Wisconsin Divorce Legal Questions

The first step would be to get all of your relevant financial information together; this includes two years of tax returns, check stubs from work, copies of your retirement plans, prepare a monthly budget and a preliminary financial disclosure statement; if you plan to file on your own, you will need to get the initial forms to complete including the summons and petition for divorce. If you are asking for an initial court commissioner hearing, you will also need an Order to Show Cause and Affidavit for first hearing; when completed, you will file the papers at the court house to initiate the process. It is always a good idea to consult with a family lawyer in advance of your filing; many lawyers offer a first free consultation. Whether or not you need a lawyer, depends on the specific facts of your case.... Read More

       The answer to your question about whether your ex spouse can get maintenance (alimony) from you depends on the current financial facts of your case, as compared to what they were at the time of your divorce, along with whether maintenance was held open to them as part of the final divorce. If maintenance was waived, than the right to maintenance is waived forever; if maintenance was held open, they would have to show that there has been a significant and substantial change in the financial circumstances of the parties, to warrant the court to now set a maintenance order; if you are on a fixed limited income, you also need an ability to pay and she needs to demonstrate a need for financial support for the court to order you now to support her. I don't know how you do that on a fixed  and limited income; you can barely support yourself.... Read More

Property division is final as of the date of the divorce; under Wisconsin law, pensions have been traditionally treated as property, not income, with some limited exceptions. This is true whether the pension at the time of the divorce is an expected future benefit, or it is a plan in pay status. If maintenance (spousal support) was held open at the time of the divorce, it may be possible to go back and ask for maintenance against your ex wife. Another factor in not being able to pursue support over 20 years later is arguably that there is a 20 year limitation in Wisconsin in enforcing civil judgments; while there is not a specific case on the issue, recent case law suggests the same statute of limitations on civil judgments, may also apply to enforcing divorce judgments after 20 years. ... Read More

Under Wisconsin law, all property, whether owned before the marriage or during the marriage, is presumptively equally divided at the time of the divorce. The only property that is exempt is property received as a gift or an inheritance from a third party. However, the court does have the right under the property division statute, sec. 767.61, to deviate from equal property division by considering all of the factors listed under the statute. In your case, the two most prominent factors are the length of the marriage and the property brought into the marriage by either party. Since your marrige is of such short duration, more likely than not, the court is going to restore to you the full value of any property you owned prior to the marriage, and your spouse will not receive 50% of the value of that asset, if you can show it was pre-marital and what the value was before you married.... Read More

if you filed initially for a legal separation, unless your spouse counter claimed for a divorce, or you both agreed prior to final judgment to convert the case to a divorce, it would make no sense that a final divorce was entered. Check your court history at the Wisconsin circuit court access site (known as c cap) for the status of your case, as well as your decree which is labeled, findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment.... Read More

       If you have minor children, depending on their placement, your husband will be court ordered to pay child support; for the two children of the marriage, if you have primary placement (more than 75% of the time counted as overnights), your husband will be court ordered to pay you 25% of his gross monthly income, by income assignment. If you wind up with a shared or equal placement arrangement, there is a different formula that calculates support that compares the percentage  of time you both spend with the children, and how much money you both make, calculated from your respective gross monthly incomes.        You may also be entitled to maintenance (spousal support), depending on the length of your marriage. You did not list how long you married, but if you are a stay at home mom and your husband has been the primary provider, and you are married ten years or more, in addition to child support, you may be eligible to receive maintenance payments from your spouse.        Your home is treated as property. The court can consider awarding the family home to the parent who winds up with the majority of placement. The equity is determined by the current fair market value minus the current mortgage payoff. If you want the house, or the court awards you  the house, you will be responsible for making the monthly mortgage payments, all upkeep, maintenancae, property taxes, and insurance. In addition, you will be obligated to pay your husband for his one half equity share and refinance the mortgage over time, to get his name cleared. You and your husband could agree on a delayed sale, where you stay in the home and raise the children for a period of time and down the road, agree to sell the house;  under that circcumstance, you would remain joint owners (usually what is referred to as "tenants in common") and the cost of maintaing the house, including the mortgage, could be divided between both of you.         You are well advised to consult with an experienced family lawyer before proceeding with a divorce to make sure you have a full understanding of all your rigths.... Read More

