HOW IS A DIVORCE ACTION STARTED?

A divorce action is started by preparing a document that is called a petition. The petition contains general information about you and your family. It must be filed with the court and, if not filed jointly, it must be served on the other party.

DO I NEED GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE?

No. In Wisconsin, generally it is not necessary to do anything other than prove that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." In most cases, both parties agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Sometimes, one of the parties disagrees that the marriage is irretrievably broken, which might delay the final hearing briefly. However, if one of the parties to the divorce wants a divorce, the court will normally grant a divorce.

WHAT DOES MY ATTORNEY NEED FROM ME?

In general, your attorney will need information concerning your assets, debts, income and expenses. You will need to complete a Financial Disclosure Statement form, which details your financial situation. You should provide your attorney with documentation such as recent pay stubs, income tax return for past year, documentation of life insurance policy cash values, pension values, other account balances, debts, etc.

Your attorney will also need to know what items are important to you to keep. Normally, the value of the marital estate is added up and each party is awarded one-half of the value. This does not mean that each person gets one-half of everything. For example, if the house is awarded to one person, the value equal to the house's value would be awarded to the other person, perhaps via a pension plan or other property. In order to calculate the value and subsequent division of the property, your attorney needs to the value of what you have and what you want. There is no guarantee, of course, that each party will be able to retain all of the items that they want.

CAN MY SPOUSE TAKE PART OF MY INHERITANCE?

Inherited or gifted property may be exempt from division. If you have received a gift or inheritance that was not gifted to both spouses, that has remained yours alone and has not be titled jointly, that has not be used for marital purposes, that has not been commingled with marital assets and has a traceable history, it is likely exempt from property division. However, if it has been commingled, etc. or it would result in a hardship to either party to exclude the gift or inheritance from division, it is possible that the court may include it.

HOW LONG DOES THE DIVORCE PROCESS TAKE?

In Wisconsin, once a petition is filed, there is a mandatory 120 day waiting period before a final hearing can occur. If all issues are settled within this period of time, the final hearing can be scheduled shortly thereafter. However, if there are significant disputes with regard to division of property, child placement, maintenance, or other issues, the divorce process may take much longer.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Your first consultation is free. At that time, the attorney will get an overview of your situation and determine what the retainer fee will be, normally between $1,500 and $2,000 depending upon the complexity of your case. The retainer fee is the amount of money that is needed to start work on your divorce. This money is used to pay the attorney's hourly rate and to file the initial divorce paperwork. Once the retainer amount is used up, you may be billed intermittently or at the conclusion of your divorce.