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…
Posts by David Karp
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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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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How to prove a parent is “unfit.”
Almost every other phone call or on line inquiry we receive, concerns a post judgment custody issue where someone wants to prove or allege the other parent is “unfit.” The idea is they want to obtain primary placement of the children, and in many cases, also involves pre-judgment matters. How do you go about proving…
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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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Can you get your own Guardian ad litem appointed?
Interestingly, over the last few days, several people have asked me the same question; that is, can you get your own guardian ad litem appointed, or bring some other person to court for your child as their guardian ad litem? The answer under Wisconsin law is “no.” The court appoints the guardian ad litem. Whenever…
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Different placement arrangements in Wisconsin
There is an old saying that “one size fits all,” but when it comes to placement of minor children in a divorce, there are a myriad of different placement arrangements that might work for one family, and for the next family it could be a train wreck. What works for one, doesn’t necessarily equate in…
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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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Ex Parte Orders
Litigants going through a divorce have a perception that nearly everything about their case is “urgent” or an “emergency.” From the lawyer’s perspective and the court’s perspective, most of what the parties may feel is urgent or an emergency, rarely is. However, there are situations that truly are urgent and can be considered an emergency,…
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When a woman is married and pregnant from another man.
Many times in family law cases, we see situations where a woman becomes pregnant while still married. The husband by law, is presumed to be the biological father of the child. It complicates the divorce. If either the mother or her husband raise the issue with the trial court that the husband may not be…
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Challenging the Guardian ad litem
The other day I wrote about the nuts and bolts of how a guardian ad litem conducts their investigation. What happens when you finally receive the recommendation, but you don’t agree with it? Is there anything you can do to challenge the recommendation? There is a procedural challenge to either the investigatory work or recommendation…
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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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Finding the right divorce lawyer
I have written previous blogs about how one goes about to find a divorce lawyer. Today’s topic is about finding the right lawyer for you in a family law case. You need to have a mindset from day one, about what type of a lawyer you are looking for. Are you looking for a lawyer…
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Are Sick Leave accounts subject to property division in Wisconsin?
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…
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Grandparents’ visitation rights at risk in Wisconsin?
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently certified a case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which accepted, could impact on grandparent’s visitation rights in the state of Wisconsin. The case is Michels v. Lyons, 2017 AP 1142 and the issue as pointed out in the certification is to clarify the standard of proof required for a grandparent…
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How to stop your spouse from making Disparaging Remarks about you
You are in the middle of the divorce and find out that your soon to be ex is bad mouthing you to your children. They are profane in referring you, put you down all the time and trying to poison the children against you. When your children come home after visiting with the other parent,…
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Dismissing a divorce
Every once in awhile, someone will file a divorce or legal separation and then change their mind about it. How does one properly go and dismiss a divorce or separation case that has been filed with the court? Voluntary notice of dismissal. If you haven’t yet personally served your spouse, or if they have been…
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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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