Wisconsin Legal Custody Wisconsin child custody falls into two categories: legal custody and physical placement. Legal custody encompasses the legal right to make important decisions regarding your child, which may include where they will attend school, what religion they practice, what medical care they will receive, or even whether they will be permitted to get […]
Conclusive Determination of Paternity
Establishing paternity of a child in Wisconsin may be established by both parents signing off on a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement and an Acknowledgement of Marital Child. However, if the parents are in a paternity disagreement, one parent may initiate a method known as Conclusive Determination of Paternity, a process handled through the child support agency […]
Preventing Child Abuse in a Child Custody Arrangement
When parents’ divorce or separate sometimes one parent does not trust the other parent to protect their child or may worry that the other parent may even abuse their child. While courts generally seek to keep child-parent relationships intact, in cases of child neglect or abuse, it may be necessary to limit or prohibit custody […]
Establishing Legal Fatherhood
These days, many more children are born to parents who are not married, sometimes leaving the paternity of the child in question. In Wisconsin, establishing paternity (legal fatherhood) of a child is determined in three ways: Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement, a court hearing, or Acknowledgement of a Marital Child. Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement For parents who are […]
Divorce and the Holidays
Navigating the holiday season following a recent divorce or during ongoing divorce proceedings can be challenging for families. While some of the activities you and your children look forward to will remain the same, some routines will inevitably change after a divorce. It is helpful to discuss what might be different as well as what […]
Sharing Custody of Children Across All Ages and Stages
When there are children involved in a divorce, it is unrealistic to expect that visitation arrangements will be set in stone throughout a child’s life. As the child grows from an infant to a teenager, parents will often make changes to child custody and visitation arrangements to meet their child’s needs. Parents who keep an […]
Keeping Your Wisconsin Divorce Settlement Agreement on Track
The heart of a Wisconsin divorce settlement agreement will address issues of child custody and visitation, marital property division, spousal maintenance (alimony) and child support. Many hope to reach a settlement to avoid going to court, but it often takes a skilled negotiator to make it happen if the parties do not agree on the […]
Appealing Wisconsin Family Court Commissioner Order
Typically, in Wisconsin, family law matters will be heard in front of a family court commissioner out of a need for efficiency and expediency. Sometimes parties believe that the commissioner “got it wrong” and wonder if there is any recourse. The answer is yes. If you disagree with a commissioner’s decision in a contested family […]
Establishing Paternity of a Child in Wisconsin
Paternity refers to a legal relationship between a father and child, which allows a father to pursue custody and visitation arrangements while imposing a legal obligation for the father to support his child financially. Although paternity is automatically established when a child is conceived to a married couple, many couples are not tying the knot […]
Child Custody In Cases of Domestic Violence
If domestic violence was an issue during a marriage, sometimes it will impact how a victim and his or her ex-spouse will be able to co-parent after a separation or divorce particularly in the first year after the split. A recent study by the University of Illinois takes a closer look at co-parenting relationships in […]