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Your Must-Read Guide to Alimony Law
2.9 divorces occur for every 1,000 people. If you find that you're going through a divorce, then you may also have heard the term alimony thrown around. Before you are faced with alimony payments, you must know the ins and outs of Alimony law.
In this guide, we're going to provide you with all of the information that you need to know as it pertains to spouse maintenance. Please continue reading below to find out everything that you need to know.
What is Alimony?
Before we can begin to talk about Alimony law, you must understand what alimony is. Alimony is when the court orders one party to pay their former space a specific amount for a specified duration of time.
There are several reasons that your former spouse may be awarded alimony including:
- Low income
- No income
If you were the family's breadwinner, you could expect to pay some form of spousal support. However, some things can also terminate spousal support, which we will get into in just a moment.
Understanding and Navigating Child Support in Madison
Divorce is a stressful and sometimes nasty experience for anyone, but when children are in the mix, child support can make it far more complicated.
When dealing with custody and child support tempers can flare, especially if the split wasn't amicable to begin with. It's important to protect the children from the disagreements of the parents, but how does all of this work?
It's confusing and that confusion can often prompt arguments and full-on fighting. We're here to help you out so that you don't have to get to that point.
If you're separating from your spouse in Madison, Wisconsin, we have some of the answers for you.
Keep reading to learn more.
First: On Custody
When two parents are no longer married (or no longer living together, depending on circumstances) there have to be custody agreements put into place. These custody agreements then create a path toward determining child support payments.
The judge wants to give the results that work in the child's best interest regardless of how the parents feel. This isn't a perfect process, but the judge will work to the best of their ability to satisfy all parties while giving priority to the child.
5 Great Family Lawyer Tips to Keep in Mind
Are you in the middle of a family divorce between yourself and your spouse and in need of family lawyer tips? If so, then your first priority becomes finding the right attorney to represent you.
Make no mistake about it, this process will be a grind. It will take all the effort in you not to let emotions get in the way. It's about making conscious decisions to follow the steps your family lawyer gives you to increase the odds of success.
Because of that, there are several family lawyer tips that you need to consider. See below for a list of recommendations you should consider for your familial divorce process.
1. Leave Expectations at the Door
It doesn't matter whether this is your first time going through a legal divorce or your third time going through it, every process is different.
Because of that, you want to leave all expectations out the door. Don't walk into your first meeting with your family divorce lawyer expecting to win $100,000, custody of your children, or anything of that matter.
5 Tips For Dealing With a Divorce Litigation
Unfortunately, somewhere between 40-50% of marriages will end in divorce litigation and separation.
There are several different ways that a divorce could be handled, including divorce litigation where the parties handle the split of their lives in court. Divorce litigation is an overwhelming process for most parties involved.
We've compiled the best tips for handling this process to make it as easy as possible. Following these suggestions will help you move quickly and be able to move forward with the rest of your life.
1. Decide If Court Is Right for You
Before you jump into divorce litigation and enlist a lawyer or attorney to help you in court, it might be helpful to try other avenues to end your marriage.
Going through the court can be an expensive and painful process. So if you can handle the separation of assets on your own or outside of court with a lawyer, it can make things much more simple.
But, in many cases, that isn't possible and settlement will only be reached through the court system.
Find the Right Divorce Attorney For You in Madison
There are over 76,258 divorce lawyers employed in the US. Before filing for a divorce, however, it's important to find the one lawyer who can help. Otherwise, you might miss an essential step when building your case.
Here are the seven tips you need when searching for a qualified divorce lawyer in Madison, WI. With these tips, you can find a lawyer who will simplify the process for you.
Filing for a divorce is complicated enough. Instead of making the mistake of choosing the wrong lawyer, start your search with these easy tips.
1. Ask Your Inner Circle
First, it's important not to wait until things get serious to start searching for a divorce attorney. It can take anywhere from months to years to decide your marriage is reaching an end. If you're exploring your options, it helps to consult a lawyer right away.
Your lawyer can give you an estimate of what you'll need to finance your divorce. They'll also help you recognize the steps you need to take before filing for divorce. Otherwise, you could end up in court without the documents you need.
Understanding What the Divorce Process Actually Looks Like in Practice
One of the toughest decisions you'll ever make is choosing to end your marriage. Dealing with the emotional and legal aspects of the divorce process at the same time is especially difficult.
Every marital breakup is unique, and there are lots of legal and financial issues to navigate. When you have children to consider, it can add to the stress and volatility of the situation.
Divorce is never easy. But understanding the process will help you prepare for what's to come. Here's what the divorce process looks like in Wisconsin.
Getting a Divorce in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, to obtain a divorce, one spouse must declare the marriage as irretrievably broken. It's not necessary for both parties to agree on this statement.
