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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De Novo Hearings in Wisconsin
We are asked many times if a person has a right to appeal a decision they disagree with from a contested family court commissioner hearing on their divorce or family law matter. The answer is yes, you do. The applicable statutory section falls under sec. 767.69 (8) and reads as follows; “Any decision of a…
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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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What Happens if a Woman is Pregnant in the Middle of a Divorce
It happens every so often, that a woman going through a divorce will get pregnant. This is particularly important because it raises the following issues; (1) Will the court allow the divorce to be completed while the woman is pregnant? (2) Is there a legal presumption that the husband is the father? (3) What happens…
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Intervenor; What is it?
While we typically don’t see too many intervenor cases in family law matters, it certainly can happen. What is intervenor? What is the statutory authority for allowing it? In what type of cases or situations can one intervene in a case? 1. An intervenor is a party who does not have a substantial and direct…
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Ex Parte orders
How hard is it to go to court and have the judge or court commissioner sign an order, without a court hearing and without the other party being present to object? The answer is “very” at least in family court cases, and the likelihood that the judge or court commissioner would sign such an order…
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Family Support- What is it?
Family support is a hybrid of child support and maintenance combined together. It allows the person who is paying to deduct the payments, assuming all the requirements of sec. IRC 71 and 215 are met, and requires the payee to report the payments as taxable income. Child support is non taxable-non deductible. Maintenance (spousal support…
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Deadbeat dad gets probation
Did you see the article in the newspaper the other day, about a dad who owed more than $245,000 and was put on probation, after being criminally charged? In a case of one of Milwaukee’s worst deadbeat dad cases, a personal trainer from California was sentenced to five years of probation for failing to pay…
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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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Substitution of Judge under Wisconsin law
Did you know that if you are going through a divorce, and you don’t like a particular judge assigned to your case, that you have the right to substitute the judge? Well, you do, with some limitations. You also don’t get to pick the new judge assigned the judge, you only have the right to…
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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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Lawyer Gets Disciplined For Having Sex With Client
I wrote a previous blog about the ethical rule that indicates that an attorney in Wisconsin is prohibited from having a sexual relationship with a client. SCR 20:1.8 Conflict of interest; prohibited transactions in part, reads as follows; ” (j) A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a current client unless a consensual sexual…
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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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Failure to File a Financial Disclosure Statement in Wisconsin
You are involved in a divorce and your spouse has decided to go at it alone without a lawyer. While they have a right to do that, they also at the same time, must comply with the laws and procedures under the family code, chapter 767 of the Wisconsin Statutes. One of those requirements, is…
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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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Calling the police?
We are frequently asked on family law matters, should the person call the police? It many times involves visitation disputes, and sometimes property disputes. The general answer I give is no, because in most cases, I don’t find that the police will intervene, since no crimes have been committed, and many times, the police inform…
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Long term v. short term marriages
From a statutory perspective, the length of the marriage can be a factor both in property division as well as spousal support. What is the significance behind labeling marriages “short term” or “long term?” Where can you find the definitions of a short term marriage as opposed to a long term marriage? This blog will…
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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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Why Living With Someone In The Middle Of The Divorce Is Dangerous
I am many times asked, “is it o.k. if I move in with my new boyfriend/girlfriend, while the divorce is pending?” The answer depends on whether you have children or not, and if there are no minor children, that you aren’t making a request on spousal support (maintenance), as it may affect both. Let’s deal…
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