In Wisconsin, there is no such thing under the family law (civil code) as "abandonment." Wisconsin is  a "no fault" state and the court cannot consider the reasons why someone wants a divorce or what went on during the marriage as a basis for the divorce. However, if you plan to move out and away from your child, be prepared that depending on how long you two are separated, it could affect your placement in the future with your child. If you plan to move out and immediately file for divorce, you should be o.k., but if you or your wife wait for years to file and she is going to primarily be taking care of the child, it is possible once the case does get filed, that she winds up with primary placement; so that is the cautionary note I want to leave with you.... Read More

The answer may depend upon whether the law of your state characterizes personal injury claims as marital property, and also exactly how the ultimate proceeds of the EEOC action are characterized (e.g. lost wages, punitive damages, general damages, etc.) If the proceeds of the EEOC claim are for lost wages arising before you two were separated, then it is almost certainly marital (i.e. community) property, and is available for division by the Court. Your lawyer in the EEOC process (or the legal separation) can likely advise you more particularly about this.... Read More

You want to be careful that if his computer or cell phone is password protected, that you aren't violating any laws by trying to break in to see what he is up to. There are software programs that are advertised on the internet that you can buy to check his e mail, but again, I would caution you that the laws may vary from state to state, and if pasword protected, you may be violating certain privacy laws by installing those programs on is computer.        The larger question is your not trusting your husband and his not being forthright with you on who he is communicating with and what they are saying to each other. Your marriage, unfortunately sounds like it may be in trouble. I would encourage both of you in an attempt to save your relationship to meet with a family therapist or counselor as soon as possible. You should be able to implictly trust your husband. The fact that he is hiding text messages or e mails from you or communicating inappropriate messages with members of the opposite sex, should be of great concern to you. He needs to immediately cease and desist, or unfortunately, you both may be headed for divorce court. Please encourage him to get marriage counseling with you as soon as possible.... Read More

The answer is yes, subject to the title company most likely being insistent that your spouse sign a Wisconsin chapter 766 waiver of marital interest. Further, since you are not divorced, your spouse could claim a 50% interest in the house you are purchasing, so you are also well advised to consider a stipulation and order to be filed in divorce court and signed by the judge that she waives any equity interest in the new house you are purchasing.... Read More

The general answer to your question is no. You cannot get your divorce case reopened because you believe your lawyer did not do an adqeuate job for you. Your remedy would be suing your lawyer for malpractice, if in fact, they did not properly represent you. It is impossible to tell from your post without more facts, as to whether there was proper representation or not in your divorce case. A person has the right to petition to reopen a judgment under sec. 806.07 of the Wisconsin statutes. If based on mistake, inadvertence, neglect or fraud, such a motion must be brought within one year of the order or judgment, or the motion would otherwise be barred.  Regarding child support at $450 per month, if your ex husband makes $75,000 gross per year, child support would be 31% of his gross for the four children. That translates into $1,937.50 per month in child support. However, there is a different formula for calculating child support if there is a shared or equal placement arrangement.  That formula considers the perecentage of time you both spend with the children (counted as overnights) and how much you both make per month working. Income can be imputed to you if you are a stay at home mom, for purposes of running the support calculation. Since your post doesn't state what the placement arrangements are for your children, I can't tell from the facts whether the child support amount is correct or not. In regards to spousal support, ordinarily on a long term marriage (generally defined as 20 years or more), the starting point for spousal support is 50% of all of the avaiable net income. First child support would have to be calculated into that formula, and then the maintenance portion determined. You indicate that you are married 24 years, but have been separated by choice or design for the last 11 years. The court can consider that as a factor in determining whether you should  have been awarded spousal support or not.  The court would consider how you both were able to support yourself during the last 11 years. Did  he pay you support of any kind or did you both live on your own and take care of your own financial needs? That would be a factor as well. Your post also doesn't indicate whether you reached an agreement that was approved in court or whether the case went to trial and the court made orders on custody, placement, child support and maintenance. It may be  helpful to you to sit down with an experienced divorce lawyer and let  them review your case and file materials to determine if in their opinion either your attorney did something wrong in your representation or if there is anyting legally now that you can do about it. If the case went to trial, you also have the right to appeal the decision. You have 90 days to appeal, or 45 days if proper notice of the shortened appeal time is given to you formally.... Read More

