Wisconsin Guide for Divorce with Kids

Ending your marriage is a complicated enough process in itself, and even more so if you and your spouse have children who are minors. Whether the relationship between you and your spouse is amicable or contentious, it is important to understand your rights and the steps of getting a divorce with children in the picture.

Filing for Divorce

with Children

When you are filing for divorce with minor children to consider, you will need to complete Summons or Petition forms for Divorce with Minor Children

FA-4110V FA-4104V FA-4108V

If you are filing for divorce and there are serious legal issues needing to be addressed before your divorce is finalized, you may need to petition the court to enter an emergency order to temporarily address the issues until your divorce is finalized.

Emergency Orders can be entered if:

You and your spouse cannot agree on child custody

You and your spouse cannot agree on financial support terms

You and your children are the victims of, or at risk of domestic violence

Emergency Orders

The court will make a temporary ruling on the matter to be effective until the terms of the divorce are finalized.

To file a temporary emergency order, you will need to complete forms FA-4128VA & FA-4128VB

If an emergency order for or temporary hearing is not necessary, you may be able to achieve an uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce is the ideal situation when divorcing with minor children. You and your spouse can avoid going to trial with an uncontested divorce, avoiding long, possibly ugly divorce proceedings. If you intend to avoid a trial and get an uncontested divorce with children, you and your spouse will need to agree on each issue addressed in your divorce settlement.

Terms you must agree on for an uncontested divorce

Child Placement Physical placement time refers to the time the minor children physically spend in the care of one parent or the other. If you are seeking more than 75% of physical placement, you will need to provide specific reasoning as to why more placement for your spouse is not in the child’s best interest.
Legal Custody Custody refers to the legal decision-making power with respect to minor children. One parent may have primary or even full placement rights while both parents may maintain 50/50 custody. In Wisconsin, the court presumes it is in the best interest of the child to grant joint legal custody unless proven otherwise.
Terms of Child Support The court can order either or both parents to pay child support for minor children. Wisconsin law approaches child support situations on a case-by-case basis dependent on percentages of each parent’s pre-tax income and percentage of physical placement.
Terms of the Division of Marital Property Wisconsin is considered a “community property” state, meaning any property acquired by either party during the course of the marriage is considered marital property, regardless of which spouse is the title owner. The presumption of the court will be to divide marital property 50/50.
Terms of Alimony Wisconsin has no set formula for calculating spousal support. Several factors are taken into consideration such as the length of the marriage, the division of property in the divorce, the earning capacity of the party seeking support, prenuptial agreements and more.
In Wisconsin, the court will usually accept the decisions agreed upon by you and your spouse, and ultimately the judge will have to approve all terms of your divorce.

What if my spouse and I can’t agree on the terms?

If you and your spouse are not able to come to an agreement on any of these terms, you will have to enter into mediation to try to come to an agreement. Mediation can either be court-ordered or independently initiated. If you are still not able to come to an agreement with mediation, the judge will make the final decision on the terms of your divorce.

Your divorce will likely be a difficult process for your children as well. Some things you can do to protect your children during a divorce are:

As much as possible, don’t involve them in the proceedings In the majority of cases, it won’t be necessary for your children to be present in court during divorce proceedings. It likely will only be upsetting for kids to listen to the specific reasons why their parents are getting divorced.

Focus on the long-term. You should always be considering what will be best for your children’s needs over the long term. Thinking ahead and planning for the long term will help avoid future conflicts with your ex-spouse as well.

It is important to consider the well-being of your children throughout the divorce process. In most cases, maintaining your children’s relationship with both you and your ex-spouse will be best for the children in the long term. You should be supportive and compassionate to their needs throughout the process.