A client has recently asked me several times about requesting a court Order for temporary relief in a Dakota County divorce.
This client and I have had multiple discussions about what is necessary. Sometimes I feel that I am not being clear.
Therefore, I’ve decided to write a blog post on the issue to (1) clarify my thoughts and (2) provide some general guidance for anybody else who is experiencing a Dakota County Divorce.
General basis for a Motion for temporary relief in Minnesota
At the outset, it is important to understand that a party must file a “Motion” when seeking a court order.
The motion has to be based on evidence. How do you gather and present evidence? A party to a divorce proceeding can petition the court for temporary relief based upon affidavits, supporting documents, and arguments of counsel. Those are the basic things to remember.
A Motion can be accompanied by either an order to show cause or by a notice of motion and motion which states – with particularity – the time and place of the hearing. Notice is a very important legal tenet that cannot be ignored.
Due Process in a Divorce
Why is that? Because the Minnesota and the United States Constitution say that every person is entitled to due process of the law. Now, due process is a very lengthy and difficult to understand legal concept.
Suffice it to say that due process means that everybody gets a chance to be heard before the court can make them do something.
What should be in the Motion?
As I stated, the basis for the Motion must be supported by evidence. For instance, let us imagine that you need to file a temporary motion for child support.
In the temporary motion for child support, you would need to include an attached affidavit which contains specific paragraphs of factual information. The affidavit must be sworn to before a notary of public.
What are the necessary supporting facts? In the child support motion, the supporting facts would include allegations of the income of the husband and the wife, the number of children of the marriage, the amount of health insurance for the children and who pays for it, the amount of visitation or “parenting-time” each parent has with the child, and any other factors related to calculation of child support.
Assuming that you have all that information, you need to prove it. Items such as W-2’s, pay stubs, tax returns, and other information showing parental income should be attached to the motion. The affidavit should point to these documents as evidence in support of the motion.
Court costs of filing a motion for temporary relief
When you get everything together and prepared to file, you can submit the motion for temporary relief to the court.
In Dakota County, Minnesota, the court filing fee for a Motion is $1o0.00. Therefore, in order to be heard on the motion, you have to pay $100.00 to the court when the motion is filed.
There is one exception to the necessity of court filing fees. If a person can prove that they are below the poverty line level, he or she may be able to file an “in forma pauperis motion” which states that he or she cannot afford the filing fee. If the court approves the motion, the court will waive the fee.
In conclusion, filing motions for temporary relief are not that complicated. However, you need to understand what you are doing. If you do not, I recommend you talk with a Dakota County Divorce lawyer before filing anything with the court.