Wisconsin Child Custody Legal Questions

I can't speak to Illinois law, but under Wisconsin law, paternity is established one of two ways; 1. both of you signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or 2. either of you filing a formal paterntiy action in court. On the second way, either of you have a right to request DNA testing to prove whether he is the biological father or not. Until paternity is legally established, under Wisconsin law, he has no legal rights to the child whatsoever and you cannot collect child support from him.... Read More

The first thing I can recommend is something you can't do anymore. Get it in writing. Handshake deals and informal agreements are non-enforceable in court. Your agreement should have been reduced to writing and submitted to the court as a binding court order, subject to contempt if someone doesn't fulfill the terms of the agreement. I am not trying to scold you or ridicule you for not doing it that way. I am simply pointing out that next time, get it in writing, formally. Now what you need to do is file a motion to set terms on placement, visitation and cost, now that she has moved away.  You will need to check with the county clerk to determine if that motion is heard by the court commissioner or the trial judge. ... Read More

It would help to know why child protective services intervened and removed the children from your friend's care. One would assume it was for a fairly serious reason. Once you know why the children were removed, help your friend try to resolve whatever personal issues she may have, to help her get the children back. At the same time, she is well advised to consider hiring a family lawyer to help her with the case in an attempt to fight to ry to get the children back with her. Good luck!... Read More

If you were never married, he has no legal rights to the children until paternity is established and the court sets orders on custody. Under Wisconsin law you have sole custody. If paternity is established and he has previously been to court where custody orders were put in place, he would have the right to request a custody change. If the orders were entered within the last 2 yerrs, you can't petition to modify custody or placement uiless there is a showing that the children are in imminent physical or emotional danger. Lay people throw around the term "emergency" alot in family law matters, but unless it is a life and death situation, notnhing in family court is "an emergency." It is difficult for me to answer your question without having more facts or details on what is going on with you both. Just because he "threatens" something, doesn't mean he is actually going to do something. If and when you get served with legal papers to show up in court, that would be the time to call an attorney and discuss your case. ... Read More

It seems a bit surprising that you would take the risk of having a 'dirty' drug test when efforts are being made to reduce your placement with your child. That said, it is hard to predict what the judge will do. She or he could reduce your placement, or require you to take period urinalyses as a condition of retaining your percentage of placement-or order you to some kind of drug therapy. You really should retain a lawyer experienced in both family law and criminal drug defense. He or she could get all the relevant facts and advise (and represent) you best.... Read More

If you have met all the requirements of your divorce judgment in terms of giving the father advance notice (including the location and phone number where the child will be), then you should not need his specific permission. However, he could come and try to take her on vacation with him. You might do best to have your lawyer file an expedited motion to clarify that you have the right to take the child on vacation during the time period you told him about months ago, and you can ask the court to order him not to try to take her from you at your scheduled departure time. Best of all, of course, is reaching some agreement with him if it is at all possible. Good Luck.... Read More

The answer to your question is no;  your financial situation is generally not a factor that the court will consider, among many factors that must be considered in the placement of your child. The most relevant factor under your post, if I understand it correctly, is that the other parent moved out of the area. That helps your cause. You should consider talking to an experienced family lawyer of your choice to find out what your chances might be, how long the case might take and what the expense might be to you.... Read More

Mediation is court ordered in Wisconsin anytime there is a custody or placement dispute. Lawyers are not permitted to attend with the parties, and I think it would be unusual for the court appointed mediator to allow any other third parties there or to allow phone calls during the session. Even if the parties reached an agreement at mediation, it is not binding on the parties until the agreement is reduced to a formal stipulation and order and approved by the court. That would allow your son in law after mediation, to discuss the proposal with anyone he wants to, including family, friends, and/or a lawyer. The other beauty about medaition is that if the parties do not reach an agreement, nothing that is discussed at mediation can later be used in a courtroom against him.... Read More

As a step parent, you would not be entitled to placement of this child. In order for the court to entertain third party placement, the court would have to make a finding that both the mother and father are incapable of taking care of the child. You  raise concerns about the mother, but I don't hear anything about the father. It would be the father's place to try to get placement of his child if he believes the child is endangered. You can also contact child protective services if you believe the child is endangered.... Read More

