Posted by DivorceLine in Divorce and Family Law Services in Wisconsin (WI)
Wisconsin (WI) – Top Divorce Cities:
• Appleton
• Eau Claire
• Green Bay
• Janesville
• Kenosha
• La Crosse
• Madison
• Milwaukee
• Oshkosh
• Racine
• Rhinelander
• Sheboygan
• Stevens Point
• Sturgeon Bay
• Waukesha
• Wausau
• West Allis
Wisconsin Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
In order to file for divorce in Wisconsin either you or your spouse must be a resident of the state for at least six months and a resident of the county where the divorce is filed for at least 30 days.
Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is the only grounds for divorce in Wisconsin. The irretrievable breakdown of the marriage may be shown by:
> A joint petition by both spouses that requests a divorce
> Living apart for 12 months prior to filing for divorce
> The court finding an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage with no possible chance at reconciliation
The legal divorce process begins when one spouse files a petition for divorce with the circuit court. The divorce can be finalized without a trial if the parties are in agreement about property and debt division, child custody and child support matters.
After the divorce complaint has been filed, either spouse can request temporary assistance from the court in the form of temporary custody and child support orders, and orders to determine who pays community debts on a temporary basis.
Dividing the Property
Wisconsin is a “community property” state, which means that any property acquired during your marriage is treated as being owned by both you and your spouse. The courts try to divide the community property equally. A spouse’s “separate property,” which is property acquired before the marriage and property acquired by gift or inheritance, is awarded to that spouse.
The equal distribution may be altered by the court, without regard to marital misconduct, based on the following factors:
> Length of the marriage
> Property brought to the marriage by each spouse
> One spouse having substantial separate property
> Contribution of each spouse to the marriage
> Age and health of the spouses
> Contribution by one spouse to the education or training of the other spouse
> Earning capacity of each spouse
> Amount and duration of any maintenance payments
> Pension benefits
> Tax consequences to each spouse
> Written agreement made before or during marriage regarding property distribution
The court may also divide any of the spouse’s separate property in order to prevent a hardship on a spouse or on the children of the marriage.
It is important to collect all the information you can about all your property, including when you purchased it, approximately how much it is worth, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. Collecting this information before you see a Wisconsin divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court can order alimony to either party in Wisconsin regardless of marital misconduct. In deciding whether to award alimony, a court will generally consider such factors as:
> Length of the marriage
> Division of the property
> Education level of each spouse
> Age and health of the spouses
> Contribution by one spouse to the education or training of the other spouse
> Earning capacity of spouse seeking maintenance
> Feasibility that spouse seeking maintenance can become self-supporting at a standard of living comparable to that which existed during marriage and length of time necessary to achieve that goal
> Tax consequences to each spouse
> Mutual agreement made before or during marriage regarding financial support
Child Custody and Visitation
Generally, the parents agree upon decisions about parenting and custody. If there is no agreement, the courts will make these decisions. In Wisconsin, the court may grant joint or sole child custody. There is a presumption in favor of joint custody, which is a form of custody of minor children that requires both parents to share the responsibilities of the children and for both parents to approve all major decisions related to the children.
In making a custody decision, the court will consider the best interests of the child and several factors, including the following:
> Wishes of the parents
> Wishes of the child
> Interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parents, siblings and significant others
> Amount and quality of time that each parent has spent with the child in the past
> Child’s adjustment to the home, school, religion and community
> Age of the child and the child’s developmental and educational needs at different ages
> Whether the mental or physical health of a person living in a proposed custodial household negatively affects the child’s intellectual, physical or emotional well-being
> Need for regularly occurring and meaningful periods of physical placement
> Availability of public or private child care services
> Cooperation and communication between the parents
> Whether each parent can support the other parent’s relationship with the child
> Whether there is evidence that a parent engaged in abuse
> Whether either parent has or had a significant problem with alcohol or drug abuse
Generally parents are free to visit with their children at all times that are mutually agreed to by both parents. When the courts have not awarded the parents with the equal-time alternating residential care provision and the parents cannot agree to exactly when visitation will occur, the standard visitation schedule accepted most everywhere in the nation is:
> Every other weekend
> Four to six weeks during the summer
> Alternating holidays
Child Support
In Wisconsin, either parent may be ordered to pay child support, health care expenses and health insurance coverage for the child. The courts consider the best interests of the child and the following factors:
> Financial resources of the child
> Standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage had continued
> Physical, mental, emotional and educational needs of the child
> Parent’s financial resources, income, earning power, needs and obligations
> Age and health of the child
> Best interest of the child
> Maintenance received by either party
> Desirability of the parent with custody to remain in the home as a full time parent
> Cost of day care if the parent with custody works outside the home or the value of the child care provided by the parent
> Tax consequences
> Any joint custody arrangements
Child support may be modified at any time in which there has been a drastic change in circumstances. Some of the factors that a court will consider are:
> Parent’s income and earning capacities
> Assets that are available for support
> Employee benefits of each parent
> Income of a new spouse or cohabitant
> New family responsibilities of each spouse
> Increase in the cost of living
> Change in cost of rearing the child
> Heath conditions of parents and child
> Modification of custody arrangement
Generally, the child support obligation ends when the child reaches 18 years of age or the child graduates from high school, whichever occurs later. A child will also automatically be ineligible for child support if that child marries, is removed from disability status by a court order or the child dies.
> Wisconsin Free Divorce Papers
> Wisconsin Divorce Laws
> Wisconsin Divorce Information & Family Law
> Wisconsin Child Custody Laws
> Wisconsin Child Support Calculator
> Wisconsin Divorce Procedures
> Wisconsin Divorce Attorneys/Lawyers
> Wisconsin Marriage Counseling Services
> Wisconsin Uncontested Online Divorce
