Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: Legal Seperation

You are asking what looks like two questions.

1. Yes. You can do this. The court administrator in your county has forms you can get to do this. I caution you, however, that my experience has been that it is exceedingly hard to do this without some help. I suggest that you work out the agreement as best you can, and then bring it to a lawyer for the final touches. Otherwise you'll spend six months going back and forth with some judge who won't accept what you did.

2. You seem to be talking about what in common law was called "alienation of affection." This was something you could sue someone for. The original theory was that having an affair with a man's wife was akin to stealing his horse. One could get monetary damages and maybe even a criminal penalty. Be advised that it's been about a hundred years since our law allowed for this. Almost every state has passed statutes which eliminated the alienation of affection claim - and adultery statutes are either repealed or just not enforced. To find such laws still in effect, you'd have to go somewhere like Saudi Arabia.

Good luck.

This response is for general information purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You are advised to seek the advice of the attorney of your choice concerning the details of your case.