A complete overview of divorce and other family legal matters

Family law is a general term used to describe a case involving divorce, annulment, child custody or placement, child support, spousal maintenance and similar matters.  When you are faced with an important life decision regarding a key family relationship, the advice and assistance of a family practice lawyer may be critical to your understanding of the issues involved and the resolution of those issues.

Child Support

In Wisconsin, child support guidelines have been established to determine the amount of support that one parent pays to the other for the support of their minor children.  The guidelines are expressed as a percentage of the paying parent's gross income.  That percentage is then converted to a fixed dollar amount.  The percentage varies based upon the number of children being supported and, in some relatively rare instances, based upon whether the paying parent is considered a high- or low-income payor.  There are also different sets of support guidelines that apply in special circumstances, such as shared-placement, split-placement or "serial-family payor" situations.  Although the support guidelines are almost always applied, they are in fact "guidelines" and the Courts retain the discretion to deviate either upward or downward from the guidelines depending on the unique circumstances of a given case.  Child support cannot be permanently waived or permanently fixed at a certain amount; support orders are always subject to revision based on changes in the parents' financial circumstances and changes in the children's needs.

Divorce

Deciding to end a marriage is never easy and affects not only the partners to the relationship, but ultimately also their children, their extended families, their friends and their neighbors.  It involves critical financial issues.  We are prepared to help you plan and prepare for what often appears to be an uncertain and intimidating future.

Legal custody and physical placement of children

When parents divorce, it is important to learn about the legal custody and physical placement of children options that are available and the legal standards that apply. In many cases, divorcing couples can ultimately agree on custody and placement issues without the need for a court order. When an agreement cannot be reached, knowledgeable advice and representation from a family law lawyer can often make the difference.  We encourage our clients to focus on the best interests of their children and assist them in the often-difficult task of differentiating their own needs from those of their children.

A complete overview of family legal matters cannot be presented on a web page in a very meaningful or helpful way.  Every client's situation is different, and the facts of that situation must be evaluated in the context of the prevailing law.

Please feel free to contact us to discuss your particular circumstances and how we may be able to assist you.