Hellmuth & Johnson attorney Michelle Kniess shared her knowledge of spousal maintenance and alimony in Minnesota and Wisconsin on the podcast Doing Divorce Different, hosted by Lesa Koski. Spousal maintenance is an important issue in many divorces, whether spouses are working together through the mediation process or needing an attorney to advise. Each Spousal Maintenance situation is unique with many factors to consider, including: the length of the marriage, the earning capacity, and the standard of living during the marriage.
Kniess shares, “Minnesota and Wisconsin are slightly different in how they approach maintenance. Minnesota asks what was the standard of living established during the marriage and can that be replicated between the two households with the income resources going forward. Wisconsin takes a little bit more of a partnership approach- their maintenance awards are a little more robust than those in Minnesota. But they both start with the same assumption that there was a plan – and it is broken now – and we have to come up with a new plan under new circumstances.”
Click here to listen to the full podcast episode.