Change is one of the rare certainties in life. And one thing that brings more life change than almost any other is divorce.
It means big changes for you and your spouse, as well as your children. You might need to move to a new town, go back to school to raise your earning capacity, and restructure your budget to reflect your new financial situation. If you share children with your spouse, you will need to arrange how the children’s time is divided and maybe set a child support obligation. Although divorce means big changes in almost all areas of your life, the status quo you and your spouse maintained during your marriage can have a big impact on your divorce.

One way it has a big impact is in child custody and parenting time issues. These can be challenging to sort through in a diyvorce; if you’re having a hard time resolving them, it might be worth considering how the court makes such decisions. In a divorce, a court makes an order for the children’s custody based on what is in their best interest. The court looks at a list of factors in the Minnesota statute to decide what is best for the children. One of these factors identifies which parent has traditionally been the primary caregiver for the children. Courts value stability for children, so keeping the status quo of often carries significant weight with the court.

Another way the status quo matters to the court is financial issues, especially in terms of temporary division of bills. If one spouse, for example, always pays the cell phone bills while the other spouse always pays the credit card bill, the court would likely order the parties to carry on the way they traditionally handled their financial affairs until they can finalize their divorce decree.

Finally, the status quo can have an impact with respect to property division. If the parties are unable to come to an agreement as to how personal property is divided, the court looks to a variety of factors to decide how that item should be distributed. If one of the parties has traditionally been the one to use that item, he or she is more likely to be awarded that item by the court.

If you have questions about how to change or maintain the status quo in your diyvorce, contact us for guidance and resources.


Deciding to get a divorce is hard.

And then it seems to just get harder. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

DIYvorce was created by Minnesota divorce attorneys who know that people need a path to their divorce that doesn’t require thousands of dollars and months of fighting. But they also need to know their divorce is done correctly, and that it resolves the couple’s disagreements.

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DIYvorce is an easy-to-use path for for couples who are ending their marriage:

You work through a secure online interview to gather information.

You get helpful information about issues to consider as you work out how to legally part.

You have the opportunity to consult with legal professionals along the way. Your questions will be answered and you can be confident about your final divorce and the documents.