Learn the right ways to help your adult children buy a home so you minimize any implications on your own financial goals and estate planning. As parents, we want the best for our children, and one significant milestone in their lives is purchasing their first home. However, rising property prices and challenging financial circumstances can make it difficult to enter the real estate market. There are various ways parents can support their adult children in purchasing homes, while also…
Continue Reading How to Help Your Adult Children Buy a Home

June 2, 2023 – Two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices used a recent per curiam decision to engage in a debate over the supreme court’s practice of dismissing petitions as improvidently granted.In State v. Jackson, 2023 WI 37 (May 12, 2023), the supreme court dismissed as improvidently granted a petition seeking review of a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision upholding a circuit court’s denial of post-conviction relief.
The decision came after the parties had submitted briefs and had oral argument…
Continue Reading Per Curiam Decision Sparks Debate Over Dismissing Petitions

June 2, 2023 – A ballot question for a constitutional amendment complies with Section XII, Article 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution if it fairly describes the actual question and is not counterfactual to the amendment itself, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.In Wisconsin Justice Initiative, Inc. v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2023 WI 38 (May 16, 2022), the supreme court held that the statewide ballot question concerning victims’ rights – known as Marsy’s Law – which led to a…
Continue Reading Victims’ Rights Ballot Measure Was Properly Submitted to Voters

June 2, 2023 – A law that extends the statute of limitations for actions seeking redress for injuries caused by sexual assault does not apply to a claim of negligent supervision of an employee who committed sexual assault, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

In Fleming v. Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, 2023 WI 40 (May 17, 2023), the supreme court (4-3) held that the statute applies only to claims for damages caused by the sexual…
Continue Reading Sex Assault Statute of Limitations Extender Doesn’t Apply to Negligent Hiring Lawsuit

Article HTML

June 2, 2023 – A statute that requires repeat sex offenders to comply with sex offender registration requirements for life does not apply to an offender convicted of multiple convictions in the same court proceeding, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in State. Rector, 2023 WI 41 (May 23, 2023).The decision came on a 4-3 vote. Justice Jill Karofsky wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Justice Rebecca Dallet, and Justice Brian Hagedorn.Justice…
Continue Reading Sex Offender Registration Statute Applies Only to Convictions in Separate Proceedings

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Room in Madison, U.W. Law School graduates and soon-to-be Wisconsin lawyers take the Attorney’s Oath at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony. See more photos of the event on the State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page.​ June 1, 2023 – They gathered together with family and friends in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Room – 149 recent graduates of the U.W. Law School – to be sworn in as new Wisconsin lawyers. Before the…
Continue Reading UW Admissions: State Bar Welcomes 149 New Lawyers

Drinking and driving is a dangerous act, and in Wisconsin, it can result in severe consequences. Those who operate motor vehicles after drinking alcohol or using drugs could potentially be pulled over and arrested, and they may be charged with the offense of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI). While a single OWI charge is serious enough, multiple arrests or convictions for drunk driving will result in more severe charges. Drivers should be aware of when they could be charged…
Continue Reading Will Multiple OWI Arrests Result in Felony Charges in Wisconsin?

Article HTML

May 31, 2023 – A circuit court that orally dismissed a criminal case only to minutes later re-instate the case did not lose subject matter jurisdiction, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.In State v. Davis, 2021 AP1526 (April 4, 2023), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I also held that a circuit court has the inherent authority to reconsider its rulings during an ongoing proceeding.Stolen PhoneOn Oct. 28, 2019, Rasheem Davis approached his ex-girlfriend Alicia…
Continue Reading Oral Dismissal of Criminal Case Didn’t End Jurisdiction

May 31, 2023 – Drivers who delivered packages for Amazon in their own vehicles while using an Amazon smartphone app are employees for purposes of Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) scheme, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.In Amazon Logistics, Inc. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, 2022AP13 (April 6, 2023), the Court of Appeals District IV held that Amazon Logistics, Inc. (Amazon) had satisfied only five categories out of nine for determining whether a worker is an…
Continue Reading Amazon Flex Drivers are Employees for Purposes of UIB Statute

​One or two months’ rent at move-in can be a large amount of money to save up, and getting that money back can be crucial.

When tenants leave a residence for a new one, their landlord is required to return their security deposit or inform them the amount they are receiving within 21 days of vacating the property, per the ATCP 134.06(2). Tenants are required to leave a forwarding address with their landlord, or have their mail forwarded with…
Continue Reading Tip of the Month: 5 Tips to Get a Security Deposit Returned

​​
On May 14, 2019,
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced the creation of the Speaker’s Task Force on Adoption, charged with addressing the barriers faced by biological and adoptive parents in the adoption process. On Oct. 3, 2019, the task force
published an interim report – and proposed
numerous bills in the 2019-20 legislative cycle.  One of the task force’s recommendations was to eliminate jury trials in the fact-finding portion of the adoption process.
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 628…
Continue Reading For Efficiency’s Sake: Should Jury Trials be Eliminated in Involuntary TPR Actions?

A power of appointment is a legal instrument that grants an individual (the “appointee”) the authority to decide how a particular asset or assets will be distributed upon the death of the individual who created the power (the “donor”). The appointee can exercise this power during their lifetime or in their will, and they can direct the asset to be given to any person or entity they choose.

When selecting the type of power of appointment to include in…
Continue Reading Tax & Wealth Advisor Alert: Powers of Appointment – A Tool to Add Flexibility Into an Estate Plan

Here is some updated information on the claim-filing questions in Wisconsin. You can find prior versions of these questions at this October 2020 post, which has the questions that existed as of September 2020.

This info is based on the Department’s initial claim questions that are available here, and the weekly certifications questions that are available here. These web pages have been consolidated into single PDF files:

…
Continue Reading Claim-Filing questions in Wisconsin as of June 2022

I’m very proud to share that the University of Wisconsin Law Library, in partnership with the National Indian Law Library, the Open Law Library, the UW Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center, and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, has been awarded the 2023 Public Access to Government Information Award by the American Association of Law Libraries for our Digital Publication of Tribal Laws Pilot Project.
The right to know the laws by…
Continue Reading Digital Publication of Tribal Laws Pilot Project Wins AALL Public Access to Government Information Award

State v. Corey T. Rector, 2023 WI 41, 5/23/23 affirming a case certified by the court of appeals, 2020AP1213; case activity (including briefs)

Rector pleaded to five counts of possessing child pornography in a single case. He’d never been convicted of anything before. The sentencing judge ordered that he be placed on the sex offender registry until 15 years after the end of his sentence or supervision. The Department of Corrections then wrote the judge to say that,…
Continue Reading Multiple convictions in same case on same date don’t require lifetime sex offender registration

State v. Warner E. Solomon, 2022AP634-CR, District 2, 5/24/23 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The court of appeals rejects Solomon’s argument that the police unlawfully extended a traffic stop to wait for a drug dog to arrive to do a thorough search of his car.
After stopping Solomon for speeding and detecting the odor of marijuana from the vehicle generally and the passenger (Solomon’s brother) specifically, the officer decided he would search the interior of…
Continue Reading Police had probable cause to search car, so didn’t unlawfully extend stop to wait for drug dog