Wisconsin Divorce Legal Questions

Understand that whether the wife is fraudulently writing checks or not, it is not $6,000 at stake, only half. Half the money is hers to being with, under marital property law. I am not condoing her behavior or saying it is alright for her to be doing what she is doing, but, unless the money is gfted or inherited, she would have to account for his one half share of the $6,000 as part of the divorce case, not 100%. I  assume the reason the DA isn't pressing charges is due to the fact that they are married, and technically, the money being used or taken is "marital money, " as pointed out above. I also don't understand why your son's attorney isn't handling this, if the case is not finalized they have an obligation to continue with the case. it is unthical for a lawyer to "demand more money" to do work on the case or threaten to stop doing work if a bill isn't paid, if past due. Rather, the attorney has a right to file a motion to wtihdraw from thye case, if it can be done without harming the client's case in any way.... Read More

Based on a fifteen year marriage and the fact that you have a host of medical issues where you have not worked in 11 years, you have a need for spousal support from your wife. You are married long enough that the court can consider ordering your wife to support you. Since you have adopted children, their support comes first. Once that is calculated, the court can take the respective net incomes and equalize things between you both, so each of you have sufficient funds to live on; since you provide no information about your wife's income, the question is does she have the financial ability to support you. Your estate is subject to equal property division under WI law.... Read More

You would benefit from consulting a skilled family lawyer in your locality. That said, the property belongs to your mother, and the rental payments from the property will generally be considered income to her. Consequently her allowing you to keep the rental payments is a gift to you. In a divorce case large enough to make extensive discovery useful, opposing counsel might very well seek to depose you about those payments.... Read More

When a couple get a divorce from one another and one of them owns a 401k plan, it is clearly a marital asset and subject to equal property division under Wisconsin law. The 401k plan is typically divided by a document entitled a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), and that divides the plan, without tax consequences to either party. If one party plans to keep the 401k as part of their property division and use other marital assets as an offset, there is a usual 20% tax withholding to discount the plan to offset what the future taxes will be paid on the plan. If the plan is divided by QDRO, the alternate payee is allowed to elect a cash out and not pay the usual 10% early termination penalty for cashing in a retirement plan prior to age 59 1/2, as an exception under the IRS tax code. this only applies in the case of a divorce, 401k plan, QDRO and only to the alternate payee, not to the employee who has the  plan. if they cash in their portion, they would pay the 10% penalty. If the election is made to cash in the 401k after the QDRO divides the plan, while the alternate payee does not pay the 10% penalty, they would be taxed on the portion they receive as unearned income and added to their other sources of income for that particular tax year.... Read More

      The  starting point for spousal support in a long term marriage is 50% of the available net income. Twenty three years is certainly a long term marriage. Using a support tax program, I calculated  support at 50% using your two incomes listed for support at $1,541 per month. The court has to consider all of the factors under the maintenance statute and has discretion in setting the amount of support and the duration, but the law is clear that after a long term marriage, the starting point is 50% as indefinite maintnenace, that would only terminate upon death of either party or your remarriage.... Read More

       I don't believe in my opinion that you fall within the annulment statute. The statute in Wisconsin speaks to a physical incapacity to have sexual intercourse being one of the grounds for annulment in WI. The refusal to have sexual intercourse is not the same as the physical inability or incapacity to do so, so my opinion is you need to consider the option of fiiing for divorce or legal separation instead, if the marriage is over.... Read More

      In Wisconsin, the legal papaers used for an initial temporary court hearing are entitled "order to show cause."  The court signs the papers and they are to be personally served on the other party, within a set period of time, usually 7 days before the time set for the heairng. An order to show differes from a standard motion in that  (1) the order is signed by the court and (2) they must be personally served. With a standard motion either the party or their attorney can sign the legal papers and they can be mailed, and not necessarily personally served.        At the initial first hearing, the court will set temporary orders while you go through the divorce. This will consist of temporary court orders on custody, placement, visitation, child support, who gets to stay in the family home, debts, health insurance, spousal support, who gets to use which cars and bank accounts you both may have and any other issues unique to your case.... Read More

