Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: Getting custody back

In general, to modify custody post-decree without the other parent's consent, you will need to establish that:

1. there has been a change of circumstances with respect to a party or the child;

2. that modification of custody is necessary to serve the best interests of the child;

3. that the child's present environment endangers the child's physical or emotional health or impairs the child's emotional development; and

4. the harm likely to be caused by a change of environment is outweighed by the advantage of a change to the child.

The process is commenced by filing a motion in district court with a supporting affidavit (or multiple affidavits) explaining how you meet the above standard. If the mother is actively denying you parenting time, this may serve as an additional basis to file for a change in custody.

The likelihood of success would depend upon the specific facts of your case and whether the Court would find that the current circumstances rise to the level of endangerment as required by statute.

Re: Getting custody back

The standard for a modification of custody is much higher than an initial determination of custody. Under Minnesota law, you must file a Motion with sufficient supporting evidence and affidavits for the court to believe that there has been a change of circuumstance since the last order and that the present custody arrangement endangers the child physically emotionally or developmentall AND that the benefit of any change outweighs the harm.

This is a significant burden and must be evaluated based on a totality of circumstances. Generally, simply being in a better financial condition would be insufficient without tying that issue into some demonstrable negative impact on the children.

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