Archives: Articles By Gregg Herman

At first blush, a recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision in Montalvo v. U.S. Title and Closing Services doesn’t appear to affect family law cases at all, but it does.

Some times the lessons from caselaw could not be more obvious. A recent decision from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals provides such a teachable moment.

It’s rare that a discretionary order, such as maintenance, is reversed on appeal. It’s even rarer that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals goes to such length in reversing the order that it takes special concern to assure that on remand, the prevailing party on appeal can have a new judge hear the matter. Both occur in Lemke v. Lemke,

The Court of Appeals decision in Tierney is just silly. That led to me thinking … what other family law rules are simply silly?

Yes, the law sometimes works in mysterious ways. Take, for example, a recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinion that reached the right conclusion, although for somewhat convoluted reasons. In the process, the court has, thankfully, cleared up one of the more silly aspects of family law in Wisconsin.

Smart Money Magazine recently published an article titled “10 Things Divorce Attorneys Won’t Say.” My response: If there are things divorce lawyers won’t tell their clients, it’s probably because they’re untrue.

Over the course of practicing family law for over 25 years (I started quite young, if you must know), the practice has been subject to various significant trends and changes. This is not your father’s practice.   Some of these trends have been positive, some neutral and some quite negative.  Let’s examine some of the main […]

It is bad enough that the Wisconsin Supreme Court is wrong on the public policy regarding the modifiability of child support. Now, thanks to an April decision, the justices not only continue to be wrong about the public policy involved — they also have confused what should be simple law.

Is maintenance still relevant in the 21st Century? A recent article in The New York Times raises that issue, discussed how various states are considering and some enacting laws designed to make maintenance or alimony more equitable.

Recently, a New York became the sixth, and largest, state, plus the District of Columbia, to recognize same-sex marriage. If the current trend continues, more and more states will also legalize two men or two women entering into the same legal relationship as possible for a man and a woman.