Practical guidance on the issues people ask about most in Blaine and the Twin Cities.
The content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading or relying on this material does not create an attorney–client relationship. For advice regarding your specific situation, please contact our firm at info@kmwasche.com.
Before You Sign: Practical Contract Pitfalls Minnesotans Can Avoid
A Blaine homeowner skimmed a two-page “estimate,” paid a deposit, and assumed the rest would fall into place. Weeks later, the contractor pointed to a buried clause that shifted all delay costs to the homeowner and required private arbitration out of state. A few minutes…
Minnesota Custody and Parenting Time Law: Key Insights and Guidance
Navigating custody and parenting time can be daunting for many families in Minnesota. Understanding the nuances of Minnesota custody and parenting time law is essential for making informed decisions that affect children’s lives. This legal framework plays a crucial role in shaping the relationships between…
Minnesota Power Of Attorney Requirements Minnesota: A Practical Overview
Creating a power of attorney is an essential step for individuals who want to ensure their financial and medical decisions are managed according to their wishes. However, navigating the requirements can be complex and overwhelming. Understanding the Minnesota power of attorney requirements is crucial for…
Minnesota Health Care Directive Minnesota: Creating a Minnesota Health Care Directive: A Practical Guide
Every adult in Minnesota should consider having a health care directive. This essential document outlines your medical wishes in case you cannot communicate them yourself. By establishing a clear set of preferences, you not only safeguard your autonomy but also ease the burden on your…
A Guide to Minnesota Orders for Protection Law Processes
In Minnesota, individuals facing threats or violence from a partner or family member can seek protection through legal means known as Orders for Protection (OFP). This process is crucial for ensuring safety and establishing boundaries. If you or someone you know is in a situation…
Practical Insights into Minnesota Residential Real Estate Law
Navigating the complexities of residential real estate transactions in Minnesota can prove daunting, especially for first-time buyers or sellers. Familiarity with the legal landscape is crucial to making informed decisions and avoiding potential pitfalls. This article aims to demystify Minnesota residential real estate law by…
Common Challenges in Minnesota Small Business Contracts
Navigating the complexities of small business contracts in Minnesota can feel overwhelming for entrepreneurs. Understanding the essential components and legal requirements is crucial for protecting your business interests. Whether you are entering a partnership, leasing a space, or hiring employees, having solid contracts in place…
Avoiding Common Mistakes in Minnesota Child Support Calculation
Navigating child support obligations in Minnesota can feel daunting, especially when emotions run high and financial futures hang in the balance. Many people might assume that the process is straightforward, but there are common pitfalls that can lead to unfair outcomes. Understanding these missteps is…
Important Considerations for Minnesota Probate Administration
Navigating the complexities of settling an estate can be overwhelming, especially during a time of grief. The probate process in Minnesota serves as a legal framework to ensure that a deceased person’s wishes are honored and their assets are distributed correctly. Understanding the essentials of…
Minnesota Child Custody Law: A Practical Guide for Parents
Explore the essential aspects of Minnesota child custody law, including custody types, best interests of the child, mediation, and common mistakes to avoid.
Key Steps in the Minnesota Divorce Process Explained
This article outlines the key steps of the Minnesota divorce process, providing clarity and practical information to help individuals and families make informed decisions.
Essential Steps in Minnesota Wills and Estate Planning
Learn essential steps in Minnesota wills and estate planning to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
Minnesota Power of Attorney: Key Considerations for Residents
A power of attorney (POA) is a crucial legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf. In Minnesota, understanding how a POA works can empower you to make informed choices about your financial and medical affairs. This article provides essential information about…
Understanding Minnesota Parenting Time Law: A Guide for Parents
This article clarifies Minnesota parenting time law, offering practical insights for parents navigating custody arrangements and focusing on children’s best interests.
Do I need a Co-habitation Agreement?
If you’re planning to move in with your partner in Minnesota but you’re not getting married, a cohabitation agreement can give both of you clarity and protection. Living together can feel simple on the surface, but when you start sharing rent, furniture, bank...
