Sometimes fairness dictates that spouses must continue to share income after the divorce. This can happen, for example, when the parties have had a long marriage and only one party was the primary income-earner, or when one party needs a little extra time to establish a professional earning history that will allow him or her…
Property, Debt, & Finances
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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Paying Maintenance Arrears in Wisconsin
You Probably Can’t Avoid It. This article was originally written by attorney David Karp and published on wisbar.org (link). When two people file for divorce, depending on differing levels of income, one spouse may be owed financial support from the other spouse with respect to child support, family support payments, or maintenance payments. Spousal maintenance…
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Financial Disclosure Statements in an Uncontested Divorce
In an uncontested divorce, the parties agree to end the marriage without litigation. Sometimes, they may even have laid out what each spouse will walk away with from the marriage. So why does each spouse have to share financials with each other? Why You Need a Financial Disclosure Statement There are two reasons for this….
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The Importance of a Financial Disclosure Statement
When going through a divorce or legal separation, one of the most important documents you will need to complete is a financial disclosure statement under oath. In Wisconsin, there is a strong emphases on the importance of this financial disclosure statement, which is to be completed by both parties on an annual basis. Financial Disclosure…
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Annual Exchange of Financial Information in Wisconsin
Over the last few days, I have fielded a number of questions dealing with the law in Wisconsin that requires an annual exchange of financial information when divorced with children. Many don’t even know the law exists, or there is a such a requirement. Others ask me, what is the due date for the exchange?…
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Child Support: How Do You Calculate Income?
I was asked the other day when computing child support, what should you be looking at? Should you be looking at current income, last year’s income, year to date income, or some combination of all the above? What is the most accurate portrayal of a person’s income for purposes of calculating child support? Where to…
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How Will Divorce Affect My Taxes in Wisconsin?
Tax reform is an important topic in the news currently, in part due to the fact that the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have a significant impact on what happens to people’s taxes when they are getting a divorce in Wisconsin. Common Wisconsin Tax Deductions and Exemptions Most people are aware that when you…
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How low can you go?
Sometimes when people are going thru a divorce, they start to fight over the most petty and sometimes silly things. I thought it might make for an interesting blog to discuss some of the things that I have seen over the years and things you should definitely NOT be arguing about when going through a divorce….
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Child Custody Calculator in Wisconsin
CALCULATING CHILD CUSTODY IN WISCONSIN Is there a way to calculate who gets custody of minor children when going through a divorce in Wisconsin? There are basically two forms of placement of minor children in Wisconsin when going through a divorce; a. Primary Placement. This traditional placement arrangement puts the children primarily in one parent’s home…
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How to calculate child support in the state of Wisconsin
How do you calculate child support in the State of Wisconsin? The answer depends on what type of placement there is. Traditional placement. Where one parent has the child 75% or more of the time, and the other parent visits, the non-custodial parent pays a percentage of their gross monthly income for child support purposes;…
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When do “variable costs” apply in Wisconsin?
What are “variable costs?” Wisconsin DCF 150 (29) defines “variable costs” as the reasonable costs above basic support costs incurred by or on behalf of a child, including but not limited to the cost of child care, tuition, a child’s special needs, and other activities that involve substantial cost. 2. When do “variable costs”…
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Are section 71 payments extinct in Wisconsin?
It’s a new year, and with the new year, bring sweeping changes in the tax code as it affects maintenance payments. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for any new cases after 1/1/19, one can no longer deduct maintenance (alimony) payments, nor are they taxable income to the recipient. In light of that,…
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Day care expenses and child support
You have little children at home and both of you work. You are going through a divorce and wonder how day care is going to be paid for. Does child support cover day care costs? Are day care costs covered separately over and above child support? Are day care costs considered “variable costs” and paid…
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What is a QDRO and do I need one?
QDROs are specialized court orders used to divide qualified retirement assets. What is a QDRO and how does it work? “QDRO” (commonly pronounced “cue-droh” or “kwah-droh”) is an acronym that stands for Qualified Domestic Relations Order. A QDRO is a special kind of court order that is required to divide certain retirement assets (typically defined…
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Revisions to Child support in Wisconsin
Effective July 1, 2018, there are changes to the child support laws in the state of Wisconsin. The standard for determining child support changed, including revising “variable costs” where parents have shared or equal placement of their children. Under the previous law, “variable costs” were defined as “the reasonable costs above basic support costs incurred…
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Who gets the Diamond Ring?
When getting a divorce, who gets to keep the diamond engagement/wedding ring? When a couple are engaged and do not get married, in Wisconsin, the law is the ring gets returned to the person who bought it, irrespective of who broke off the engagement. The ring must be returned. What happens in a divorce case?…
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Child support beyond 18?
Under Wisconsin law, child support ends at the 18th birthday, or if still in high school to graduate, no later than the 19th bitthday. People many times ask if there are circumstances to get support after that point? 1. A child with special needs. Under the current law, even though an adult child may have…
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Different ways to calculate child support in Wisconsin
Check out our simple-to-use Wisconsin Child Support Calculator here. When going through a divorce in Wisconsin, and where there are minor children involved, there are two different formulas for calculating child support. Many times, we see custody battles that are not really custody battles at all, but rather disguised child support concerns; more time, equals…
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Collecting on your ex spouse’s social security
A lot of people going through a divorce, may not know or realize that they may be eligible at retirement age, to start drawing social security on their ex spouse’s account. In order to do so, you must meet certain rules as outlined by the Social Security Administration. Forty three percent of unmarried older U.S….
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Can one attorney represent both parties in a divorce in Wisconsin? part 2
The other day I wrote a blog on whether one lawyer can represent both parties in a divorce case. The traditional view has been that the attorney cannot do so as it is an inherent conflict of interest. I subscribe to the traditional view. However, there is a countervailing view under the new Wisconsin’s limited…
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