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Useful Family Law Websites
By Gregg Herman
MBA Messenger
April 2000There are a great variety of resources available on the internet which allow family law attorneys to obtain information quickly and at no cost. For example, if a party does not know where their spouse is residing, several search engines can obtain addresses. Certain property can be valued quickly and at no cost. Legal resources sites can also be of great assistance. Familiarity with these resources is no longer an exotic delicacy. Rather, it must be as much part of the family law attorney's tools as a briefcase.
This article examines some websites which my office has found to be useful in the practice of family law. As always, sites and addresses can change, but these are current as of March, 2000.
People Locators
In Emery v. Emery, 124 Wis. 2d 613, 369 N.W.2d 728 (1985), the supreme court held that to grant a divorce where service on the respondent is made by publication, a showing must be made that the petitioner utilized reasonable diligence to locate the respondent for personal service. Although no cases can be found as yet, it should not take long before internet searches are not only acceptable as exhibiting reasonable diligence, but required. After all, it takes only a few minutes to enter a person's name and click the mouse.
Following are some locator sites which can be used for this purpose. To test each site, I entered my own name (amazing how many "Gregg Herman"s there are in this country!). Incidentally, my home phone number is listed, although my address is not. I have two email addresses.
www.37.com - This site engages 37 search engines simultaneously. You can search white and yellow pages, as well as doing a "reverse search" (entering phone number and searching for name and address). This site found my name and located me in Milwaukee. It did not find either my home or office phone number or address.
www.anywho.com - An AT&T site which allows search by various fields. This site found my office address and phone number.
www.infospace.com - The simple search is free. A "deluxe" search costs $19.95 and a "super" search costs $39.95. For an additional $8.00, you can expand the super search to an "exhaustive search". This site found my office address and phone number through the simple search.
www.switchboard.com- This site found my home phone number, but no address, although it found my zip code. It did not find either of my email addresses.
www.locateme.com - This site charges $39 per search if successful. Without paying, it did not come up with any information on me.
www.whowhere.lycos.com- A simple search was free. The advance searches cost the same as Infospace above. This site could not find either of my email addresses. It did find my office address and phone number. The "web search" feature came up with my office web site, along with numerous other hits, including an invitation to find books by Herman Melville!
www.555-1212.com- This "powerful and useful directory" could not find my residential or business phone number or either of my email addresses!
Real Estate Values
Clients occasionally balk at the cost of appraisals. In Schwegler v. Schwegler, 142 Wis. 2d 362, 417 N.W.2d 420 (1987), the court of appeals held that a trial court can use real estate tax bills to value real estate. Not all communities have their tax bills online, but here are some which do:
www.ci.mil.wi.us - Go into property information, and you can get a copy of the tax bill for property located in the City of Milwaukee.
www.co.dane.wi.us - Information for real estate in Dane County
www.wrda.com - From this cite, one can reach all register of deeds offices in the state. However, one cannot get tax bills.
Car Values
One of the more frustrating areas of family law is valuing cars. It is difficult to get written appraisals as most car dealers do not want to risk subpoena. Further, in most cases, the issue is not the exact value of the car, but the difference in the values between the cars to be awarded each of the parties. Using the same source should minimize, if not eliminate this problem. Fortunately, there are various websites which will accomplish this end:
www.nada.com www.kbb.com (Kelly's blue book)
www.carprice.com (PACE Guide - Milwaukee Based)
Securities Values
Stock not only need to be valued, but update periodically. Here are some sites which you can get online quotes. You can't get much more "up to date" than that!
www.quote.com - Part of the Lycos network, Quote.com enables charting, portfolio hosting and subscription services.
finance.yahoo.com/?u - Among the features on this Yahoo! based finance page are the ability to create numerous portfolios using the variables of your choice and performing historical research.
www.cbsmarketwatch.com - One of the most comprehensive financial sites available. In addition to its stock quote service, there are significant financial news and historical data available.
www.cnbc.com - Very complete, but graphically-intensive site (i.e. tickers) which may frustrate the practitioner armed with old technology.
www.fool.com - The Motley Fool was one of the first comprehensive financial news and investment sites and remains one of the best with its vast resources and contributors.
www.quicken.com- Similar to the others listed, but with a focus on online banking and investment options.
QDROs
General Divorce Resource Cites
Family Bar Associations
www.wisbar.org/sections/famlaw/ - Website of the family law section of the State Bar of Wisconsin. Besides a list of officers of the section and meeting minutes, issues of the Wisconsin Journal of Family Law which are more than one year old are posted.
www.aaml.org - Website of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Its resources include articles by Academy Members and various academy publications.
www.aamlwi.org - Website of the Wisconsin Chapter of the AAML. In addition to a list of members, the site includes information about the Academy, including a list of its meetings and how to join.
www.milwbar.org - The website of the Milwaukee Bar Association. Growing and getting better!
Child Support
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/index.html - Department of Health and Human Services
www.NCSEA.org - National Child Support Enforcement Association
www.supportguidelines.com - Information about child support guidelines and case law from throughout the country.
www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/ - Wisconsin Bureau of Child Support
State of Wisconsin Legal Resources
www.courts.state.wi.us - At this cite one can obtain the latest released Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions. A link is also provided to the Circuit Court Automation Project site, which provides docket access to most circuit court cases statewide.
www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/index.html - One can obtain the most recent version of the state statutes.
www.dor.state.wi.us - Through this Wisconsin Department of Revenue site one can obtain tax forms.
Federal Legal Resources
www.ssa.gov - Social Security Administration
www.irs.gov - Internal Revenue Service. Provides tax information and links to searchable tax forms.
Conclusion
In a very short time, the Internet has become an incredibly value source of information. With new resources appearing constantly, it will continue to expand its usefulness to practitioners.
Acknowledgment is made for assistance with this article to Karen Steil, a second year law student at Marquette University.
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