MN Eviction Moratorium
The COVID-19 eviction moratorium in Minnesota has fully expired. As of 2025, landlords in Blaine, Anoka County, and across Minnesota can again file evictions, but they must follow updated state rules and timelines. If you own rental property and have questions about...
Do you think your child is in danger?
If you believe your current custody arrangement is putting your child at risk, Minnesota law allows you to request a change. Parents in Blaine, Anoka County, and the Twin Cities often face situations where safety concerns develop long after an order has been...
Before you sign a contract
Before you sign any contract in Minnesota — whether it involves a construction project, a lease, a real estate purchase, a service agreement, or the sale of a business — it is worth taking a moment to slow down and make sure the terms truly protect you. Contracts can...
Trusts and Wills
No matter how large or small your estate, it’s important to have your estate planning in order. Not only does having a will or trust drafted help you leave clear directions on who shall distribute your estate and how, but it also can also make the process of...
Child Support
If a child’s parents are divorced or separated (or even never married at all), support is be paid from one parent to the other to provide for the child’s care and well-being. Traditionally it is one parent seeking child support payments from the other parent of the...
New Year’s Resolution – Estate Planning
A new year brings new goals and resolutions to the forefront of many people's minds. One resolution for some people is to get their financial affairs in order, particularly their estate planning completed. A person is never too young to think about how to protect and...
Health Care Directive
A Health Care Directive is a document that appoints a health care agent to act on your behalf in the case of medical circumstances in which you are unable to speak for yourself. Having a Health Care Directive is helpful to health care providers so that your wishes are...
Eviction Moratorium
As of October 12, 2021, the eviction moratorium in Minnesota has been lifted. The Federal CDC eviction mortarium is also no longer in effect. Landlords can now terminate a lease and/or file an eviction for different reasons, including non-payment of rent. However, a...
Power of Attorney
A Minnesota power of attorney is a simple but important legal tool that allows you to authorize someone you trust to handle specific financial or property decisions on your behalf. It is often part of a larger estate plan, but it is also useful for anyone who wants a...
Probate Basics
Probate is the court process that authorizes a personal representative to transfer a deceased person's property. Two important determining factors on if a person's estate needs to go through probate are: 1) did the person own real property in their name only, and 2)...
Child Custody – Visitation Schedule
In a custody case, both physical custody and legal custody must be agreed upon or determined by a judge. Legal custody specifies which parent, or both parents if joint legal custody, has the right to make important decisions for the child(ren) including education,...
Affairs and Divorce
Minnesota is a no fault state, which means that a party can ask for divorce without any specific reason other than irretrievable breakdown of marriage. However, being a no fault state also means that having an affair is not typically considered in the issues reviewed...
Navigating Through Discovery
Discovery is a process in a lawsuit that happens prior to trial that allows each party to investigate the facts of the case, whether it's a divorce case, real estate dispute, contract dispute, etc. Four ways for obtaining information from the other party are:...
Estate Planning – Taking Care of Your Pets
Have you thought about what will happen with your money, assets, house, etc. when you pass away? What about what will happen with your pets? A dog owner in Tennessee made sure his dog, Lulu, will live out her life luxuriously after leaving her $5 million of his...
Setting Up a Small Business
When setting up a business in Minnesota, the first item to consider is determining the type of business you are wanting to set up. Two common types of businesses to set up are corporations and limited liability companies. When considering what type of business is...
Do I Need to Hire a Real Estate Attorney?
Minnesota does not require a party to hire a real estate attorney for a real estate transaction. However, there are times during a transaction, whether it be residential or commercial, where hiring a real estate attorney may be in your best interest. Real estate...
Is Your Estate Planning Current?
If you have taken the first step and had your estate planning documents (i.e. will, power of attorney, health care directive) drafted, you are off to a great start. However, have you had life changing events since drafting those documents? Have many years passed...