If you feel the children are endangered you can certainly contact child protective services. Did the father contest the mother's request to remove the children from the state? It seems unlikely that with what you have  said with what is going on with the mother, that the court would allow her to keep the kids in the first place, let alone allow them to move away. Was there a court appointed guardian ad litem to advocate for the best interests of the children and were your concerns shared with the GAL? He still would have the right to file a motion to ask for primary placement, but if all these same concerns could have been addressed when the court dealt with her request to move the kids, and he didn't raise these issues then, I am not sure why the court would consider them now. Have the father talk to an experienced family lawyer to discuss the case, his rights, how long a battle may take to get the kids, what the cost might be and what his chances are.... Read More

If there is a court order in place, you will need to follow that court order regarindg custody and placement, or file a motion with the court to modify the order. If no court order is in place, and you went to mediation, but now do not agree to what was discussed at mediation or in some other settlement discussions, the next step will be the appointment of a guardian ad litem by the trial judge to deal wiht the disputed issues of the placement of your children.... Read More

It's not clear who 'she' is, but I assume it is your present wife. In Wisconsin, there is a formula to use when a child support payor has prior, court-ordered payments to make. It's best to check with a family lawyer, but you could also check the Wisconsin Administrative Code, sec. DSS 150.... Read More

Well, they can't force you to travel anywhere so long as you don't want to see your kids. If you children are placed with their father in another state from where you now live, if you petition for a determination of placement, the court will seek to determine the children's best interests often with the help of a counselor or therapist. Of course, retain a skilled family law attorney to advise and represent you. It's almost always a good investment.... Read More

Yes, and it probably is a good time to do it while he is in jail. Step-parent adoptions require the potential step-father to be investigated. The Investigator attempts to obtain approval from the biological parent, but if he is in jail and has a record of all the items you listed, the investigator would probably recommend that he be determined to be an unfit parent and you would request the Court to grant you sole custody. Then you would be the only one who would give approval, assuming your present husband is approved by the investigation.... Read More

While unusual that you would need to stay together after the divorce, it is your life and I don't believe most courts would order you two separated. However, there are no guarantees depending on what county you live in and who the trial judge is that they may inisist on you two being separated from one another. I also don't know how the court would monitor what you two do after the fact. Even if you separated, nothing prevents you arguably from moving back in together after the divorce.... Read More

How many children do you have and what are their respective ages? Your children could be getting sick for a number of different reasons, which may have something to do with what is going on at dad's house when they visit, or have nothing at all to do with it. I also don't know how you would be able to prove there is a link between visiting dad and the children getting sick all the time. In my opinion, this would not serve as a basis for modifyng placement or restricting dad to only day time placement. If within 2 years from your initial orders in WI, there cannot be any modification of custody or placement for 2 years unless the children are  in imminent physical or emotional danger. After two years, there is a presumption that things should be left as agreed upon in the original orders and you would need to show a compelling and substantial reason for wanting to modify placement. Since every other weekend placement is a minimal schedule to begin with, I wouldn't expect the court to cut down even more, dad's placement with the children. The law since May 2000 has been shared-equal placement, which alllows the court to award significant periods of time between both parents. I would leave well enough alone as your attempt to modify dad's schedule downwards, probably would result in a counter claim by him asking for more time. There is no guarantee that if this is brought back to court, that his time gets increased, rather than decreased. Sometimes, it is just better to leave well enough alone. I would also talk to your children's pediatrician though on why your children are getting sick so often and whether it has anything to do with dad's care of the children. If he isn't providing medically prescribed medicatiions to your children, that would be a completely different issue as to why there might need to be a custody/placement change.... Read More

One possibility is actually to file a petition in Family Court (in Wisconsin this is part of the regular Circuit Court) for custody. You would have to overcome a preference for the surviving parent as the 'natural guardian' of the child. A second possibility is to move for guardianship of the child. This might be a mite easier, but I can't be certain. In either case, you would do well to locate a skilled family law attorney for advice and representation. It's almost always worth the investment. Good Luck... Read More

If there is a court order in place and the other parent is blocking or interfering with your schedule, you have two options in Wisconsin; 1. You can file a motion for contempt or 2. You can file a motion to enforce physical placement. I have written on both remedies at a blog under family law issues, at our law firm's web site.... Read More