Wisconsin Child Custody Legal Questions

I see that you are in Wisconsin. As an Annapolis child custody lawyer, my area of practice is confined to Maryland law. But, nevertheless, I can provide some general insights into your situation. Typically, the legal rights and responsibilities of a biological father can vary from state to state, but generally speaking, a biological father has certain constitutional rights to be involved in his child's life. This usually includes the right to seek visitation or even custody. However, these rights are balanced against the best interests of the child. If a court finds that a parent is unfit due to issues such as criminal activity, substance abuse, or other factors that may put the child's well-being at risk, they can limit or even terminate those rights. Regarding your thoughts on moving out of state, again, laws vary, but it's generally allowed for a pregnant woman to move and live wherever she wishes. Once the child is born, however, issues of custody and parental rights can become more complex, especially if the other parent wishes to be involved and you wish to limit their involvement. In your situation, it would be highly advisable to consult with a family law attorney in Wisconsin to understand the specific legal implications of your decisions. They can guide you on the best way to protect your interests and those of your unborn child under Wisconsin law. This is an important and potentially complex situation, so having professional legal advice is crucial. Remember, the information I provided is based on general principles and may not fully reflect the laws in your state.... Read More

If you have a child born out of wedlock, you will first need to have paterntiy established in order to have rights to the child, including custody and placement. Your post and question doesn't indicate whether that has occurrred yet. Under Wisconsin law, until you are adjudicated as being the biological father of the child, you have no legal rights to the child in any way.... Read More

It is doubtful any court would order 50% placement with a baby and an out of state father. That is not reasonable advocacy. If he moves here, he certainly would be given reasonable placement rights. With residing out of state his placement time is probably going to be limited to visits here for now, and as the child gets older, placement with him during non school time such as winter and spring break and some extended time during the summer. How the child travels back and forth and who pays for it will also be an issue the court will need to consider.... Read More

In order for a third party to have custody of a child, both parents would need to be found unfit or otherwise incapable of taking care of the child. The court would first look towards immediate family members, in the absence of your having a Will or Trust that would nominate this person who has acted in a "grandparent like" relationship to your child. Whether, she could obtain legal guardianship of the child over the father, or other immediate family members would probably be difficult for her in a legal challenge to your wanting her to have custody should something happen to you. Also, she can petition for visitation rights, under Wisconsin's so called "grandparent's statute," assuming there is an underlying family court action and further that you and or the father object to her seeing the child. That doesn't seem to be the case here from your post.... Read More

While no one can offer you any guarantees or promises, and without knowing all the facts, if you are the biological father and having been adjudicated the same in court (unless you were married and divorced) and further, assuming you are a fit and proper person to have custody of the child, the preference in the law is that the child goes to another parent as opposed to third party placement.... Read More

If the child was born out of wedlock, is paternity established? Under Wisconsin law, the (alleged) father would have no legal rights to the child under paternity is established and court orders are set on custody and placement. I realize that doesn't specifically answer your question. The answer to your question is generally no. The court will first order the parties to mediate any disputed custody and placement issues and only if mediation is unsuccesful will appoint a guardian ad litem for the twins. While there may be some exceptions to doing it that way, that is the usual course of aciton.... Read More

Most legal things do not happen "autmoatically." Once the baby is born, if there is a belief or suspicion that the mother is unfit or otherwise incapable of taking care of the child, child protective services will need to be informed, and if necessary, a CHIPS petition can be filed (child in need of protective placement), Since the child is born out of wedlock, the assumed biological father, has no legal rights to the child until paterntiy can be established and court order made as to custody and placement. Paternity can be established by either both parties signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or by either party, or the state (if assistance) filing a formal paterntiy action in court.... Read More

Understand even if she had a Will or Trust document to appoint you as guardian, that cannot override the father’s right to have placement of the child. You would need to challenge him to prove he is unfit or otherwise incapable of taking care of the child to prevail in a custody battle with the child’s father.... Read More

In order to answer your question, one would need to know what the current custody and placement orders may be. If entered within in the last two years of Wisconsin, there is a law that bars either party from requesting a change of custody or placement within the first two years of the initial orders, unless it can be shown that the child is in imminent danger. After the 2 years, the burden is less, but one must show a substantial and compelling reason to modify custody or placement. there is a presumption that things should be left as is.... Read More

If there is an underlying family law case, you can petition the court for third party placement under the custody statute. You will need to show that both parents are unfit or otherwise incapable of taking care of the children. If no underlying family law case, you can file for legal guardianship of your siblings. You bear the same burden of proof of showing they are unfit or otherwise incapable of taking care of the children. ... Read More

