Family law is a very special area of Wisconsin's legislative body of laws. It helps families structure their lives, raise their children and protect their assets. Divorce is one area of Wisconsin's family law. If you are considering a divorce, it may help to know that Attorney Kathy Reiley has helped many couples resolve their indifferences in a manner that allows them to move on with their own lives. Many of Attorney Reiley's clients feel as though she helps them move from one chapter of their lives to another with a sense of peace, regardless of the trials involved in the divorce.

Why Hire A Family Lawyer?

People confer with family law attorneys for a variety of reasons including mediation, divorce litigation, disputes, divorce, grandparent visitation, and child support and family support. In essence, family law encompasses a vast body of law that affects personal relationships, financial rights and obligation. A family law attorney actually possesses a doctor's degree in law, so you might say that a family lawyer helps you to protect your legal health by providing you with sound legal advice and helping you to pursue the right legal avenues just as a medical doctor helps you to protect your medical health by providing you with sound medical advice and helping you pursue the right medical tests and prescriptions.

Contested -vs.- Uncontested

Divorces are sometimes referred to as "contested" or "uncontested". In reality, all divorce actions are contested matters, and the reason for this perception is really simple. When people marry, they form a contractual partnership, and when they divorce, they dissolve that contractual relationship. Like any other contract, a marriage is a union of interests taken as a collective whole. When the union ends, each person must protect his or her own interests. Consequently, a petition for divorce is a petition to dissolve the union, and from the moment it is filed, the union is no longer considered being in a position to look out for the best interests of each person. A divorce then is contested until such time that an agreement is formed to resolve all of the issues at hand.

Litigated, Collaborative, Cooperative

Another comparison between divorce types that is often made is to identify the divorce as "litigated" or "collaborative or cooperative". While associations exist to unite family law attorneys in a collective body of collaborative attorneys or cooperative attorneys (see collaborative divorce), the reality is that family law attorneys can collaborate with their clients on all matters regarding the divorce action because that is what the law requires family law attorneys to do, and they need not be a member of any particular organization. It is the best case scenario when parties and their attorneys can work cooperatively to partake in the exchange of information to which both parties are entitled anyway, and the resolution of issues raised by the divorce.

Alimony -vs.- Spousal Support -vs.- Family Support

The terms "alimony" and "spousal support" are sometimes used to refer to the support paid by one spouse to another spouse. However, the word "alimony" does not appear in Wisconsin Statutes. Wisconsin laws recognize three types of support: child support, family support, or maintenance. It is also possible to agree to Section 71 payments.

Divorce

Divorce is the term used to describe the process of dissolving the bonds of marriage. In order for the laws of the state of Wisconsin to apply to a divorce matter, one or both of the spouses must be legal residents of the state of Wisconsin. Attorney Kathleen Reiley limits her divorce practice to the state of Wisconsin. For more information about the areas where she appears most frequently, please refer to Wisconsin divorce or geographic focus of the law practice of Attorney Kathleen Reiley.

Mediation

Mediation is a process through which people can discuss their disputed issues. It is a legal process most often mediated by an attorney. In some situations, the parties are permitted to have their private attorney present during the mediation, while in other situations, the parties cannot be represented at the mediation. For more information about mediation and how you can use this effective alternative, please contact Attorney Kathleen Reiley. For general non-legal advice, you can visit mediation, mediation for domestic partner disputes, dispute resolution or mediation for same sex relationships.

Paternity

Paternity is the legal process used to establish the father of a child. In most instances, a party seeks to establish paternity in order to obtain a court order for support of a minor child. For more information about paternity suits, please visit paternity.

Custody

While the terms "custody" and "visitation" are often used in general conversations and readily interchanged, legal custody of a child refers to the legal obligations of making decisions about a minor child, and physical placement refers to the actual placement of a child into the home of one or both parents. For more information about custody, please visit legal placement or physical placement.

Support

Child support is the financial support paid by one parent to the other parent for the care of the parents' child. Wisconsin laws do not recognize alimony. In some instances, a court orders child support payments to be made to a non-parent, such as when a grandparent or a foster home has been granted physical custody of a child. For more information about support, please visit child support or family support.

Grandparent's Rights

Grandparents have rights, too, and many grandparents have sought the legal advice of Attorney Reiley when seeking to establish their rights to visitation of their grandchildren. For many years, Attorney Kathleen Reiley has been helping grandparents obtain the court's order to ensure their ability to maintain a close relationship with their grandchild. Attorney Kathleen Reiley limits her practice to the state of Wisconsin, so in these types of legal matters a non-parent or parent over the matter of the child's custody or placement must be in Wisconsin. For more information, please visit grandparent's visitation rights.

Alternative Lifestyles & Cohabitation

Recently, the voters of Wisconsin have elected to a pass new constitutional amendment that affects couples in cohabitation relationships.

The passage of this amendment may have a potentially sweeping impact on unmarried cohabiting and separating couples, whether they are same sex or opposite sex couples, including in areas of property, debt, health insurance benefits that were previously offered by employers to employees in civil unions, access to sick or dying partners. It remains to be seen how this amendment will affect couples who cohabit. The paternity statutes will protect the children who are the children of a mother and father who are splitting.

The case law on which cohabiting couples have previously been able to rely will no doubt be challenged and new law will have to be made in the coming years as the citizens of this State experience the true impact of this amendment.

Attorney Kathy Reiley - Family Law & Divorce Lawyer

If you are considering a divorce, require assistance with the legal disputes between you and your domestic partner, want to obtain legal custody or physical placement of your child, want to invoke your rights as a grandparent to visit with your grandchild, need to pursue a paternity order, or want to speak with an attorney for legal advice on mediation or how the laws of the state of Wisconsin will affect you, please call Attorney Kathleen Reiley (608-246-8309) or send Kathleen Reiley an email.

Related Topics:
Wisconsin Support Laws | Child Support | Family Support
Post Judgment Enforcement | Change Support | Change Maintenance
Divorce | Attorney Kathleen Reiley