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?

Role of Non-attorney Employees

The county attorney reviews and approves as to form and content all pleadings and other legal documents prepared by non-attorney employees of the county agency for use in the expedited child support process.

Under the direction of, and in consultation with, the county attorney, non-attorney employees of the county agency have authority to perform the following legal duties:

1. meet and confer with parents by mail, telephone, electronic, or other means regarding legal issues;
2. explain to parents the purpose, procedure, and function of the expedited child support process and the role and authority of non-attorney employees of the county agency regarding legal issues;
3. prepare pleadings, including summonses and complaints, notices, motions, subpoenas, orders to show cause, proposed orders, administrative orders, and stipulations and agreements;
4. issue administrative subpoenas;
5. prepare judicial notices;
6. negotiate settlement agreements;
7. attend and participate as a witness in hearings and other proceedings and present evidence, agreements and stipulations of the parents, and any other information deemed appropriate by the child support magistrate;
8. participate in such other activities and perform such other duties as delegated by the county attorney;
9. exercise other powers and perform other duties as permitted by statute or court rule.

Non-attorney employees of the county agency may perform the following duties without direction from the county attorney:

1. gather information on behalf of the public authority;
2. prepare financial worksheets;
3. obtain income information from the Department of Employment and Economic Development and other sources;
4. serve documents on parents;
5. file documents with the court;
6. meet and confer with parents by mail, telephone, electronic, or other means regarding nonlegal issues;
7. explain to parents the purpose, procedure, and function of the expedited child support process and the role and authority of non-attorney employees of the county agency regarding nonlegal issues;
8. perform such other routine nonlegal duties as assigned.

Contents of Pleadings

In cases involving establishment or modification of a child support order, the initiating parent includes the following information, to the extent known, in the pleadings:

• names, addresses, and dates of birth of the parents;
• Social Security numbers of the parents and the minor children, which is available only to the parents, the court, and the public authority;
• other support obligations of the obligor;
• names and addresses of the parents' employers;
• parents' gross incomes;
• amounts and sources of any other earnings and income of the parents;
• health insurance coverage of parents;
• types and amounts of public assistance received by the parents, including Minnesota family investment plan, child care assistance, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, title IV-E foster care, or other form of assistance;
• any other information relevant to the computation of the child support obligation.

For all matters scheduled in the expedited process, whether or not initiated by the public authority, the non-attorney employee of the public authority files with the court and serves on the parents the following information:

• information pertaining to the income of the parents available to the public authority from the Department of Employment and Economic Development;
• a statement of the monthly amount of child support, medical support, child care, and arrears currently being charged the obligor on Minnesota IV-D cases;
• a statement of the types and amount of any public assistance received by the parents;
• any other information relevant to the determination of support that is known to the public authority and that has not been otherwise provided by the parents.

The information must be filed with the court or child support magistrate at least five days before any hearing involving child support, medical support, or child care reimbursement issues.

Uncontested Matters

Under the direction of the county attorney and based on agreement of the parties, non-attorney employees may prepare a stipulation, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and proposed order. The documents must be approved and signed by the county attorney as to form and content before submission to the court or child support magistrate for approval.

Administrative Authority

The public authority may take the following actions relating to establishment of paternity or to establishment, modification, or enforcement of support orders, without the necessity of obtaining an order from any judicial or administrative tribunal:

• recognize and enforce orders of child support agencies of other states;
• order the child, parent, or alleged parent to submit to blood or genetic testing for the purpose of establishing paternity;
• subpoena financial or other information needed to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order and sanction a parent for failure to respond to a subpoena;
• on notice to the obligor, obligee, and the appropriate court, direct the obligor or other payor to change the payee to the central collections unit;
• order income withholding of child support and sanction an employer or payor of funds for failing to comply with an income withholding notice;
• secure assets to satisfy the debt or arrearage in cases in which there is a support debt or arrearage;
  1. intercepting or seizing periodic or lump sum payments from state or local agencies, including unemployment benefits, workers' compensation payments, judgments, settlements, lotteries, and other lump sum payments;
  2. attaching and seizing assets of the obligor held in financial institutions or public or private retirement funds; and
  3. imposing liens and, in appropriate cases, forcing the sale of property and the distribution of proceeds;
• for the purpose of securing overdue support, increase the amount of the monthly support payments by an additional amount equal to 20 percent of the monthly support payment to include amounts for debts or arrearages;
• subpoena an employer or payor of funds to provide promptly information on the employment, compensation, and benefits of an individual employed by that employer as an employee or contractor, and sanction an employer or payor of funds for failure to respond to the subpoena.

A request for genetic testing by a child, parent, or alleged parent must be supported by a sworn statement by the person requesting genetic testing alleging paternity, which sets forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the requisite sexual contact between the parties, or denying paternity, and setting forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the nonexistence of sexual contact between the alleged parties.

Subpoenas for Testing

The order for genetic tests may be served anywhere within the state and served outside the state in the same manner as prescribed by law for service of subpoenas issued by the district court of this state. If the child, parent, or alleged parent fails to comply with the genetic testing order, the public authority may seek to enforce that order in court through a motion to compel testing. No results obtained through genetic testing done in response to an order issued under this section may be used in any criminal proceeding.

Subpoenas may be served anywhere within the state and served outside the state in the same manner as prescribed by law for service of process of subpoenas issued by the court.

When a subpoena is served on a third-party recordkeeper, written notice of the subpoena must be mailed to the person who is the subject of the subpoenaed material at the person's last known address within three days of the day the subpoena is served.

This notice does not apply if there is reasonable cause to believe that giving the notice may lead to interference with the production of the subpoenaed documents.

A person served with a subpoena may make a written objection to the public authority or court before the time specified in the subpoena for compliance. The public authority or the court will cancel or modify the subpoena, if appropriate. The public authority will pay the reasonable costs of producing the documents, if requested.

Subpoenas are enforceable in the same manner as subpoenas of the district court. On motion of the county attorney, the court may issue an order directing the production of the records. Failure to comply with the court order may subject the person to civil or criminal contempt of court.

Administrative actions are subject to due process safeguards, including requirements for notice, opportunity to contest the action, and opportunity to appeal the order to the judge, judicial officer, or child support magistrate.

Sharing Information

The public authority may share available and relevant information on the parties in order to perform its duties.