage does not give a parent custodial rights.  Richard believed that James’ mother had significant problems that prevented her from providing a stable environment for James.  She had a live in boyfriend who had a significant criminal record and a history of domestic abuse.  James’ mother had also refused to let Richard see his son for several months.

When Richard came to my office, his case was scheduled for trial.  A custody evaluator had written a report that recommended that James’ mother should have sole legal custody, in large part because Richard had originally believed he could share legal custody with James’ mother, but later changed his mind as he discovered the information about the live-in boyfriend.  I was able to argue to the Court that under the new law, the fact that Richard wanted sole legal custody should not be a factor denying him the right to joint legal custody.  The Court ultimately agreed with me, and Richard was granted joint legal custody.

Under the old law, the Court might not have been persuaded to disagree with the custody evaluator.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce Lawyers MN with the intention of representing her clients’ future.