Wisconsin Divorce Laws- Dissolution of Marriage

Wisconsin Child Support

God's country. Rivers, meadows, lakes and small towns. The Dells. And Wisconsin divorce. Yes, the vows aren't what they were generations ago. Don't despair, though. We promise that it gets better. Really. Take a deep breath. If nothing else, we'll give you some answers and ease your anxiety.

Wisconsin child support laws are in place mandating the obligations of child and health care. Wisconsin has a Bureau of Child Support, which provides help and guidance for collection and enforcement. This Office is a division of the Department of Health and Social Services. When courts are asked to make determinations of support, they will typically determine the answers to the following questions:

	the financial resources of the child;
	the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage had not been dissolved;
	the physical and emotional conditions and educational needs of the child;
	the financial resources, earning capacity, needs, and obligations of the parents;
	the age and health of the child, including the need for health insurance;
	the desirability of the parent having custody remaining in the home as a full-time parent;
	the cost of daycare to the parent having custody if that parent works outside the home or the value of the childcare services performed by that parent;
	the tax consequences to each parent;
	the award of substantial periods of physical placement to both parents (joint custody);
	any extraordinary travel expenses incurred in exercising the right to periods of physical placement;
	the best interests of the child; and
	any other relevant factors.

If a marriage separation (sometimes referred to as a marital separation or legal separation) has been petitioned for, the court may make further orders for the support and maintenance of either spouse and for the support, maintenance, and education of minor children, by either spouse, or out of the property of either spouse, as the court deems appropriate.

The guidelines for WI child support specify that in cases where a marriage annulment is sought, and there are children of the marriage, that those children be afforded the same rights, protections and parental financial support, including that the children are not considered illegitimate offspring of the parents, that other children of the state receive. Wisconsin child support ends at age 18, or if still in school, at graduation from high school or age 19, whichever is sooner.

Wisconsin Child Custody

Who will get custody of the children? There is usually a verbal tug-of-war on this issue when a divorce process begins. Sometimes a custody battle breaks out. The family court will, however, permit the parents to negotiate a Parenting Plan and Child Custody Agreement. If the parents cannot reach agreement, the family court steps in with its own plan for shared parenting. Local courts are charged with making this decision with the 'best interests of the child' in mind. That having been said, the reality is that mothers get physical custody awarded to them in about 75% of the cases (this IS much lower than in years past, reflecting a positive shift in the perception of Dads as primary care-givers). Family Court judges can consider the following factors (and/or others not detailed here) in making a custody award, and may include WI child support orders. They include:

• The wishes of the child’s parent or parents. This can be reflected in an agreement by the parents, a proposed agreement by them, or any prior child custody arrangement
• The wishes of the child. The child can express a desire personally or have it communicated by a court-appointed representative (for example a guardian ad litem). A child's desire can be considered but is not binding on the court
• The relationship the child has with his or her parent(s), siblings or any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interest
• The amount and quality of time that each parent has spent with the child
• The child’s adjustment to the home, school, religion and community
• The age of the child and the child’s developmental and educational needs at different ages
• Whether the mental or physical health of a party, minor child, or other person living in a proposed custodial household negatively affects the child’s intellectual, physical, or emotional well-being
• The need for regularly occurring and meaningful periods of physical placement to provide predictability and stability for the child
• The availability of public or private child care services
• The cooperation and communication between the parties and whether either party unreasonably refuses to cooperate or communicate with the other party
• Whether each party can support the other party’s relationship with the child, including encouraging and facilitating frequent and continuing contact with the child, or whether one party is likely to unreasonably interfere with the child’s continuing relationship with the other party
• Whether there is evidence that a party engaged in abuse
• Whether there is evidence of interspousal battery
• Whether either party has or had a significant problem with alcohol or drug abuse
• The reports of appropriate professionals if admitted into evidence
• Any other factors as the court may deem relevant    

Visitation
Co Parenting

The parties to a dissolution (divorce) or separation have the opportunity to agree to a Visitation Schedule which includes the details of the non-custodial parent's time with the children. If the parties cannot agree, the court will impose a visitation schedule that will likely include: alternate weekend visitation (3-day weekends included), mid-week visitation, sharing of the children during periods of school recess -winter, spring and summer, New Year's Eve, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with one parent or the other in alternate years, Father's Day with Father, Mother's Day with Mother, alternate years on the children's birthdays, and open communication by phone and computer.

You may wish to get very detailed in the Visitation Schedule about what is acceptable and what is not (you can pay your attorney to guide you through the creation of the Visitation Schedule, or you can do it yourself. Consider the following: How will custody be defined? Joint custody? Sole custody? Shared parenting? What are the rights and responsibilities? Who has legal custody? Which holiday does the child spend with you? What time and where may the other parent pick the child up?

What time should the child be returned home? What is the procedure to follow if either of you are running late and won't be there on time? How much notice should you be given if they are planning a vacation? How far away may the other spouse move? What about future partners? Should those partners stay overnight in front of the children?

