Archives: Family Law

If the much-publicized case of Terri Schiavo wasn’t enough to make you reconsider the importance of good estate planning, a recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals case re-emphasizes that point.

One grey area of family law was recently made black-and-white by a recent court of appeals decision. Another area, however, may have been made a shade grayer.

After Michael Gough’s divorce in Utah, he found himself living 1,000 miles away from his four year old daughter. Not satisfied with simple telephone calls in between physical visitations, he sought a court order allowing “virtual visitation” through electronic communication.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has issued its opinion in Chen v. Warner affirming the circuit court’s conclusion that a physician mother’s decision to quit her job after the divorce to stay home with the children, with which whom she had shared equal placement with the physician father, was not shirking.

Per tradition, it is time to take a look back at the significant family law cases which were decided during the past year, with either plaudits for the well-reasoned decisions or – forgive me, judges – one last kick at those with which I take issue.

In Rumpff v. Rumpff, the District II Court of Appeals called into question the definition of “equivalent care” and the efficacy of the sharing of “variable expenses” in the state’s child support guidelines.

A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, which is recommended for publication, contradicts long-held beliefs regarding the ability of parties to contract for determination of child issues outside of the court system.

On the one hand, some courts have moral qualms about overnight guests, especially if the divorce is not final. On the other hand, society seems to have accepted far more permissive bounds of sexual conduct today than in the past. Where should the line be drawn?

Note to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals: If shirking is an “unfortunate term,” as you characterized it in your recent family law decision, Chen v. Warner, please stop using it!

In divorce settlement, both parties have information which is held privately and information which is known to both parties. Both sides typically will know (or at least should know) some information, like the community cards in “Texas Hold-em.”