Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: Non-Married couples individual obligatons

They are not married. The only obligation would be related to child support.

Re: Non-Married couples individual obligatons

Thank you for your question.

I confront this issue more or less routinely today, since so many parents live "outside wedlock."

The simple answer is that your son's significant other, for lack of a better term, would not have any claim to his business, or for spousal maintenance (called "alimony" in the old days). She would only have a right to either of those things if she was married to your son.

Your son would have an obligation for child support, assuming that she retains primary custody of their child. To obtain child support, she would likely apply for assistance to the child support office in their county of residence. The child support office would then request financial information from each party and determine a child support obligation.

Such a proceeding is limited to determining a child support obligation, however. In order to establish a custody/parenting time schedule, one of the parties (probably your son) would need to commence a custody proceeding in the county where they reside. Although the referee in a child support proceeding cannot order custody/parenting time, in a custody proceeding, the district court can establish both child support and determine custody/parenting time.

Your son should give serious consideration to commencing a custody action so the court can resolve all of these issues in the same proceeding. This could benefit your son, since child support is now dependent, in part, on the custody/parenting time schedule followed by the parties. A custody proceeding need not be hostile and contentious, and in fact, most are not. It is important that they have their schedule, even one they have reached by agreement, approved by the court. Their agreement is then protected from the normal vicisitudes that will eventually surface in any relationship between separated parents.

If you need further information, feel free to contact me at your convenience. My contact information is below.

Good luck, and again, thank you for your question.