Archives: Children and Divorce

Ex parte orders in custody cases are very dangerous in most cases.

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.

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.

Listening to oral arguments is generally frustrating for me. Case in point: On Oct. 6, the Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments in May v. May.

Winston Churchill once said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in right direction.” Over the past two decades, family law has seen tremendous change, mirroring changes in society. Years ago, for divorcing parents, the “child of tender years” doctrine meant that custody was usually awarded to the mother, with the father having […]

Has shared time truly become the norm? Is it mandatory? Most importantly, is it a good thing?

On the other hand, one’s heart has to go out to grandparents who have lost a child through death and then run the risk of losing their grandchildren due to the capriciousness of the surviving parent. Yet both sides cannot be right.

Garry and Jennifer Hendrick were married in early September of 1999. Jennifer’s daughter was born in late January of 2000. Before Jennifer started her divorce action against Garry, Garry had himself, the girl and the couple’s other child tested to see if he was their biological father. He is not. The State started a paternity action.

The Court opf Appeals opinion in Stevenson creates some slightly “Itchy and Scratchy” issues and questions.

From the first two sentences of a recent Dist. II Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, it was evident that it was not going to be good news for Jeffery B. Stevenson.