Often, pro se litigants get upset when third parties interfere in their children’s affairs. This can include new significant others mostly, and sometimes grandparents or other close relatives. When you have a third party who interfered and acts as an intermeddler, they want the court to find them in contempt. It can be a situation…
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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Failure to exercise placement under Wisconsin custody laws
Under what authority can someone attempt to modify physical placement, based on the fact that one parent repeatedly and unreasonably fails to exercise their court ordered placement time with the minor children? This is not as uncommon a problem as you might expect. If you are the primary parent and have concerns when the other…
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Does a divorce court need to approve a settlement agreement?
Someone posted a question at the one of the “ask lawyer” web sites whether the court has to approve a settlement agreement? Apparently, in a divorce, with both parties pro se, the parties had attempted to go into court to have their final marital settlement agreement approved so that they can could be divorced, and…
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2 Year Prohibition On Modifying Custody in Wisconsin
There seems to be a lot of confusion lately over the statutory provision in Wisconsin that bars a litigant from coming back into court to litigate custody and placement, within two years from the date of their final judgment or orders. You can only petition or file a motion to modify within the two years,…
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Joint Decision Making
We field a lot of questions with persons who have been divorced who don’t seem to have a full understanding of what joint custody of minor children means. They wind up making a decision about the child, without consulting or informing the other parent, and once their ex spouse learns of the decision, they wind…
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How to Reconcile during the divorce
In Wisconsin, there are two ways that a couple can try to reconcile during the divorce process. The first way, and the one that I routinely recommend to my clients who inquire about reconciling, is to enter into a 90 day agreement to put the divorce on hold while the parties work on their marriage….
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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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Selling off property in the middle of a divorce
Someone asked me the other day if you need money, can you start selling off property in the middle of the divorce? The answer is generally no, as there is a statutory prohibition for doing so, once the divorce is filed. There are some exceptions and I will cover those as well. WI STAT. 767.117…
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Can You Deduct Temporary Maintenance Payments?
It is tax season. I am frequently asked if a person who is obligated under a temporary court order may deduct those maintenance (spousal support) payments, from their taxes. While there is no specific I.R.S. rule that says you can’t deduct them, one would need to comply with all of the conditions and terms under…
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Can You Buy A House In The Middle Of A Divorce?
Is there a prohibition on buying a house before the divorce is completed? We know there is a statutory prohibition on selling, disposing, or giving away any marital property in the middle of the divorce without the consent of the other party or by further order of the court, absent it being done in the…
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Dating Before a Divorce is Final in Wisconsin
TL;DR Summary Dating Before a Divorce is Final in Wisconsin Dating before your divorce is final can negatively affect both financial and custody decisions. Spending money on a new partner during the divorce can be considered “marital waste” and may lead to having to reimburse your spouse. If you have children, dating may impact custody,…
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What Are “Variable Costs?”
I deal with a number of disputes over “variable costs.” It seems that a number of litigants do not understand what variable expenses are, when they come into play and how each party is to be held responsible for such costs. If there is a traditional placement arrangement of children, where one parent has primary…
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Engagement Is Off – Who Keeps The Ring in Wisconsin?
You were engaged to be married and got “cold feet” and decided to call it off. Now, you are both arguing about who gets to keep the ring. The person who received the ring feels they are entitled to keep it because you were the one who broke it off. You feel that is unfair,…
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School Choice – Who Makes It?
It is August and we are inching towards the school year starting for children. I receive numerous questions from clients and others this time of year, about who gets to decide where children will attend school. It is a frequent battle ground for divorced parents where they disagree on which school their children should attend….
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What Are My Rights When It Comes To Cohabitating?
When a couple live together without the benefit of being married, in a cohabitation, non-marital relationship, they are not afforded the protection of the family code, under Chapter 767 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Wisconsin does not recognize common law marriages. This means that you cannot receive spousal support, and there is no presumptive 50/50 property…
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Statute of Limitations on Divorce Judgments?
Very few people realize that there is a statute of limitations in Wisconsin for enforcing a judgment. While applicable in civil judgments, it is also also applicable in family law cases. If you have any issues with your divorce case that either need modification or enforcement, if you fail to act by filing a motion…
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Does a Child Decide Where They Want to Live in Wisconsin?
This is a frequently asked question and one that I don’t think is well understood by most. The general answer is “a child cannot ever decide.” Let’s explore that however, both in terms of the legal issues as well as the practical aspects of the matter. Under Wisconsin Statue sec. 767.41 (5) (am) 2, factors…
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How do you effect a reconciliation in the middle of a divorce?
While I don’t see a lot of people who are desirous of reconciling during the divorce process, it can happen, and ironically, has happened with some clients of mine over the last several weeks; that is what has triggered this to be the topic of my weekly blog. There are essentially two ways of dealing…
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