Minnesota Child Custody Attorney

Physical and Legal Custody

If there are minor children involved in your case, the court will need to determine custody. A Minnesota custody lawyer can help you navigate the system. Minnesota law splits this issue into two components:

• Legal custody (responsibility for major decisions involving health, welfare and education); and
• Physical custody (responsibility for day-to-day care of a child).

Physical and legal custody can be assumed by one parent (sole) or shared in some manner by both parents (joint).

The "Best Interests of the Child" Standard

The guiding principle in custody cases involves the "best interests of the child." Here are factors the courts use in determining what is in a child's best interests:

• The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to custody;
• The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient age to express preference;
• The child's primary caretaker;
• The intimacy of the relationship between each parent and the child;
• The interaction and interrelationship of the child with a parent or parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests;
• The child's adjustment to home, school, and community;
• The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity;
• The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home;
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved; except that a disability of a proposed custodian or the child shall not be determinative of the custody of the child, unless the proposed custody arrangement is not in the best interest of the child;
• The capacity and disposition of the parties to give the child love, affection, and guidance, and to continue educating and raising the child in the child's culture and religion or creed, if any;
• The child's cultural background;
• The effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if related to domestic abuse that has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual, whether or not the individual alleged to have committed domestic abuse is or ever was a family or household member of the parent; and
• The disposition of each parent to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact by the other parent with the child.  

Post-Decree Custody Modification 

The court can change custody if the situation of the child or a parent changes and a new order is needed for the best interests of the child. The court will only look at facts that have changed since the old order or facts that were unknown at the time of the old order. The court can only change custody when:

• Both parties agree to the change; or
• The parent with custody has let the child become integrated into (fully part of) the home of the other parent; or
• The child's present home endangers his/her physical or emotional health, or growth. 

To change a custody order, the parent must bring a motion in court. The parent must have witnesses, affidavits or other documents to demonstrate a basis to modify custody.

Always A Free Consultation

Have additional questions? Contact the Brown Law Offices, P.A. today. We offer free consultations to all potential clients. Call  763.323.6555 or complete our free case evaluation form.