Marriage Counseling in Minnesota Divorce

Marriage counseling is not a requirement prior to divorcing in Minnesota. Minnesota, like many other states, is "no fault" for divorce. This means that neither party has to give the court a reason that they are seeking a divorce, but has to state that there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship. The parties do not have to be in agreement on this.

Research has been done in Hennepin County regarding divorce and parties' interest in counseling. As referenced in Star Tribune.

In collaboration with Hennepin County District Court Judge Bruce Peterson, Doherty surveyed 2,500 couples with children whose divorces were pending but not finalized. After taking court-ordered parenting classes, one in four said they believed their marriages could be saved through hard work. For one in 10 couples, both divorcing spouses expressed interest in reconciliation counseling. For one in three couples, only one spouse expressed interest

Parties are able to attempt counseling at any time, and can put their case on inactive status if they would like to try to work things out. However, this is not a requirement and the court will not treat a case differently if counseling has been attempted or not.