Richard J. Haefele
1059 Stoughton Avenue Carver Co.
Chaska MN 55318 U.S.A.
Experienced Chaska/West Metro attorney serving the Southwest Twin Cities area

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Divorce and Family Law

Chaska divorce lawyer helping clients in Carver, Scott, and Southwest Metro counties

If you are going through a dissolution of marriage (divorce), you may be worried about several major things: emotional issues, financial issues, and parenting issues. At the Chaska office of Sugar Creek Legal Services, our job is to help you determine how to sort out factors involving property and children after your divorce. While our law firm focuses on finding mediation solutions in divorce cases, we are prepared to take a case to trial if that will best protect your rights and interests.

Divorce attorney on your side

When you come to our Chaska law office, Attorney Richard Haefele takes the time to understand your particular circumstances, and explores mediation and settlement options early on. Mr. Haefele wants to help you come up with a solution that eases your situation more complicated. Instead of polarizing the parties, he tries to help you reach an amicable agreement that is tailored to your specific situation.

When you focus on the future, you can determine a win-win situation. Considering the future of your children and protecting your own interests, Mr. Haefele helps you come up with a negotiated marital termination agreement that covers every aspect of your divorce:

  • Property division
  • Child custody and parenting time
  • Child support
  • Spousal maintenance

Divorce mediation

Divorce mediation, if successful, can minimize the emotional and financial impact of the divorce process. It can also be a quicker and more efficient solution. In some districts of Minnesota, you cannot proceed to trial without pursuing mediation first. We help you through the entire mediation process:

  • We work with both parties to develop a marital termination agreement, which is a set of rules regarding property division, custody, child support, parenting time, children's health insurance, and spousal maintenance (alimony).
  • If you and your spouse want to pursue divorce mediation, attorney Richard J. Haefele can be your mediator and guide you through the process.
  • We provide legal representation to individual parties in the divorce mediation process. Mr. Haefele carefully selects a mediator who is best qualified to address your specific issues and makes sure your rights are protected.

Mediation only works when both sides are willing to consider it and give it a fair chance.  It is important to remember that Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state. Regardless of what one party may have done to the other, "fault" has little or no impact on the outcome of your divorce settlement.

Child custody modifications

As the circumstances of your life change, your child custody order should reflect the life you live now. You can take action and seek modification of your custody order, so your parenting plan best fits your current situation. At Sugar Creek Legal Services in Chaska, Richard Haefele represents individuals who are seeking modification of their child custody orders or are involved in a child custody dispute.

We prepare all the necessary documents and guide you through all issues with skill and dedication as we advocate for or against your child custody modification. Whether you have gone through a divorce or you were never married, you have to follow the same process in order to receive a modification to your custody and parenting time plan. Child custody modifications can arise in a variety of situations, including—

  • Your kids have matured since the original custody or parenting time order. As your children get older, their attitudes and interests change. Children often start lobbying their parents to change the custody arrangement in order to fit their changing needs.
  • You want a child custody modification in conjunction with a change in child support obligations.
  • CHIPS—Child in Need of Help or Protection—petitions can be the impetus for child custody modifications. If there have been allegations of neglect and abuse or the police have taken your children away and placed with another party, a change in the custody or visitation order may be warranted.

As we try to help your family figure out the best child custody or parenting time plan for your current situation, we can provide a parenting consultant to determine the nature of the dispute. In some cases, children tell one thing to one parent and something else to the other parent, and the consultant can help get to the bottom of the child's concerns. Richard Haefele wants to help your family work out a plan that best serves the child's interests while protecting your rights as a parent.

Contact us for a free initial consultation

If you are going through or considering divorce or seeking a change in your current custody or parenting time order, discuss your case with Attorney Haefele today.  He can help you find an efficient and effective solution to best address your emotional and financial concerns,  While Sugar Creek Legal Services emphasizes mediation, we are prepared to litigate if necessary.

Located near Carver County Courthouse, our Chaska law offices are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, and evening and weekend consultations are available by appointment. Contact us today for a free 30-minute initial consultation.