Divorce Attorneys With A Different Approach

To begin a divorce, you must file with the Court a Summons and Petition for Divorce (generally referred to as the divorce pleadings). Your spouse must then be served with this Summons and Petition for Divorce within 90 days after filing. You can file a motion with the Court asking that this 90-day deadline be extended; however, it would be up to the Judge assigned to your case to decide whether or not to extend this deadline. There are two ways you can serve the Summons and Petition for Divorce on your spouse: (1) your spouse can sign an Admission of Service at our office or his/her attorney’s office, or (2) our process server or a sheriff’s deputy can personally serve the pleadings upon your spouse. The lawyers at NKM will take the time to help you determine what the best method of service is to ensure little delay while also minimizing conflict. You can also file a Joint Petition for Divorce, if your spouse is willing to cooperate with signing the same. The lawyers at NKM will take the time to help you determine what the best method of service is to ensure little delay while also minimizing conflict.

You can also file a Joint Petition for Divorce, if your spouse is willing to cooperate with signing same. Aside for the cooperative nature of this type of filing, the benefit of a joint petition is that neither party is required to be served saving time and costs in most instances.

Please note that all Wisconsin Counties now require that all cases be filed electronically (e-filing) and all documents in family law cases must be e-filed. Some Counties have certain accommodations set up for people without attorneys or will assist you in e-filing your documents.

After you are served with divorce pleadings, call NKM, to schedule a complimentary in office consultation with a lawyer. Once you retain our legal services, we will review the pleadings with you and prepare a Response and Counterclaim on your behalf for filing with the court. You must file a written Response and Counterclaim within 20 days from the date you are served with the Summons and Petition for divorce. This must be sent to the court with a copy sent to your spouse or his/her attorney. If you do not file a written response, the court could enter a default judgment against you in the future.

If you also want the divorce, you should also file a counterclaim for divorce. This means that if your spouse changes his/her mind in the future and asks that the divorce be dismissed, the court could deny that request and grant you a judgment of divorce instead based on your counterclaim.

Wisconsin is a “no fault” divorce state. The only basis for a divorce in Wisconsin is that the court finds that your marriage is irretrievably broken and that there is no likely possibility of reconciliation. Because it takes two willing people to have a marriage, the court will most likely grant a judgment of divorce even if only one party wants the divorce as long as one party testifies that he or she feels that the marriage is irretrievably broken and that the marriage cannot be repaired.

There is a mandatory 120-day waiting period in Wisconsin during which your divorce cannot be finalized. Most divorce cases take between six months to one year to finalize. The time period can vary based upon the County in which your divorce is filed and the issues involved in your case. The specific facts of your case will determine the timetable for the completion of your case. However, our goal is to complete your divorce as quickly as possible. We understand that you need to move on with your life and that you do not need a long and protracted court action.

In most cases, temporary orders are needed to determine where each party will live, when each party will see the children, and how each party will be financially supported and pay bills. These temporary orders are court orders and can be determined by the Court’s decision or upon an agreement (called a stipulation) between the parties. These temporary orders remain in effect during the time it takes to complete your divorce case. Temporary orders could cover the issues of temporary custody, placement, support, maintenance, temporary use of personal property and/or bank accounts, temporary use of the marital residence, and temporary allocation of debts. While these orders are temporary and should have no bearing on the final outcome of your divorce, in reality, many courts continue temporary orders as permanent orders if they are appropriate in your case, especially orders regarding custody and placement of your children.

To request temporary orders, you must file a document called an Order to Show Cause for Temporary Orders and an Affidavit for temporary orders. These documents compel your spouse’s appearance at a first or temporary hearing which is almost always scheduled before a court commissioner rather than a judge. This temporary hearing is usually scheduled within three to six weeks from the date you request a hearing depending on the county in which your case in pending.

Prior to the hearing, you and your spouse can negotiate terms of a temporary stipulation with the assistance of your attorneys. These stipulated orders are done without the need for you to appear in court and, when filed with the court, carry the same legal protection as if you personally appeared in court.

If you do not agree with the court commissioner’s orders at this first or temporary hearing or any other hearing before a court commissioner, you may request a hearing de novo before the judge assigned to your case. A hearing de novo is a hearing where the judge hears the matter as if it had not been heard before and is not supposed to give any deference to the court commissioner’s decision. A hearing de novo must be scheduled promptly after the hearing in which the court commissioner made his or her order(s). Every County has different requirements but, in most Counties, this time period is within 7-15 days of the order(s) from which you are seeking review or relief.

Because Wisconsin is a “no-fault” divorce state, one party’s adultery/infidelity is irrelevant in most cases. It is not against the law to commit adultery in Wisconsin. The court cannot consider this fact in dividing property, awarding maintenance, setting support or other financial matters. It can impact on custody and placement issues, however, if the significant other has a negative or harmful impact on the minor children.

Please see our other FAQ’s for additional information on these issues. Your attorney at Nelson, Krueger & Millenbach, LLC, will work with you throughout your case to provide educated and experienced guidance to assist you in making good legal decisions for yourself in your divorce action.

Your divorce attorney at NKM will suggest options to the successful resolution of the issues in your divorce without the need for a court trial. For example, settlement negotiations at a parties-and-counsel meeting, mediation and arbitration are all alternative measures that are common in divorce cases to help resolve conflicts.

Although most cases are resolved without the need for a trial, at NKM, our experience litigating cases provides our clients the best possible legal representation. We will make every effort to minimize the emotional and financial cost of a trial, yet we are prepared to and have the necessary experience to litigate your case in court if a settlement cannot be reached.

When you go to divorce court, what you wear is going to be a representation of who you are. You should also keep in mind that court is a formal process and what you wear should reflect that. For the most part, business casual dress is fine. However, if you are uncertain, you should discuss this issue with your attorney. Make sure your clothes are clean and in good repair.

Wisconsin does not acknowledge common law marriages, so individuals who have been living together a long time are not subject to Wisconsin’s property division laws. If unmarried, individuals may be able to pursue a claim in civil court for unjust enrichment or for the division of property under certain circumstances.

A confidential information addendum is a document that is attached to other court pleadings that keeps certain pieces of confidential information such as social security numbers and bank account numbers confidential. In 2016, Wisconsin law changed so that any document filed with the court must have social security numbers, account numbers, identification numbers, et., removed from the document before it is filed. This is to protect your confidential information.

All cases in Wisconsin, except for cases where children are the sole reason for the case, such as paternity, children’s court and adoption cases, are open to the public. The Wisconsin CCAP system is an online system which provides public access to the records of the Wisconsin circuit courts. These records are open to public view under Wisconsin’s Open Records law, sections 19.31-19.39, Wisconsin Statutes.

By statute, some specific information is confidential such as social security numbers, financial information, account numbers, other identifying information such as driver’s license numbers, medical information, etc. This information will not appear in any public record or file.

In reality, Wisconsin CCAP only provides a general summary of (a) the existence of a case and (b) the events of a case. If someone wants to view the specific documents filed in an action, they either need to be a party or an attorney involved in the case or they would need to physically go to the courthouse and ask for a copy of the document(s). Therefore, the specific details of a document filed in your case are, in reality, not readily available to the public.

Many people do not want the existence of a case, such as a restraining order, to be part of the public record fearing it will affect their personal or professional lives. There is a process available whereby a party can request that a case be sealed or portions of a case redacted. However, that is rarely granted and only in very limited circumstances. For example, if the disclosure of a case will jeopardize someone’s safety or lead to the disclosure of confidential information.