tel. 651/210-9409

I represent clients primarily in the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Contact me for more information.

• Roseville (MN)
• Ramsey County
• Arden Hills
• Columbia Heights
• Falcon Heights
• Fridley
• Hennepin County
• Little Canada
• Maplewood
• Minneapolis
• Mounds View
• New Brighton
• North Oaks
• Shoreview
• St. Anthony Village
• St. Paul
• Vadnais Heights
• Washington County
• White Bear
• Woodbury

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are your fees?
2. What is your retainer?
3. How long does a case take?
4. How do I choose a lawyer?
5. How do I schedule an appointment?
6. What if I can't afford an attorney?
7. What types of law you practice?
8. What is a Counselor at Law?
9. Who designed your web site?

Child support awards are based on the relative income of the parties, the ability of each parent to pay support, and the needs of the custodial parent(s).

According to Minnesota statute, subject to certain exclusions and deductions, gross income includes any form of periodic payment to an individual, including the following:

• salaries,
• wages,
• commissions,
• self-employment income,
• workers' compensation,
• unemployment benefits,
• annuity payments,
• military and naval retirement,
• pension and disability payments,
• spousal maintenance (from past or current actions),
• Social Security on behalf of child,
• veterans benefits on behalf of child.

Salaries, wages, and commissions are based on gross income before contribution to an employer-sponsored benefit plan that allows an employee to pay for a benefit or expense using pretax dollars, such as flexible spending plans and health savings accounts.

Deductions are not allowed for contributions to pensions, 401-K, IRA, or other retirement benefits.

Gross income does not include compensation received by a parent for employment in excess of a 40-hour work week if all of the following apply:

1. child support is ordered in an amount at least equal to the guideline amount based on non-excluded gross income; and
2. the parent demonstrates, and the court finds, the following:
   • the excess employment began after the filing of the petition for divorce or legal separation or a petition related to custody, parenting time, or support;
   • the excess employment reflects an increase in the work schedule or hours worked over that of the two years immediately prior to the filing of the petition;
   • the excess employment is voluntary and not a condition of employment;
   • the excess employment is in the nature of additional, part-time, or overtime employment compensable by the hour or fraction of an hour; and
   • the parent's compensation structure has not been changed for the purpose of affecting a support or maintenance obligation.

Expense reimbursements and in-kind payments received by a parent in the course of employment, self-employment, or operation of a business operate to reduce personal living expenses, regardless of their actual effect.

Gross income may be calculated on either an annual or monthly basis. Weekly income is calculated to monthly income by multiplying the weekly income by 4.33. This number is reached by dividing 52 weeks by 12 months, because there are slightly more than 4 weeks in each month.

Gross income does not include a child support payment received by a parent. There is a rebuttable presumption that adoption assistance payments, guardianship assistance payments, and foster care subsidies are not included in gross income.

Gross income does not include the income of the obligor's spouse and the obligee's spouse, if either is remarried.

Child support and spousal maintenance payments ordered by a court for a nonjoint child or former spouse or ordered payable to the other parent as part of the current proceeding are deducted from other periodic payments received by a parent for purposes of determining gross income.

Gross income does not include public assistance benefits or other forms assistance based on need.