To obtain a divorce or a legal separation, one party should be a resident of the county where they file for divorce for at least 30 days prior to filing. And one party must be a Wisconsin resident 6 months prior to filing.
You don't have to be legally separated to obtain a divorce. Before filing for divorce, you should speak with an experienced divorce attorney. You need an expert who will keep your best interests at heart during this trying time.
Embracing and Coping With the 5 Emotional Stages of Divorce
In 2018, there were over 782,000 divorces in the US. If you are considering divorce or your spouse has asked you for a divorce, you may be feeling many different emotions. Did you know that there are 5 emotional stages of divorce?
Like you would grieve a loved one, you may also grieve your marriage. To learn more about the five stages of divorce, read on.
1. Denial
Denial is the first stage of most grieving process. In a divorce, you might try to ignore that it's happening, try to convince your spouse to change their mind, or refuse to accept their attempts to try to discuss the divorce.
Denial is especially pronounced if you are not the spouse who initiated the divorce. If you are the one who is asking for the divorce, you may have already worked through the denial phase before you approached your spouse about a divorce.
Denial is your mind and body's way of protecting you until you are emotionally ready to deal with the divorce. It is used as a coping mechanism to avoid facing the reality of your situation, but eventually, you'll need to move on from this stage.
John T. Fields & Associates Providing Virtial and Phone Consultations to Manage COVID-19 Concerns
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to dynamically change and impact our daily lives. Our client support services remain uninterrupted. We have adjusted our client support to manage everyone's safety.
John T. Fields & Associates continues to work diligently to manage the safety of our legal professionals, staff and the community while at the same time providing the best client care through this period.
We want to assure clients that your level of service will not be disrupted and our law firm will work with you to ensure your legal matter continues to move forward as efficiently as possible during these uncertain times.
As an added precautionary measure, John T. Fields & Associates also offers clients the option of meeting with an attorney over the phone or via a virtual Zoom video conference.
Clients in Madison, Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha and Brookfield have the added option of scheduling their virtual consultation online. Just follow the link to your local office page and complete the consultation form.
Mediation in Family Law
Mediation is a tool used by the courts in many types of family law cases.
Mediation is used during the divorce process, to settle disputes between two parents that are not married and to settle matters between the parties after the divorce is over. The role of a mediator is to be a neutral party that can be objective, and help you and your spouse or child's parent communicate effectively and find a way to meet in the middle, so to speak. When you file a case in the family court, you are usually automatically ordered to attend a session of mediation with a court appointed mediator. In other cases, you and the opposing party can hire a private mediator, who is usually a retired judge or a very experienced attorney. Let's take a look at a few scenarios and see how mediation could be of use. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation.
During the Divorce Process
Scenario #1
You and your spouse cannot agree on custody and placement of the children, and the court has ordered you to attend a mediation session. This is a setting in which a mediator can help you and your spouse communicate as to what the best interests of your children are. You do not have to come to an agreement in mediation. In fact, in many contested cases, mediation fails because one party is overly demanding, and was never going to come to an agreement anyway. If this is the case, the court will most likely order a Guardian ad Litem to be appointed to your case. A Guardian ad Litem is an attorney that is appointed to represent the best interests of the children in a custody or placement dispute.
How to Start a Divorce in Wisconsin
“I want a divorce.”
We all hate those words in that combination. We never want to hear them, but many of us have, either directly or indirectly.
If only saying those words can make a divorce happen, like spreading magic dust or saying “Beetlejuice” three times. Alas, divorce is not easy, and in some ways it should not be that easy. A marriage is a legal contract, after all.
To break that contract takes preparation. Before you utter those words, you should know about legal steps to take to get a divorce in Wisconsin
Get Proper Divorce Forms in Wisconsin
The good news is, Wisconsin is a no-fault divorce state, which means you don't need legal “grounds” to file a divorce (such as abuse, infidelity, etc.). In that sense, it can be “easier” to get a divorce.
However, as you might guess, it still requires many legal forms to get filled out.
Some counties in Wisconsin may have slightly different versions of these forms, or additional forms than these, so it will be important to check with your local court to find out what they specifically require. Statewide, however, you are required to fill out the following:
From our office in Madison, Wisconsin, we provide representation for clients in communities throughout Dane County, Green County, Columbia County, Sauk County, Dodge County, Jefferson County, and Rock County, including Middleton, Waunakee, DeForest, Sun Prairie, Cottage Grove, Monona, McFarland, Fitchburg, Stoughton, Oregon, Verona, Mt. Horeb, Monroe, Portage, Baraboo, Reedsburg, Beaver Dam, Waupun, Watertown, Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Whitewater, Janesville, and Beloit.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
2810 Crossroads Dr., #4000, Madison, WI 53718
608-729-3590