Your concern and question is not an uncommon one. The quick and easy answer to your question is fire your current lawyer and hire a new one to take over the case. Lawyers are under an ethical duty to keep their client reasonably informed about the status of the case and to communicate on a reasonable basis in responding to client inquiries. While there is no set rule or formula for what that means, being ignored for days or weeks on end, or not having your phone calls or e mails responded to at all, tells me that your lawyer doesn't really care about you very much and isn't very concerned about your case. While I can't speak for other attorneys, we have a "same day return" policy in our office. While it has some challenges at time, our office policy requires us to return every phone call, every e mail, every day, from any propsective cllient calling us, clients contacting us, and/or attorneys contacting us. You are not bound to stay with an attorney who doesn't seem to care about you or or your case. I can't really respond to the comment about their not doing their job, because you would need to be more specific on what they aren't dong, that they should be doing. Enough is enough. Hire a divorce lawyer that cares about you and will promptly respond to your calls, e mails and inquiries on a reasonable prompt basis. ... Read More

if you move out of your home, it may be very difficult for you to come back if you change your mind. If you have children, you should consider having a written custody agreement that could be submitted to the court for approval regarding their placement, prior to moving out. If you live in an apartment and signed or co-signed a written lease, you are not relieved of the financial obligations simply by moving out; same for if you own your home and have a mortgage: you can be held responsible financially if any of the mortgage payments are missed. While you are certainly not a prisoner in your own home, you need to weigh your financial obligations, the fact that once you move out that it may be difficult for you to get back in, and how your moving out may affect the placement of your children, if you and your spouse have children together, before making any decisions to vacate.... Read More

There are some things which might be done, but they all carry costs. You can continue the American divorce, and if he continues not to appear, you might be able to receive a good deal more than half the marital estate. You could notify law enforcement that he has committed bigamy although the offense is probably under Mexican rather than American law. If Mexico has laws similar to ours relating to recognition of foreign judgments, you might try to begin an action to have an American court determine that his second marriage is illegal in the US, and you might want to hire a Mexican lawyer to do the same thing in Mexico. A skilled lawyer with experience in transnational divorce could be a great help. Good Luck... Read More

You are not allowed to discharge in bankruptcy court debts assigned in a divorce decree, under the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005, at least, not in a chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. If the discharge has not been issued, you are well advised to hire your own bankruptcy attorney to file an objection to her attempt to discharge these debts as part of her bankruptcy proceeding. If there was a hold open on maintenance in your divorce decree or other language under the debt section that you could go back into court to enforce the decree if either party goes bankrupt, consider hiring as well, a family lawyer, to take the case back into family court. If the bankruptcy is pending, you may need to seek relief under the automatic stay, to file your motion in family court.... Read More

If you have not said whether or not a divorce action has been filed. If it has not, then he is free to take these things ? but he will have to account for them and either Pay you half their value or otherwise give you your fair share of what he took. It does not sound like he has much confidence in the counseling.... Read More

       While your husband may be able to "technically" transfer title of the property, it doesn't change the fact that you have a marital interest in it and he has to compensate you upon the divorce being granted, for whatever your share may be determined by the court. The starting point and presumption is that it be 50/50. I also don't know that there wil be a way for him to transfer title of the property without consideration, and avoid federal gift tax implications or have a title report issued on the property and once the title company learned that he was married, they would require a marital waiver or consent form to be signed by you to allow the transfer. My guess is your husband is just trying to intiimidate you. You should consider sitting down with an experienced family lawyer to discuss your case as soon as possible.... Read More

In Wisconsin, jurisdiction for divorce is established by a person having residency in the state. You have to be a resident for six consecutive months prior to filing and for thirty consecutive days in the county you are residing in before filing; jurisdiction isn't ordinarily established by one where has lived in the past. You would need to check what the laws are in the Brazil or talk to a local lawyer there to see if you qualify based on past residency to now file for divorce. I would only be guessing at the answer.... Read More

