Divorce in Minnesota? Lawyer? Online? Courts? (real estate, house, living)

[Winter Hater]

Okay, so I have a close friend of mine currently seperated from her husband and is trying to file for a divorce. They have a kid together (baby) and they agree upon the living situation and custody. There is no real estate involved, and for the most part they agree upon how things should be done. I have several questions she's asked me to look into for her, so anyone who's gone through a similar situation is encouraged to reply. Also wouldn't mind hearing from any lawyers as well, specifically in family law.

#1 - What is the cheapest most efficient way to get a divorce in Minnesota?

#2 - Are these online divorce sites legitimate? Are any of them?

#3 - What is the price range she should be realistically expecting?

#4 - Does she need an attorney, or can she do it herself at the courthouse?

#5 - Do both parties need to sign any documents or can she file everything by herself? Her husband isn't being too cooperative, and to be honest has a wee bit of a drinking/yelling problem.

#6 - They were only married two months, is an anullment a possibility?

#6 - ANYONE WHO HAS GONE THROUGH A DIVORCE IN MINNESOTA, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL YOUR STORY, COST, METHOD, ETC. IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED, AND WOULD HELP ME HELP A CLOSE FRIEND IN NEED.

[todd00]

have her call around and get prices, thats the easiest way. they will talk to her a bit about it and give her an approximate price. they can vary alot, so let her fingers do alot of walking, it can be worth making alot of calls regarding price. there are online places that are legit. they basically have a paralegal do the paperwork and the lawyer signs off on it. also they have places on line where you do the paperwork and they go over it to make sure its ok. but when my hideous liar of a wife dumped me by email and wanted a divorce i just called around and found a local guy. it was easier on my shattered nerves and the price wasnt much different to have him do it and file. it shouldnt be that expensive if its a no fault divorce and no property hassles or kids. signing off on documents, that depends on the situation. anullment requirements vary by state, you can probably find out whats required for that by searching on line.

off the divorce question, wasnt your friend aware this guy had a drinking/yelling problem prior to marrying him? no way to try to work things out at all, like counseling? always makes me sad to see pple give up on their marriage without trying everything to save it. i understand there are reasons a person has to get out, such as if being abused, but pple now a days do tend to rush to divorce as a first rather than last choice. im not making any judgements about your friend, just wish she could work things out if she still has any love left for the guy. 2 months is hardly anytime at all, pple are often still adjusting to their new marriage and newlywed disagreements can be common. i believe when pple say the vows they should be willing to try very hard to honor them. perhaps she can encourage him to try AA. unless one is being abused i think one should try to all possible before rushing to the divorce lawyer. thats just my 2 cents. best wishes to you and the couple.

[shizzy]

if there is a child involved then a lawyer will be required. If the husband doesnt want to cooperate thats fine. all of the steps can be taken without him. it just makes it worse for him. In fact she can do the whole divorce without him responding to anything as long as the lawyer makes all efforts to serve all papers on him.

as far as the annullment, in not really sure. the lawyer can answer this. To me what it is exactly isnt as important as ending up seperate in the end.

I got divorced in 2002 after being married for a year and a half (together for 6 years total) after she found companionship elsewhere. I filed the paperwork on her. We had no children or a house and had little debt, so we were able to just file ourselves. On the divorce paper it is listed as a dissoulution. Even with what little we had, I wish I had secured an attourney. what started as a mutual split ended with me loosing everything but my car and my clothes since we left so much off the divorce decree.

[Aylalou]

If her husband gets an attorney, I would strongly suggest she get one!

[golfgal]

If they are going to cooperate you could try mediation vs the attorney route. It is less expensive and if they already agree on the tough part, how to raise the child, the rest shouldn't be too difficult.

[vanGan]

The cheapest most efficient way to get a divorce in Minnesota would probably be to find a pro bono attorney. There are resources on the Tubman website!

[Teak]

Originally Posted by vanGan

The cheapest most efficient way to get a divorce in Minnesota would probably be to find a pro bono attorney. There are resources on the Tubman website!

Considering that the OP was from 12 years ago, I suspect that the divorce was a done deal a long time ago.