Just when you thought you had heard everything that a couple might be fighting about in a divorce case, you stumble across a new issue or asset pertaining to whether a person’s accrued sick time or sick leave account is subject to equal property division in Wisconsin? It appears over the years the answer legally…
Pre Divorce
Articles categorized by what phase of divorce you're currently experiencing:
Articles categorized by topic and areas of your life most affected by a divorce:
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Name on a birth certificate.
There probably isn’t a day that goes by where I read a question posted on Avvo or Lawyers.com or we receive at our web site, about placing the father’s name on a child’s birth certificate to determine that they are the father. We are obviously talking about a situation here where the child is born…
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Bringing false charges of abuse in a divorce
It has happened numerous times in my career, that at the onset of a divorce action, one of the parties is accused of abuse, whether it be domestic violence against their abuse, or in some cases, child abuse. These allegations are brought contemporaneously with the divorce or separation filing, usually to get an upper hand…
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All things must pass
The title for my blog today is taken from the first solo album by George Harrison after the Beatles broke up. It’s the name of the double album and a song on the record. It’s fitting because this past week my mother passed. While she had been ill over the last 30 days, it was…
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“I want 50/50 placement!”
We meet with a lot of individuals going through a divorce who come into the office and advocate that they want “50/50 placement.” To me, that is like nails on a chalkboard because it really tells us nothing. It is particularly annoying when they make the same advocacy to the guardian ad litem and/or the…
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Release of medical records in a custody battle.
The other day I wrote a blog on the physician- patient privilege in Wisconsin, and under what circumstances it can be waived. One of those circumstances under Wisconsin law does not cover when parties are contesting custody of their minor children. So, the question becomes what is a party required to do when the court…
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Can you sue your spouse for cheating in Wisconsin?
From a Practical Perspective, No. Wisconsin used to have a law against “alienation of affection.” This allowed a party to sue anyone thought to be responsible for the breakup of their marriage–including therapists, clergy members, or mothers-in-law. Under this statute, the victim of adultery could even sue his or her spouse’s paramour. However, that statute…
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Recorded Telephone Conversations in Wisconsin
An interesting question is whether someone can record a telephone conversation in Wisconsin and then use that as evidence in a courtroom as part of going through a divorce or separation case? Wisconsin is a “one party” wiretap state. It is not necessarily illegal to wiretap or record someone, without their knowledge or consent. Whether…
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Court Sanctions in Wisconsin
Sometimes litigants going through a civil matter, do not understand the significance of complying with court orders or rules and laws that govern pre-trial matters. There is a duty to cooperate with discovery under Chapter 804; that means timely complying with discovery requests, such as written interrogatories, that must be answered under oath within 30…
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Admission of Personal Service
The other day I discussed whether it mattered who filed first. In most cases it routinely does not, but if the parties are separated and living in different counties, or different states, it can certainly matter, and where minor children are involved, can affect jurisdiction of the court to proceed. When filing for divorce in…
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Lawyer Response Time
I take a lot of phone calls from people looking to replace their current lawyer and the number one complaint seems to be that their lawyer never calls them back. No one likes being ignored. What exactly should the response time be back from your lawyer? What is reasonable? What are your own expectations? What…
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Using a GPS tracking device on your spouse; Is it against the law in Wisconsin.
You think your spouse may be cheating on you and you don’t feel like spending thousands of dollars by hiring a private investigator to follow them around to prove it. Instead, you think of placing a GPS tracking device on your spouse’s car. By doing that you can track their every move, see where they…
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Preparing for an initial divorce hearing in Wisconsin
You filed for divorce and have been waiting anxiously to get into court for your first divorce hearing before the court commissioner. You have no idea on how to prepare or what to expect in court, other than you have concerns on what orders the court may make pertaining to placement of your children, how…
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Pre-Marital Assets; exempt under Wisconsin law?
I have been getting a lot of questions and inquiries lately on how pre-marital assets are treated in a divorce case under Wisconsin law. Are the assets exempt from property division or are they divisible under Wisconsin law? All property in a divorce case in Wisconsin, whether acquired before the marriage or during the marriage…
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Is Wisconsin a 50/50 state for divorce?
It is surprising that most people don’t know the answer to this question. We are frequently asked the question and the answer is yes. Wisconsin, since 1977, has been a marital property law state when it comes to a family getting a divorce or legal separation in Wisconsin. This means that there is a legal…
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Does a birth certificate establish paternity in Wisconsin?
The answer to the headline to today’s blog is no, at least not under Wisconsin law. This is a frequently asked question where people believe that if a person’s name goes on the birth certificate, that legally establishes the person as being the biological father. This is legally incorrect. There are two ways that paternity…
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Contesting a restraining order
Your spouse or former significant other has threatened to go to the courthouse and obtain some type of restraining order against you. Is there any way to prevent them from doing so, or to fight the matter in court? You can’t really prevent someone from access to the courthouse if they want to pursue a…
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Automatic right to equal placement in Wisconsin?
I sometimes talk to prospective clients who seem to have the idea that they have an automatic entitlement to equal placement of their children when getting a divorce. Does the law presume equal placement? Does the custody statute refer to the words shared or equal placement? Does a person have a constitutional right to equal…
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Another one bites the dust
Remember the Queen song from the early 80’s, “another one bites the dust?” That is the headline for my blog today, which deals with lawyer misconduct, once again. Too often, I am picking up my morning newspaper and wind up reading an article about another local lawyer who has been disbarred or is facing criminal…
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Waiver of the 120 day waiting period in Wisconsin
I am a huge Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ fan and they have a song entitled, “The Waiting (is the hardest part).” What I really want to focus on in today’s blog, is the fact that under Wisconsin law, an individual has to wait 120 days before they can be divorced and under what circumstances,…
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