In the realm of Wisconsin family law, “service by publication” is often viewed as the procedural safety net of last resort. Under Wis. Stat. section 801.11(1)(c), when a spouse cannot be located after “reasonable diligence,”[1] the law allows for notice to be published in a newspaper to satisfy due process. However, for practitioners dealing with spouses residing in countries that criminalize defamation for revealing secret of family life, this procedural requirement creates a dangerous paradox: complying with Wisconsin
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Divorce by Affidavit: What Wisconsin Family Lawyers Need to Know
May 11, 2026Divorce by Affidavit: What Wisconsin Family Lawyers Need to KnowDivorce by affidavit offers a more flexible path for uncontested divorce cases in Wisconsin, particularly for clients facing scheduling, mobility, distance, child care, or emotional barriers to appearing in court. Tiara Oates outlines the requirements, benefits, and possible drawbacks of using this new process.By
Tiara Oates
As of Oct. 31, 2025, divorce by affidavit (2025 Wisconsin Act 40) can be used to finalize uncontested divorce
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Family Lawyer as Problem Solver
In this season of resolutions, I pledge to continue in 2026 to promote myself as a problem solver for family law cases.
Both the public and the profession will benefit from a renewed effort by lawyers to do so. The profession will benefit by helping more people (and getting more business) and the public will benefit by having their affairs handled professionally rather than taking the risk of doing it themselves.
Cause or Correlation?
Over the course of my
Why Wisconsin’s Balance Placement Standard Works without a Presumption of Equal Time
Physical placement disputes are often some of the most contested issues in family law cases. The current physical placement standard directs courts to maximize the time children spend with each parent consistent with their best interest. This strikes a thoughtful and flexible balance that a more inflexible presumption of equal placement cannot match. By focusing on the unique circumstances, needs, and family dynamics of each case, the existing framework preserves both parental involvement and judicial discretion. This ensures that
The Case for Mental Health Training in Law School – A Proposal
This conversational-style article explores the ways that we, as family law attorneys, must address mental health issues, from our clients’ cases to our own lives. More importantly, we have to start looking at how we best address mental health struggles in our practice and lives. We are Called ‘Counselors!’ Have you ever asked yourself why they call us counselors? According to Etymonline, the term counselor comes from Old Friench “counseiler” – “one who gives counsel or advice, a
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Waiting for All Issues to Resolve? You May Miss the Appeal Window
In Wisconsin, litigants may only appeal a final circuit court judgment or order to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals per Wis. Stat. section 808.03(1) as a matter of right – appeals from nonfinal orders are permissive. Litigants must strictly follow deadlines for appellate jurisdiction: they have a maximum of 90 days to file an appeal, per Wis. Stat. section 808.04(1).
In a divorce, legal separation, or other family law matter initiated by summons and petition, determining when an order
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Finding Fault: The History of Grounds for Divorce in Wisconsin
Fault divorce, a process requiring one spouse to prove the other’s misconduct as grounds for dissolving a marriage, has undergone a significant transformation in Wisconsin. The Origins of Fault The concept of fault divorce dates back to English common law. In the early 18th century, after the Duke of Norfolk divorced, Parliament created a legal system whereby a husband could petition for divorce on the grounds of adultery (only) and a wife could petition on grounds of adultery with
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Addressing Issues of Cellphones and Social Media Access in Custody and Placement
Decisions involving cellphone and social media access for minor children have become one of the biggest aspects of parenting in today’s age. Those decisions impact everything from communication to safety to social development to mental health. Case law on the issue of cell phones and social media access is scant, which suggests these issues have not yet risen past the circuit court level. Without that guidance from upper courts, we should consider the Wisconsin statutes in crafting orders that
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Revising Placement: The Harm Standard, Section 767.451, and the Two-year Limit
Do you ever read a statute looking for a straightforward answer – only to be left more confused?
My favorite legal exercise is when a particular statute directs you to a different statute which then directs you to yet another statute. Do you remember diagraming sentences in grade school? Perhaps I just showed my age, but I do my own version of diagramming to try and understand many of the statutes we use in family law practice.
Wis. Stat.
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Should You Respond to Bad Legal Advice on Social Media?
It’s a Sunday Night. Dinner is done and you’re winding down and getting ready for another week ahead.
You decide to scroll social media when you see a post from a distraught mother of two young children asking some legal questions on a public forum. You scroll through the comments from a wide array of people and notice a plethora of information being provided to the young, frantic woman – none of which is correct.
As a family law
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Equal But Not Separate: Joint Custody Means Both Parties Must Agree
There are a lot of differing opinions about whether one custodial parent may make a major decision for a child independently and without the involvement and consent of the other custodial parent. The history of joint custody and placement in Wisconsin is an evolving one. Father to Mother to Equal In summer 1983, the
Marquette Law Review published an article that compared approaches to joint custody and shared parental responsibility in both Wisconsin and Florida. At that time, the
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Property Division: Exceptions to the Double Counting Rule
Counting an item as an asset (usually a pension) to be divided in property division, then also as income available for maintenance, is generally prohibited as “double counting.”1 However, this rule is not absolute. “When analyzing whether there has been double counting, the focus should be on fairness, not rigid double-counting rules.”2 In the last 60 years, courts have carved out various exceptions:
Income from a pension. In a case involving property, maintenance, and child support, income
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Navigating Breakups for Unmarried Couples in Wisconsin
Wisconsin families, like those across the country, can be made up of many different arrangements – the result of active decisions or convenience.
For unmarried couples in Wisconsin, navigating breakups poses unique legal challenges. Every so often, this results in ideas around “palimony” – the marriage of the words “pal” and “alimony” – to address financial support or property division between unmarried adults separating after a period of cohabitation.
While this circumstance may be covered by protections of common
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Is Modification of Custody or Placement a Remedy for Contempt?
There is disagreement among family law practitioners as to whether modification of custody or placement orders is an appropriate remedy for remedial contempt. The scenario is one that we often see: one party is willfully and intentionally violating a custody and placement order, and as a sanction for their conduct, a request is made for the court to change the underlying order. Purpose of Remedial Contempt It’s important to remember the purpose of a remedial contempt sanction: to coerce
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Amending Chapter 767: Divorce by Affidavit
The State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section is moving forward with seeking an amendment to Wis. Stat. chapter 767 to permit divorces to be granted without a final hearing. The proposed amendment language has been approved by the section board and circulated with key stakeholders in family law matters. We are in the process of seeking a bill sponsor and hope to have the bill introduced at some time in the next session. The Family Law Section Legislation
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On the Family Court’s Authority to Order Parental Drug Tests
Can the court order a parent to submit to a drug test at the request of the other parent in a contested child-related issue?
Substance abuse issues, or allegations of substance abuse, are often at the forefront of family court cases, and can play significant roles in determining the custody and placement arrangements that are in the best interests of the children.
Wis. Stat. section 804.10 arguably grants the court the authority to make such an order:
When the
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