What is a Marital Dissolution

1. What is a marriage dissolution? A marriage dissolution is the modern name for "divorce." A marriage dissolution terminates a marriage, distributes the property owned by husband and wife between them, decides who will have legal and physical custody of the children, apportions the debts between husband and wife, determines child support, and sets maintenance (formerly called alimony). After you are divorced, the marriage is ended and you can remarry.

2. What are the "grounds" for a dissolution of marriage? Marriage may be dissolved in Minnesota if either the husband or wife has been a resident of the state for at least 180 days and if the marriage is "irretrievably broken." It is not necessary for both the husband and wife to agree on this in Minnesota, in other words, the court will grant a divorce if either one of the parties testifies that the marriage cannot be saved. You need not prove other grounds such as abuse, infidelity, etc.

3. Are there alternatives to marital dissolution? Yes. Under limited circumstances you may be entitled to a civil annulment. (This is not the same as a religious annulment. Questions on religious annulments should be referred to your church.) Also, some clients ask for a legal separation, which does most of the things that a divorce does, except terminate the marriage. There are some differences and you should ask your attorney to explain them if you are interested in this option. Many of our clients have saved their marriages by utilizing a variety of counseling services. We encourage you to speak to your attorney or paralegal if you are interested in seeking outside intervention to save your marriage. In most cases our clients have found personal counseling to be beneficial and we strongly encourage doing so.