MINNESOTA LAW Questions and Answers

Moss & Barnett hosts and guest attorneys answer your questions on-air during WCCO Radio's MINNESOTA LAW, Presented by Moss & Barnett, heard every Saturday from Noon until 1:00 PM. on WCCO AM 830. To post a law-related question regarding an upcoming or recent MINNESOTA LAW topic, click on "Ask the Lawyer" and complete the form. Then listen to the MINNESOTA LAW to hear your answer. We regret that we are unable to personally answer every question we receive.

Some questions we have received:

Q: I have been married for 8 years, although currently my marriage is on the rocks. I want to start a new business, which I will need to work at very hard, but if my marriage ultimately fails, would my former spouse receive half of my new business? Could we sign an agreement so that I would get to keep most of my new business? If not, I probably will not start the business at this time. Thanks for your advice.

A: In Minnesota, an already-married couple can enter into a legally enforceable, binding agreement to divide their existing and future marital assets (including the value of businesses started during the marriage), provided that they comply with all of the requirements of Minnesota law, including the need to be fair. Since one requirement is that each spouse signing a post-marital agreement must be represented by an attorney, you will need to retain legal counsel to learn more about how this might work in your situation.

Q: I am looking into purchasing a franchise. What are some issues that I should know about? What are some questions that I need to ask the franchisor?

A: This is really quite an involved point, as the issues involved range from financial and operational, to legal. You should, at a minimum, be given a written disclosure statement by the franchisor as required by Minnesota law. Then, it will be vitally important that you retain a qualified CPA and a lawyer with experience in such matters. Unfortunately, we cannot possibly cover all of the issues you will face in this Q&A format. I would add that you simply can't be too careful in performing a thorough due diligence review of the offering before jumping in! We have attorneys who are qualified and they could also assist in finding a CPA. Let us know if you would like to further pursue the matter with one of our attorneys. Thanks for your inquiry!

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This program does not create an attorney-client relationship between Moss & Barnett, A Professional Association, or any attorney appearing on this program and any caller or listener. Please remember that we can only give general information and every case is unique. Always check with your individual attorney for any specific legal concerns.