It sounds to me from your post, that you and your husband need to have a serious discussion about your family and your feelings. If he is pursuing in court trying to get primary placement of his six year old, and you are against the idea of the child living in your home, your feelings need to be conveyed to your husband. He may be spending a consdierable amount of money in attorney's fees in the custody case, let alone his time and effort in trying to secure getting placement, when it appears, you are completely against the idea. Before things get any further along, you two need to talk in my opinion. The guardian ad litem and/or social worker, owe no duty of confidentiality to you, in answer to your question. ... Read More

Assuming you are past the 2 year “cooling off” period from your initial custody orders, you will need to overcome the presumption that custody should remain “as is” by providing compelling and substantial reasons why placement should be changed. The fact that your 16 year old wants to come and live with you, if the other parent objects, is not going to be enough in my opinion, to sustain a motion for modification of placement. The wishes of the child is a factor, among many factors, that the court will need  to consider on your motion to have the child come and live with you.... Read More

Most likely visitation is very common unless you have a very aggressive attorney that can get you a 50/50 deal. Joint legal custody is very common even you yourself can get that on your own without an attorney. If you are paying a good lawyer, you can expect to get more physical custody than the mother. Also, expect to get on child support if you don't get primary custody unless you can negotiate and settled the mother to drop it. It all depends on who you hire. Also, the age of the child is also a major factor along with your income, and criminal background history. We can certainly assist you. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Custody Lawyer in WI.... Read More

What made the judge give the custody to the child father will be dependent upon your case and the litigation process. What you can try and do is file for Visitation or Custody enforcement, it's really impossible to provide accurate guidance without knowing the full facts of the case. Please contact an attorney to go over the situation and possible options. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.... Read More

When a divorce or legal separation gets filed, and particularly where there are minor children, it is quite customary that one of the parties would request an initial court hearing to determine temporary issues while the divorce is pending. The ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AND AFFIDAVIT are the legal papers that get filed to request the initial court hearing. At the initial court hearing, the family court commissioner will decide temporary issues such as custody, placement, child support, health insurance, paying for unpaid medical bills, which bank accounts the parties can use, which vehicles they can drive, what debts have to be paid, along with other similar temporary financial issues. It is quite common, and in some counties, may even be automatically required. I don't know how to comment on the other part of your post, because it sounds like you both have some serious issues and I think you are asking us to weigh in on what your chances may be on getting placement of your children. It is difficult to that from the limited information that you have posted.... Read More

Do you have joint custody (equal decision making)? If so, she cannot make unilateral moves on choice of school without consulting with you and your agreeing to any changes in the choice of school, whether in your county or not. There is no law that prohibits her from moving to another county, as long as that county is not more than 150 miles away from your location. Wisconsin's "removal statute" prohibits the removal of the children from the state or 150 miles within in the state from the other parent, unless the parent who wishes to move, first provides 60 days advance written notice by certified mail of their intention to move, with a copy to the court. The notice must provide details of the proposed move and the other parent's right to object within 15 days. If a written objeciton is filed, generally you cannot move with the children as planned unless the court determines the move should be allowed at a contested court hearing. If her move is less than 150 miles away from you, she can technically move; however, (A) she must abide by the joint decision making rules of your divorce decree (meaning no changing schools unless you agree and (b) if she moves, she must still follow the placement schedule outlined in the divorce decree, or she can be found in contempt of court. The third issue that arises from someone moving out of the area is how do the children get back and forth during your periods of placement. If she is the one moving, it is not reasonable for her to advocate that you come to her and pick up and drop off the children anymore. If you are the one moving away, that burden would also fall on your lap.... Read More

Under LAWYERS.COM rules, we are not allowed to offer our services or recommend a lawyer to you. You will need to search the data base of attorneys in your area here at the web site to find a divorce/family lawyer that can answer your questions on custody. I am  not sure I get the connection however, between your wife having a pscyhological evaluation and asking for a restraining order against her. The only restraining orders a person can apply for in Wisconsin are either (a) harassment (b) domestic violence or (c) child abuse.  ... Read More

Joint custody means that both parents have equal decision making on major decisions involving your minor children, covering health, educational and religious choices. This means you can’t go and decide to have the medical procedure done, over your ex spouse’s objection. Unless it  may be an emergency where both of you agreeing is literally threatening the life of your child. You don’t offer a reason as to what his objection might be. Did they consult with the ENT doctor or have you simply conveyed the information to your ex? Have them contact the doctor directly to find out why they feel the surgery is necessary. Have the doctor write a detailed letter why the medical procedure is necessary and provide a copy to your ex. If they continue to object, file a motion with the court to seek a court order to allow the procedure or alternatively, to terminate joint custody on medical decisions, so you are empowered with sole custody to make decisions involving your children.... Read More

After you file for divorce or legal separation, file a motion with the court to request restricted or supervised visitation. I just wrote a blog at our web site on this issue the other day. If he is insistent on requesting or having visitation until you get  to the court hearing, which may take 30 days or more, depending on what county you live in, consider your attorney requesting An ex parte court order to limit him to supervised or no visitation, pending the court hearing.... Read More