Minnesota Family Law Litigation Attorneys
- Award-Winning Law Firm
- State & Federal Court Experience
- Experienced MN Litigators
- Serving Minnesota Since 2003
Minnesota Family Law Litigation Attorneys
Some family law disputes cannot be resolved through compromise alone.
When custody, property, support, or other significant issues remain contested, effective litigation requires careful preparation, sound judgment, and a clear understanding of what is worth fighting for. Burns & Hansen prepares every contested matter with the possibility of trial in mind while continuing to pursue reasonable resolutions when they serve the client's interests.
Why Burns & Hansen for Family Law Litigation
When you work with Burns & Hansen, you benefit from:
- Trial attorneys who know the difference between productive negotiation and compromise that does not adequately serve your interests.
- Careful preparation of financial records, testimony, exhibits, and other evidence needed to present a persuasive case.
- Experience litigating contested custody, support, property, and complex financial matters in Minnesota family courts.
- Straightforward advice about the strengths, weaknesses, costs, and potential consequences of taking an issue to trial.
- An appellate team for family law matters, including attorneys who understand how decisions made during trial can affect a later appeal.
- Experience across business law, real estate, estate planning, and other areas that frequently become important when family law litigation involves substantial assets or complex ownership interests.
Common Situations We Can Help With
You may benefit from family law litigation counsel if you're trying to:
- Navigate a highly contested divorce.
- Litigate a child custody or parenting time dispute.
- Address complex financial or property division issues.
- Pursue or oppose a spousal maintenance claim.
- Respond to allegations involving hidden assets or financial misconduct.
- Seek emergency relief involving children or family safety.
- Enforce or modify an existing family court order.
- Challenge an unreasonable position when settlement efforts have failed.
- Prepare for a family law trial or appeal.
- Resolve a property ownership dispute with a former unmarried partner, including a partition action involving the sale of a jointly owned home or a buyout of one owner's interest.
- Address another contested family law matter, or aren't sure whether your situation fits one of these categories. Contact Burns & Hansen to discuss your situation with an attorney.
Family Law Appeals
Family law appeals require a different strategy than trial court litigation. The focus shifts from proving facts to identifying significant legal or procedural errors and demonstrating why the decision should be changed. Burns & Hansen combines seasoned family law litigators with one of Minnesota’s largest and most respected appellate practices, bringing strength at both levels when a case moves beyond the trial court.
Our appellate attorneys can also work alongside family law litigation counsel before an appeal is filed. Because appellate review generally depends on the record created in the trial court, involving appellate counsel during significant litigation can help identify issues that should be preserved and consider how trial and post-trial decisions may affect a later appeal.
Partition Actions Involving Unmarried Couples
When unmarried couples purchase a home together and later separate, disagreements can arise over what happens to the property and how each person's ownership interest should be addressed. Unlike divorce, these disputes are generally handled through a civil partition action.
Burns & Hansen represents clients in partition cases involving jointly owned homes, including disputes over selling the property, one owner buying out the other's interest, and the equitable division of proceeds. Our family law and civil litigation attorneys bring experience with contested property issues and the financial considerations that can make these cases particularly complicated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Title Goes Here
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
What types of family law disputes may require litigation?
Contested family law matters may involve divorce, custody and parenting time, property division, spousal maintenance, financial disputes, enforcement or modification of existing orders, emergency relief, and other issues the parties cannot resolve through agreement.
Does a family law case have to go to trial before we can try mediation?
No. Mediation and negotiation are commonly used before trial, and settlement efforts may continue even after litigation has begun. Burns & Hansen considers whether an agreed resolution makes sense while remaining prepared to proceed to court if it does not.
When does a family law case need to go to trial?
A trial may become necessary when the parties cannot reach agreement on important issues such as custody, parenting time, property division, spousal maintenance, or other contested matters. Settlement discussions can continue throughout a case, but some disputes ultimately require a judge to decide the unresolved issues.
How should I prepare for family law litigation?
Preparation depends on the issues in dispute. It may involve organizing financial records, documenting parenting concerns, identifying witnesses, obtaining valuations or expert analysis, and carefully reviewing communications and other evidence relevant to the case.
What happens during a Minnesota family law trial?
Each side presents evidence and arguments supporting its position. Depending on the issues, that may include testimony from the parties and other witnesses, financial records, expert opinions, exhibits, and other evidence. The judge then applies Minnesota law to decide the contested issues.
Can expert witnesses be used in family law litigation?
Yes. Complex cases may involve business valuation professionals, financial experts, custody professionals, real estate appraisers, or other specialists whose analysis can help the court understand disputed financial or parenting issues.
What happens when an unmarried couple owns a home together and separates?
When unmarried partners jointly own a home, separating does not automatically resolve their respective ownership interests. If they cannot agree on whether to sell the property or have one person buy out the other, a partition action may provide a way to resolve the dispute through the courts.
Partition cases can involve disagreements over ownership interests, contributions to the property, and how sale proceeds should be divided. Burns & Hansen represents clients in these matters through its family law and civil litigation practices.
Can I appeal a family court decision after trial?
Possibly. An appeal generally requires a legal or procedural basis rather than simple disagreement with the outcome. Because appellate arguments are usually limited to the trial court record, identifying and preserving important issues during litigation can be critical.
Can Burns & Hansen handle both the trial and an appeal?
Yes. Burns & Hansen has trial and appellate capabilities and can continue representing clients after trial or involve appellate counsel during litigation when an appellate perspective may benefit the case.
Why might appellate counsel become involved before a family law case reaches appeal?
The decisions made during litigation can affect what issues may later be raised on appeal. Appellate counsel can work alongside trial counsel on questions involving issue preservation, the trial court record, significant motions, post-trial proceedings, and other matters that may influence appellate review.
Speak With a Minnesota Family Law Litigation Attorney
Going to court should be a strategic decision, not a reflex. When litigation becomes necessary, you should understand what you are asking the court to decide, what evidence will matter, and what is realistically at stake.
Contact Burns & Hansen to discuss your family law dispute and how we can approach the contested issues in your case.