     In Wisconsin, from a legal perspective, the answer to your question is no. There is no such thing legally as  "abandonment" under the divorce code and you do not give or forfeit property rights to the home by moving house. However, there are some practical considerations; (1) if you move out of the home, don't expect that the court is going to allow you to move back. Your spouse will be able to obtain a court order to change the locks and you can only back to your home, with reasonable advance notice and their permission. (2) if you have minor children, you should not move out of the family home until such time as you have an agreed upon (in writing and court apporved), custody and placement agreement, otherwise, you may find yourself not only basically locked out of your house, but your sposue in control about how and when you will be able to have placement with the children until you get to court.   You should only move out of the house if you are are prepared to stay out permanently and have a custody agreement in place.... Read More

The answer to your question is "it depends." Disability pay is considered "income" for purposes of child support and maintenance. If you have children, this disability pay can be used to pay support for your children. If you are married a sufficient period of time, where spousal support may be an issue, it can also be used for that purpose. If you are claining it more as a "property right, " where you are thinking you are entitled to 50%, usually disability pay for an injury under Wisconsin law, is awaraded to the person who has the disaiblity, and the non injured spouse is only entitled to that portion of the injury settlement that deals with payment of uninsured medical bils or loss of income during the period of recovery.... Read More

You may have a problem, assuming that he was not legally entitled to claim you as a dependent. Then the proceeds of the refunds (I assume you mean refunds rather than returns) are fruits of a crime, and the courts will generally refuse to get involved in dividing the 'take' among the wrongdoers. In general, possessions acquired during the marriage, and debts incurred during the marriage (assuming you live in Wisconsin or another community property state) are the joint property and obligation of both spouses. There are exceptions. It is possible that a resourceful lawyer could find a way to convince a court to rule that this would apply to property and debt acquired while living together but before the marriage. I have no certainty that this could be done. But I advise you to retain an experienced family law attorney. It's almost always worth the investment.... Read More

You don't say where you now reside. In most parts of the world, you can seek a divorce if one of the spouses has lived in the country, or a district within it, for a given period of time. You should bend every effort to find out where your husband is, since you will need to 'serve' himi.e. have the papers officially delivered to him. Find a skilled family lawyer in your locality: it's almost always worth the effort. American Embassies and consulates often have lists of English-speaking local lawyers.... Read More

The answer to your question is generally no; while there is a statutory provision where a party can request that their spouse pay all or contribute to your attorney's fees, it is used in limited circumstances. Simply their filing because you may not want the divorce, is not sufficient cause for the court to award attorneys' fees.... Read More

You  can check the progress of your divorce case in Wisconsin by going to the circuit court access site (known as c cap). If you are divorced and were my provided copies of your final papers, you can contact the clerk in family court division in the county where you were divorced, to request s certified or regular copy of your divorce decree, including marital settlement agreement and findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment of divorce. It would be highly unusual for your ex to have gotten a divorce in this state without your being present at the final court hearing or being allowed to testify over the phone if you were already living out of state at the time.  ... Read More

       Instead of your friend filing a joint petition for divorce with his wife, where she apparently refuses to cooperate, he should instead file on his own as a summons and petition for divorce to initiate the process; he doesn't need her consent or cooperation. Once filed, he must make arrangements to have her personally served with the divorce papers.... Read More

The best way to prepare for divorce is to know as much about your financial situation as you possibly can; gather up your tax returns for 2 years, your respective check stubs, your bank account statements ; your latest quarterly retirement account statements and prepare a financial statement, including your monthly budget. I just wrote a blog at our firm's web site on how pets are treated under Wisconsin law, which is basically as property. ... Read More

Your question is sort of confusing; I am not sure there is a clear cut  answer to your question. There are "no priority claims" typically in divorce court, like there might be in bankruptcy court. As an investor, you are well advised to protect your investment by secured liens, written promissory notes and securing collateral, no different than any other lending institution might do, if you have concerns that your money may be jeopardized by the parties' divorce.... Read More