Best Interest of the Child
Custody arrangements should be arranged based on the best interest of the child. If parents cannot negotiate a custody settlement agreement outside of court, the court will review the facts of the case and look at specific factors in their evaluation. Those factors...
Is this dog abandoned?
On April 13, 2020, a decision was filed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that reversed a Hennepin County District Court's decision regarding awarding an "abandoned" dog to the Respondent who had been caring for the dog for the original owner. The timeline of the...
Who Needs a Will?
Have you thought about getting a will drafted? Have you wondered if it would be worthwhile for you to have a will prepared by an attorney? If you haven’t asked yourself these questions yet, it’s something you should be asking now, as it is never too soon to execute a...
What debt will I have after divorce?
When looking at divorce, many people are concerned with how assets will be divided post-divorce, but another item of concern is how the parties' debts will be divided post-divorce. Any amount of money you and your spouse owe could be subject to division when going...
Would a Trust Fit into your Estate Plan?
A trust is not just for the rich, a trust can be a valuable estate planning tool for many different people. A person may want to set up a trust if they have minor children or grandchildren that they want to leave money to and want to ensure the money is there for the...
Attempt to Withdraw from Property Settlement Agreement
In an unpublished opinion filed December 2, 2019 (Jacob Kanake M'mujuri v. Beatrice Kamathi Kanake, A19-0148), the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decision to deny the Appellant's motion to withdraw from a property settlement agreement that...
Health Care Wishes
A health care directive is not a document you must have, but it certainly is one you should have. A health care provider will listen to what people close to you say about how to proceed with medical treatment, but without a health care directive stating your wishes...
Do your documents do their job?
The Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's case in September of this year granting summary judgment permitting real property to be used for purposes other than a golf course. The Duluth Automobile Club obtained land in 1931 that contained a golf course and...
Children’s Preferences for Custody Arrangements
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed and remanded part of a district court’s case involving modifying child custody on September 3, 2019 in the case of Adam C. Steele, Appellant vs Sarah M. Held, Respondent. The Appellant had filed a responsive motion with the...
Distribution of Assets
When stating how to distribute a deceased person's assets, one method is "per stirpes" or "right of representation". Per stirpes means that a deceased person's assets are evenly distributed to their children, and if their children have already passed, then to the...
Division of Assets – Marital Home
Generally when a couple is getting a divorce, the most valuable asset is the home. The court will take into account the length of the marriage, any prior marriages, age, health, occupation, etc. when determining how to split up marital assets, including the home. One...
Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
In a divorce or child custody/support proceeding, there are three commonly used alternative dispute resolution methods used prior to proceeding with court: mediation, arbitration, and early neutral evaluation. Mediation is the most common method that provides an...
Landlord-Tenant Law
March 6th, 2019 the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a landlord-tenant decision related to habitability of residential rental real estate. Minnesota’s residential landlord-tenant statute requires that landlords keep a residential rental property in a habitable...
Real Estate Acquisitions
The process of buying a home is not only filled with many documents in order to conduct the sale, but there are also many different people involved in the transaction including real estate agents, lenders, title companies, etc. When taking the often times long and...
A New Year With a New Resolution
With the new year comes new plans and resolutions to change or better your life. Perhaps your resolution is to be better prepared in life. Thinking in the big scheme of things, being prepared for end-of-life is very important, and one big check mark you could check...
Alimony And Spousal Support in Minnesota
Understanding Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in Minnesota Spousal maintenance, often called alimony, is one of the most confusing and emotional parts of a divorce. If you are in the middle of a separation or are thinking about modifying an existing order, it helps to...
Parenting Consultant (PC)
A Parenting Consultant (PC) is a neutral third party who is hired by a contract to help advocate for the best interests of children in a custody case. Both parents must agree to the hiring of a parenting consultant, and then the court can order the appointment of a...
Getting Your Affairs in Order
Estate planning is about caring for the people and causes that matter to you. A thoughtful plan can reduce stress for your family, protect your assets, and make sure trusted people can step in if you become ill or after you pass away. Even if you are not planning on...