Divorce in Minnesota

By Matt Majeski, Minnesota divorce and family law attorney since 2008. Last reviewed October 2026.

Divorce in Minnesota: The Process

This is an overview of the divorce process in Minnesota, step by step. Your divorce may take longer than the outline below, especially if you and your spouse strongly disagree or have several complex issues. Still, this gives you a rough map of the major steps.

The Divorce Starts

A contested divorce in Minnesota starts when one spouse serves a summons and petition on the other. Together, these formal documents are called the pleadings.

The spouse who serves the papers is the petitioner, and the spouse who receives them is the respondent. “Served” means someone at least 18 years old, other than the petitioner, delivered the documents. The divorce officially starts once the respondent receives them.

Then the respondent has 30 days to serve an answer on the petitioner. The answer tells the court the respondent’s side of the facts and what they’re asking for.

The pleadings also need to be filed with the court, which lets the court know there’s a case. By the way, the spouse who files first generally does not have an advantage.

Alternatively, if both spouses agree to divorce, they can sign and file a joint petition. That way, they skip formal service.

Once Divorce Is Filed with the Court

After a divorce is filed, the court schedules an Initial Case Management Conference (ICMC). In most counties, it happens within a month or two, often by video.

The ICMC is an informal meeting. The judge talks with both sides, encourages settlement, and helps plan the rest of the case. In addition, the judge can order steps to help evaluate custody issues or work out disagreements. These are called alternative dispute resolution.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

In alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the spouses work through their disagreements with the help of a neutral. Mediation and early neutral evaluation are common examples. If you resolve all your issues, you write up the agreement and send it to the judge. Once the judge signs a complete agreement (a “stipulation”), you’re done. If you can’t settle, however, the process continues.

After ADR, and sometimes after a temporary hearing, the case moves toward a pretrial conference.

Motion Hearing / Temporary Hearing

Sometimes spouses need the court to decide issues while the divorce is pending. For example, they may need temporary orders on parenting time, child support, or spousal maintenance.

In those situations, a spouse asks for a motion hearing. Since these hearings can be expensive, people often try to avoid them. Also, they aren’t a required step.

Pre-Trial

At the pretrial conference, the judge identifies the issues still in dispute. The judge also gives you another chance to settle and plans the trial.

Even then, you can still reach an agreement at the pretrial conference, or any time afterward, and avoid a trial.

Trial

Fewer than 10 percent of Minnesota divorces go to trial. Since trials are costly, that’s good news. If a trial is needed, the judge reviews the case and issues an order that becomes the divorce decree. Either way, you’re divorced once the court enters the judgment and decree.

Typical Issues

The divorce process can be complicated. Here are typical questions that come up along the way:

Child Custody, Child Support, and Domestic Issues

• Child support: Who pays, and how much?
• College savings: Who contributes, and how much?
• Child custody: Where will the children live? Who makes decisions about the children?
• Taxes: Who claims the children on their tax returns?
• Parenting time: When will the children be with each parent? What will major holidays look like after the divorce?
• Domestic abuse: What happens if there is domestic violence or a threat of it?

Financial Issues

• Spousal maintenance: Will one spouse pay the other maintenance? If so, how much and for how long?
• Property: Who stays in the family home? What if the house is “underwater”? What about a vacation home, condo, or cabin up north?
• Marital assets: How will assets be divided? Who gets what? What about gifts or inheritances?
• Debts: How will debts be divided? Does it matter who took them on or who benefited from them?
• Business: How will business interests be divided?
• Insurance: What kinds and amounts of insurance are needed to protect the spouses and the children, and who pays for it?
• Retirement accounts and pensions: How will retirement assets be divided? Do pensions count, and how are they divided?

Have another divorce or family law question? See our list of topics or the FAQ page.