Minnesota Minnesota

Divorce Law Guide

Minnesota Divorce Overview

Residency Requirement
Living Separate & Apart
Processing Time
Filing Fee
6 months
N/A
180 days
$402.00

The facts about divorce in Minnesota

Divorce, or dissolution of marriage, is the legal process of severing a marriage contract, which is overseen by a court of law in the state in which one or both of the divorcing spouses live. The process for getting a divorce and acceptible grounds for divorce vary from state to state.

In Minnesota, a divorce can be completed on average in a minimum of 180 days, with court fees of $402.00. The state has divorce residency requirements that require the spouse filing for the divorce to have lived in Minnesota for a minimum of six months.

On this page, you can learn about Minnesota's grounds for divorce, how the divorce process works, and about other parts of the divorce process, such as Minnesota alimony calculation, the property division process and more.




Minnesota Divorce Law Summary

What are the Grounds for Divorce?

Keeping in mind the end goal to petition for a disintegration of marriage in Minnesota, residency requirements must be met for the court to acknowledge the case. If the court finds it doesn't have jurisdictional rights to hear the case, it won't be accepted, or it will, in the end, be expelled. The prerequisites are as per the following:



No breakdown might be considered unless One of the gatherings has dwelled in this state for at a minimum of 180 days before the initiation of the procedure, or One of the gatherings has been a domiciliary of this state for at the very least 180 days before submitting for a divorce. This usually applies to military members who are living on a military Armed Forces installation.



The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage must proclaim the fitting Minnesota grounds after that the dissolution of marriage is being looked for. The suitable legal ground that which the documenting spouse wants to demonstrate to the court. The dissolution of marriage grounds are as per the following:



A dissolution of marriage might be conceded by a province or local court when the court finds that there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship. A hopeless breakdown of the marriage relationship is accomplished by living discrete and separated for no less than 180 days or genuine conjugal dissension antagonistically influencing the mentality of the spouse, wife, or both towards the marriage.


Minnesota Divorce Guide - Frequently Asked Questions

In state of Minnesota a number of factors are taken into account when ending a marriage.

1. Minnesota Grounds for Divorce FAQ

Is Minnesota a no-fault divorce state?

Minnesota allows no-fault divorces, which means that a divorce is granted without establishing the fault of either spouse for causing the divorce. Grounds for a no-fault divorce in Minnesota may be "irreconcilable differences", or similar grounds.

The state of Minnesota is exclusively a no-fault divorce state, which means that the only grounds for divorce offered on divorce applications are considered no-fault.


Does Minnesota allow at-fault divorces?

Minnesota does not support traditional at-fault grounds for divorce, instead offering blanket divorce grounds that do not require either spouse to be proved to be at-fault when filing for divorce.


Does the state of Minnesota allow incompatibility as grounds for divorce?

Yes, Minnesota does allow incompatibility to be used as grounds for having a divorce.


Can you get a divorce in Minnesota for living separate and apart?

In divorce law, "living seperate and apart" refers to married spouses who are living separate from each other, not engaging in a traditional marital relationship, and do not intend to repair the marriage.

Minnesota does not allow a divorce to be granted solely on the grounds of living seperate and apart from your spouse. You must instead file for divorce under one of Minnesota's accepted grounds for divorce.


2. Minnesota Divorce Process FAQ

Does state of Minnesota allow legal separation?

Legal separation (otherwise known as "judicial separation") is a legal process that enables spouses to be de facto separated while remaining legally married.

In some cases, Minnesota will grant a judicial separation court order to a married couple who wishes to live separately. This order may settle issues generally handled in a divorce such as property division and alimony. A legal separation may be followed up by a full divorce, or the spouses may later reconcile and end the separation while remaining legally married.


What's the difference between a divorce and an annulment in Minnesota?

While a divorce is the process of exiting a legally valid marriage, an annulment is the process of rendering a marriage null and void. An annulment makes it legally as if a marriage never took place to begin with.

Generally, annulment is used to conclude a marriage that should not have been legally recognized in the first place, such as a marriage where one of the spouses was unable to consent (by virtue of being underage, due to mental incapacity, or even intoxication), a marriage that was entered into under duress or via fraudulent means, or when one of the spouses was already legally married.


How long do I have to live in in the state of Minnesota to get a divorce?

The state of Minnesota requires that spouses suing for divorce to have lived in the state for a minimum of six months prior to filing divorce papers. Otherwise, Minnesota courts are not considered to have jurisdiction over the divorce case.


What is the filing fee for a divorce in Minnesota?

The court fees for filing the paperwork for a basic divorce in a Minnesota court is $402.00. However, the total costs for a divorce can be much higher - especially in the case of a contested divorce, where attorney fees and mediation costs average from $15,000 to $20,000 or more.


How long does it take to get a divorce in Minnesota?

If the process moves along without holdups, the paperwork for a divorce in Minnesota can be processed in a minimum of 180 days. However, if the spouses are not in agreement about the divorce process, a contested divorce can take significantly longer.


3. Minnesota General Divorce FAQ

Can my spouse stop me from getting a divorce?

Even if one spouse is opposed to getting a divorce, they cannot stop their partner from filing for and receiving a divorce in Minnesota. While filing a non-contested joint petition for divorce speeds up the process, either spouse can file for divorce individually at any time.



| State Law Official Text


** This Document Provided By MaritalLaws **
Source: http://www.maritallaws.com/states/minnesota/divorce