Be aware that you have to guide your side of the divorce. Don't rely that your attorney will think of everything. You set the course; your lawyer navigates. If you had a Child Custody Calendar and kept it online, how important would that be to you? Such a plan will reduce or eliminate the noise your ex makes. [Editor's note: If only I had had an on-line calendar that we both could access, and be held to- how much less disagreement there would have been].

Spousal Support
Wisconsin Alimony
Maintenance

Alimony (also called maintenance or spousal support) is a hotly contested issue during a divorce. Both sides often want diametrically-opposed rulings. A court will determine by examination the needs of each spouse and can award temporary or permanent alimony of it deems it fair and reasonable. Note: if one parent stayed home to raise children while the other worked outside the home, the court will often treat the stay-at-home efforts to be equal or near-equal with respect to each parent's contribution to the marriage. Some of the factors a court might examine are:

• The financial resources of the party seeking support;
• The financial resources of the party paying support;
• The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the person seeking support to find appropriate employment;
• The standard of living established during the marriage;
• The duration of the marriage;
• The contribution of each spouse to the marriage;
• The age, physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking support, and;
• The ability of the payer spouse to meet his needs while meeting the needs of the spouse seeking support.

You may realize that we all need some help processing all this angst. The help can come in the form of friends, relatives or professionals. If you're not inclined to approach family or friends, and unwilling to pay for professional counseling, the next best step would be educating yourself, through reading. This site has a Bookstore sponsored by Amazon.com where you can find some fabulous books on just about every consideration surrounding divorce. Spend some time and a few bucks to help yourself get through this nightmare in one piece.    

Grounds For Divorce

In the State of Wisconsin, there is a single ground for divorce- irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The parties need to communicate to the court that there is little or no chance of reconciliation.     

Marriage Annulment
Marital Annulment

A marriage annulment (aka a marital annulment) is a determination by the court voiding the marriage as if it never existed. A marriage can be voidable if either you or your spouse were:

Already married to someone else at the time of the marriage,
Too young to be married,
Close blood relatives (whether or not you knew it),
Under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
Lying about addictions or STD's,
Inability to consummate the marriage.

If the court finds good cause, it can declare a nullity, which is a legal declaration that no marriage had ever come into being.   

Mediation
Marriage Counseling

Marriage Separation
Legal Separation

Filing for a legal separation is much like filing papers for a dissolution of marriage (a divorce). A separation petition must be submitted citing the reason(s) for the divorce. The other spouse must be served papers and notice. Once the petition is accepted by the family court and the respondent has responded with an answer (or failed to answer), orders will be made for property division, spousal support (maintenance or alimony), child support, child custody and placement (visitation). The order of separation is intended to be a ruling that will cover the time until any final divorce decree takes effect. The couple will maintain separate lives in every way except marital status. Legal separation is sometimes pursued when one of the parties wants to stay married for religious reasons, wants the advantage of deductibility of spousal support payments for income tax reasons, wants to maintain various insurance coverage's, or do not want to wait the state statutory waiting period for termination of marital status.    

Waiting Period

Wisconsin divorce laws provide that 120 days must have elapsed from either the time the defendant is served with the summons, or from the date of filing of a joint petition before any divorce is granted. Wisconsin continues to have on their statutory books the archaic law that no re-marriage may take place prior to 180 days after the divorce is final. Perhaps the state is trying to keep residents from hurting themselves again.  

Grandparents Rights

Federal law allows grandparents to petition the court for visitation. The court determines if visitation is in the best interest of the children. It is generally suggested that grandparents petition the court (or have the parents of the children agree to a visitation schedule that includes them) during the divorce process, as that inclusion often eliminates legal expenses by avoiding a separate legal proceeding. In determining visitation by grandchildren to grandparents, the court considers the following factors:

• The child is a non-marital child whose parents have not subsequently married each other
• Except as provided in sub. (4), the paternity of the child has been determined under the laws of this state or another jurisdiction if the grandparent filing the petition is a parent of the child’s father   
  
  

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Divorce Settlement
Distribution of Assets

Wisconsin is considered a “Community Property” state. If you and your spouse are unable to reach a divorce settlement of your marital assets and debts, the courts will do so, and will consider all property acquired during the marriage to be jointly owned regardless of how an asset is titled. The court will impose a settlement of its own in the absence of a jointly-agreed upon settlement. Wisconsin courts can take into consideration the following:

The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property;
The value of each spouses separate property;
The duration of the marriage;
The age and health of the parties;
The amount and sources of income of each party;
The standard of living established during the marriage
Any other relevant factor
The amount and sources of income of each party;
The standard of living established during the marriage
Any other relevant factor    

Residency Requirements

In order for a divorce action to proceed, one of the marital partners must have lived in Wisconsin for a minimum of six months. For an individual to file in a particular county, state laws stipulate a person must demonstrate residency in that county for a minimum of thirty days.