Immigration law has become a bit of a specialty these days, and to get accurate information and advice you really must consult an Immigration lawyer. You can get a referral from a friend or neighbour, or the yellow pages. You can try the web (Avvo.com is a good resource), or you State Bar probably has a lawyer referral service. But it's better to hear the answer to your question from someone who knows what he or she is talking about.... Read More

The answer to your question is yes, providing however, your spouse cooperates by signing a 766 marital property waiver, which the title company will probably be insistent on; further, since the divorce is not completed, your spouse has a technical right to 50 per cent of the equity in the home since property division is not final until the date of the final hearing. You will need a separate stipulation and order signed by both of you and submitted to the court for approval waiving any property rights in the new home; without those two legal documents, I would not advise a client to close on a new home in the middle of the divorce.... Read More

The answer to your question depends on who you ask; some family lawyers take the position that once the other spouse moves out, you can change the locks on the house and prevent them from coming back; that's an interesting theory and  I would love to see their statutory or case  law legal theory to support that advice; my advice is different; you cannot change the locks on your house and prevent the other person from coming back, without a court order; routinely, within the first 30 days of the divorce, you can request a temporary court hearing, and the court can enter an order about changing the locks  on the house and giving exclusive possession to the non- vacating spouse. Courts do not like when parties engage in self/help remedies. The court can also order that the wife return any items removed from the home.... Read More

Did you have a lawyer in the divorce? If so he or she did not do a proper job. When property of significant value is involved, one's assumptions carry no weight: anything important should be included in the MSA and/or the judgment. As to getting relief on the immediate issue, the question is whether you were specifically allocated the debt on your wife's car. If after very careful review of the divorce documents you find that you were NOT allocated that debt, you could consider notifying the EX that you will not continue to pay that bill. But first you should definitely consult a lawyer well versed in the divorce law of your jurisdiction. Good Luck.... Read More

Both parties under Wisconsin law  are obligated to file complete financial disclosure statements within 90 days of the filing date of the divorce or as otherwise directed by order of the court, regardless of the length of the marriage or the facts of the case. If you have filed your summons and petition for divorce, complete your financial as soon as you can, and file with the court with  a copy to your spouse or their lawyer.... Read More

In Wisconsin, there is a martial presumptiion that any property acquired before or during the marriage is subject to equal property division. The only property that would be exempt is gifted or inherited property received from a third party. The answer to your question on whether or not you get credit for the net sale proceeds that you used to pay down the mortgage on her property and do repairs/ maintenance/remodeling, will be based on the length of time you are married and the property brought into the marriage by either party. The court has the discretion to deviate from equal property division based on the factors lised at sec. 767.61. Two of the principal factors in a case like yours is the length of the marriage and the property brought into the marriage by either party. The shorter length of time you are married, the greater chance the court gives you credit back from your initial investment. The longer you are married, the less likely the judge is going to give you any credit.... Read More

I am not sure what you mean by a "self-done" divorce; did you sign a marital settlement agreement to be responsible for the car? Did the case go to trial and the judge ordered you to be responsible for the car? Did you default and fail to show up? I suggest you consider filing a motion with the court to be relieved of the obligation under section 806.07 under WI statutes, assuming that the judgment was entered less than 1 year ago.... Read More

After a long term marriage, you are well advised to consider hiring a lawyer to help you with the divorce; your trading the house equity over 50% of receiving your husband's pension may not necessarily be in your overall financial best interest; how will you support yourself at retirement? Will you be able to afford the mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, upkeep and maintenance completely on your own; your post doesn't address spousal support; depending on your respective incomes, after a long term marriage, you are entitled to 50 percent of all the available net income as indefinite maintenance; many divorce attorneys provide free consultations; please consider talking to an experienced divorce attorney to help you.... Read More

Wisconsin statutes do permit and emergency exception to the 120 days waiting period. However, it is very rare for a court to grant the emergency exception. Since you are already seven months pregnant, the matter of paternity can be resolved in two months or so, and then the divorce should proceed you'd normally. In a situation like this you would very much benefit from retaining an experienced family lawyer. Good luck.... Read More