Military members and their spouses should be aware of the following Wisconsin statutes and cases that could have an affect on child custody and placement disputes: Wisconsin Statutes 767.41(2)(e) and (5)(c): ” If a party is a service member, the court may not consider as a factor in determining the legal custody of a child […]

All divorce cases require an analysis of each spouse’s assets, debts, and income. Divorce involving a military servicemember is no different. Basic documents such as the leave and earnings statement (LES), disability determination, points statement, etc. should be obtained in every case. There are several ways to obtain this information, with the last resort being […]

Serving a military member stationed overseas with Wisconsin divorce or other family court papers must be handled carefully. Service must comply with United States federal and state court procedures. It is also wise to review service requirements or restrictions of the foreign country. For example, unlike the United States, some countries may restrict who can […]

The last blog discussed general concepts to serve divorce or paternity documents on Wisconsin servicemembers. This blog will address specifics for each branch of the military. ARMY The Army will assist county sheriffs to serve members with legal papers, as long as the member is stationed, resides, or employed at the base. The first point […]

No legal case can validly proceed unless the responding party has been properly served with the relevant documents. In a paternity case, this would be the petition for paternity. In divorce, the petition for divorce. A previously blog provided some advice on locating servicemembers to serve papers. Once the member’s location is known, however, s/he […]

Each divorce case must begin with filing and service of the divorce petition on a spouse. This is generally not a problem, since most spouses know where to find each other. However, civilian spouses of servicemembers may not know the member’s exact location, particularly if the couple has been separated for some time. The civilian […]

Certain aspects of a servicemember’s pay may be taxable or tax-exempt. These distinctions must be considered when accurately establishing the servicemember’s net income for support purposes. Tax-exempt income includes the following: earnings received while the servicemember is in a combat zone. This exemption is on a month-to-month basis. If the member is in a combat […]

In addition to satisfying residency requirements for the spouses in a military divorce, the Wisconsin divorce court must also have jurisdiction over the children. Wisconsin is one of 49 states that adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). This law establishes the proper state to handle issues of child custody and placement. […]

Wisconsin, as most states, recognizes a distinction between “residence” and “domicile.” It is important to know this distinction to ensure that Wisconsin is the correct jurisdiction to file a military divorce. “Residence” and “domicile” may be the same place, but not always. “Residence” usually means the place where a party lives at a specific time. […]

Given the nomadic existence of some military families, it is not always easy to choose the right state to file for divorce. If the husband entered the military in Wisconsin, the marriage occurred in Texas, the children were born in California, the husband deployed to Iraq, and the mother and children moved back to Wisconsin, […]