Milwaukee Divorce Law Blog

For the last several years, Chris Harrison has been a major part in of one of the country's most popular reality shows, "The Bachelor." Despite Harrison's role in setting up couples on television, he and his wife of 18 years have decided they are getting a divorce. At this time, their divorce appears to be proceeding peaceably, but they still face many of the same property division challenges as divorcing Milwaukee couples.

Like Harrison's home state, Wisconsin has community property divorce laws. This means that any of the assets a couple obtains during the course of their marriage are subject to being split right down the middle. While this state law may appear to make things less complicated, it can create a lot of hard feelings between divorcing spouses.

The economic recession has created stress for many Wisconsin families. Unemployment or underemployment has put many people in a precarious financial situation. In many cases, this is why keeping current on child support payments is so important. If the parent with primary physical custody is having financial issues, monthly child support payments are vital for the health and well-being of their children.

At the same time, it is widely-known that too many parents shirk their duty to support their children. In many cases, it is appropriate for these individuals who willfully fail to pay child support to face legal consequences and fulfill the payments they owe. At the same time, there are some people who are dealing with the legal repercussions of unpaid child support for children that are actually are not theirs.

People in Wisconsin and around the world are memorializing the thousands of passengers who perished on the Titanic's maiden voyage 100 years ago this week. The cultural mystique of the ship heralded as "unsinkable" has largely been maintained by the Hollywood film that depicted the ship's journey.

One issue many people may not immediately consider when remembering the Titanic is a child custody issue that played out in the headlines after the ship's demise. The father of two young French boys, aged two and four years, placed them on the last lifeboat to successfully leave the ship. Both boys survived, but appeared to be without a parent when they arrived in the United States.

Over the last several decades, society has embraced various methods of conception for couples unable to have children themselves. In-vitro fertilization and surrogacy are among the options that allow eager parents to welcome a new addition to their families. Unfortunately, these alternatives can create a wide-range of legal issues, including child custody and visitation disputes.

Recently, one couple found themselves embroiled in a convoluted legal battle for visitation rights with their daughter's sperm donor. Several years ago, the man apparently entered into an agreement with a same-sex couple to become the father of their child through in-vitro fertilization. As a part of the arrangement, the women provided the man with a vehicle and financial aid in exchange for the man's willingness to waive parental rights. Additionally, one of the women was married to the man for four years and they eventually signed a limited guardianship agreement to provide health care insurance for the girl.