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,…
Parenting & Kids
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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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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Unmarried Parents Of An Infant
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….
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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