I receive many inquiries each day pertaining to the rights of a child born out of wedlock. Usually, the couple are fighting over the baby and the question becomes who has legal custody of the child? The answer lies at sec. 767.82 of the Wisconsin Statutes, (2m) and reads as follows; “CUSTODY PENDING COURT ORDER….
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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Can I Have the Guardian ad Litem Removed From the Case?
You are involved in a bitter custody battle as part of your divorce case. You are advocating for primary placement of the children with your spouse to have visitation rights; your spouse is advocating that there should be an equal placement arrangement. You went to mediation and it was a shouting match between you and…
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Can An Adult Child Sue Or Go After Their Parents For Neglect In Medical Care?
In an interesting story out of Idaho, a 20 year old woman with a serious life long heart defect, blames her parents for failing to get her the proper medical care that could have medically corrected the problem. Her parents did not trust modern medicine and now she wants her parents to face justice. She…
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Can My Lawyer Drop My Case If I Don’t Pay?
A frequently asked question, and an all to frequent occurrence, is a client who is in the middle of a divorce, and has stopped paying attorney’s fees. There are usually two reasons why a client stops payment to the attorney; 1. They simply don’t have the money and can’t afford to pay or 2. They…
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Can Marriage Feel Like Slavery?
Tonight, Jewish people around the world celebrate Passover. The Passover story is based on the chapter of Exodus from the bible. It tells the great story of how God saw the Hebrews who were enslaved by the Egyptians and their great suffering. God intervened and revealed himself to Moses to go back to Egypt and…
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Trouble With A “Significant Other”
You went through a divorce because you thought by doing so, you would end years of fighting and bickering with your former spouse. Following the divorce, things seemed to be going fairly well, as much as can be expected after a bitter divorce, but for the sake of the children, both you and your ex…
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What Significance Is The New Spouse’s Income To Support Obligations?
A frequently asked question at some of the lawyer web sites, such as Avvo and Lawyers.com, is can a new spouse’s income be considered for purposes of child support or maintenance payments? The answer under Wisconsin law, is no. A new spouse is not obligated to pay support for children that are not theirs, nor…
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A Big Win For Grandparents Throughout Wisconsin!
Our Wisconsin Supreme Court today issued a landmark decision supporting grandparents rights in our state. In a near unanimous decision, the Court concluded that section 767.43(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes, allows grandparents, great-grandparents and step-parents to seek visitation rights, without having to establish a parent like relationship. The case is in re the Marriage of…
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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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What Does “Reasonable Times, Reasonable Notice” Visitation Mean?
Every once in awhile we see “traditional placement” arrangements. This means that one parent has “primary placement” of the children, and the other parent has visitation rights. Many times, they are afforded “reasonable times, reasonable notice” visitation. Primary placement is defined as one parent having the children at least 75% of the time, counted as…
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Dating Before a Divorce is Final in Wisconsin
Know Your Rights & The Risks The end of your marriage is finally in sight and you and your spouse have been separated for what seems like forever. Is it safe to start dating again while your divorce is pending? What happens when you start dating before your divorce is finalized? Read on, to find…
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Today is that special day when everyone feels “Irish” for 24 hours. Green is everywhere, including the famous green dye that the city of Chicago traditionally dumps in the Chicago River. It is a good day to go out and have a green beer or some good Irish Whiskey with friends after work, or have…
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What is a Vocational Examination?
Many times in divorce cases, we recommend to our clients that they undergo a vocational examination, or the opposing counsel, requests that the party submit to an independent vocational examination. What is a vocational examination and what purpose does it serve? A vocational examination is a process where a person trained and experienced in employment…
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What’s The Danger Of An Adult Dating a Minor?
Lately, there have been a rash of postings at some of the internet question and answer lawyer sites such as Lawyers.com and AVVO, about the wisdom of an adult dating a minor child. The general consensus among most attorneys responding to that question, is that it is not a very good idea, and for the…
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Divorce Maintenance (Alimony) in Wisconsin—Waiving vs Holding Open
When is it Right to Waive Maintenance? Short answer: Essentially it depends on your length of marriage, age, health, income disparity and the ability to support yourself long-term. At the very end of every divorce case (see all steps in the divorce process), there comes the time, typically during the negotiation of the final settlement…
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Hold Open Child Support?
The other day on one of the “ask lawyer” internet web sites, someone posted a question of whether you could waive or hold open child support. The answer to the former is no and the answer to the latter is yes. You cannot waive child support pursuant to a martial settlement agreement, as it is…
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Failure To Serve On Time
I received a question from a prospective client the other day on what to do about their divorce case. It seems that they filed, and either forgot or failed to follow through with proper service as required under Wisconsin law. Under sec. 801.02 (1) of the Wisconsin Statute, all papers must be served within 90…
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Can You Secretly Divorce Your Spouse?
In an interesting story out of New York City this past week, a woman who is 59 years old, is suing her husband, who is 90 years old, after being married for over 20 years, after he secretly divorced her, just a few short months after they were initially married. The reason the husband claims…
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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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