Mediation

Milwaukee Wisconsin Divorce Lawyers

We have recently changed the name of our firm, from "Brazil, Thelen & Benske"

Marriage is a legal relationship between two people. Many legal matters arise when a marriage is to be dissolved and you need help to find your way to an agreeable settlement. As your Milwaukee Wisconsin divorce attorneys we have the experience and creativity to understand the difficulties that arise and the flexibility to help you discover new ways to cope during this stressful time. If you need assistance with filing a divorce, contact our Wisconsin divorce lawyers today to discuss your situation.

Property Division: When a couple has been married for any length of time, it is likely that they have obtained assets together. If the marriage is dissolved, those assets need to be valued and divided in a manner that is fair and considers the needs of both parties. Because we have extensive experience with divorce, we have also dealt with many levels of property division. With the use of computer software and the assistance of experts, if needed, we can ensure your best results for now and in the future.

Spousal Support: Maintenance, formerly know as alimony, is an allowance which husband or wife pays to the other spouse for support while they are separated or after they are divorced. As with other aspects of a divorce settlement, determining if alimony is appropriate and calculating amounts can be complex. Our firm uses the latest and most updated technology to determine maintenance calculations.

Child Custody: Custody grants the rights and responsibilities to one or both parents to make major decisions concerning the child as determined by the court or the agreement of both parties. Some of these major decisions are consent to marry before eighteen, consent to enter military service before eighteen, consent to obtain a driver's license, authorization for non-emergency health care, choice of school and religion. The determination of whether custody should be sole or joint is based on the best interest of the child with a presumption that joint custody is usually best for the child.

Child Placement: Physical placement means where the child is physically placed. (Usually where the child's head hits the pillow at night.) If the parties do not agree on the physical placement schedule, there is a procedure through the courts to help the parties reach an agreement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the court makes a decision. In making the decision, the court considers all facts relevant to the best interest of the child. Some of the factors the court considers are:

• The wishes of the child's parents
  
• The wishes of the child, which may be communicated by the child or through the child's guardian ad litem or other professional
  
• The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest
  
• The amount and quality of time that each parent has spent with the child in the past, any necessary changes to the parents' custodial roles and any reasonable life-style changes that a parent proposes to make to be able to spend time with the child in the future
  
• The child's adjustment to the home, school, religion and community
  
• The age of the child and the child's developmental and educational needs at different ages
  
• The mental and physical health of the parties, the minor children and other persons living in the proposed custodial household
  
• The need for regularly occurring and meaningful periods pf physical placement to provide predictability and stability for the child
  
• The availability of public or private child care services
  
• The cooperation and communication between the parties and whether either party unreasonably refuses to cooperate or communicate with the other party
  
• Whether each party can support the other party's relationship with the child, including encouraging and facilitating frequent and continuing contact with the child, or whether one party is likely to unreasonably interfere with the child's continuing relationship with the other party.

Child Support: It is undisputed that divorce has emotional implications on the family. Financial implications can be almost as daunting. Child support is based on the amount of time that the child spends with each of their parents and the incomes of the parties. We will work with you to ensure that the proper amounts are being paid taking into consideration not only the child support formulas but also health insurance and dependency exemptions.

Collaborative Divorce - This process allows the parties in family law disputes to resolve the conflict themselves with the assistance of their lawyers. Unlike mediation or trial, there is no third party involved. The strategy is cooperative rather than adversarial and most participants reach a successful agreement. The process can be less expensive, there is no threat of going to court, and the participants completely control the proceedings. The role of the attorneys is to facilitate the development of a settlement between the parties without the threat of going to court.

The most challenging aspect of this process is that there is a contractual obligation of the collaborative attorneys to withdraw from the case if any party chooses to abandon the collaborative law process at any point. Another distinct characteristic of the collaborative divorce process is its concentration on empowering the client to become proactive in the settlement of the case. Since the clients are more responsible for the outcome, the most efficient work is done in face to face meetings. This allows the clients to have more opportunities to control the outcome.

Divorce Procedure

Top 10 Financial Mistakes Made in Divorce

(Permission to reprint by: WFA Asset Management Corporation, www.wfa-asset.com)

1. I'll take the house you keep your pension:
   This is the most common mistake made. Many people have such an emotional attachment to their home that they cannot fathom life in another house. The house though, usually comes with high mortgage payments, maintenance and repair bills that can devastate a person's finances. Even though the value of the house might be equal to the value of the pension, they are apples and oranges. One asset requires income to pay for repairs, maintenance, improvements, property taxes and assessments. On the other hand, a pension produces income, it doesn't cost income. A 50/50 division of assets may sound equal, and it may in fact be equal in value as of the date of divorce, but it is never equitable. You cannot sell a windowpane to put food on your table. It's important for an individual to understand the uses of their money. It's not how much we have that counts, it's what we can do with what we have that matters most.
    
2. Health Insurance Coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA). Are you really covered or out in the cold?
   Sure, COBRA covers you as a former spouse for 36 months after the date of divorce, but who is going to be paying the premiums? If your former spouse pays for the premiums, you may be required to report those as income on your tax return. In today's health care market place, health insurance costs can easily exceed a monthly mortgage payment. What happens if you become uninsurable during the 36-month period? There are options, such as the Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan (HIRSP) offered through the state, but you better not have a break in coverage. The bottom line: you should seek individual coverage as soon as possible. You may even save some valuable dollars, though probably not without reduced benefits.
3. Failure to understand tax consequences of assets:
   The house, stocks and bonds, annuities, mutual funds, and retirement plans: If you do not understand the tax basis and how that effects your settlement with each of these assets, you will likely be in for a surprise when you need to sell them. Furthermore, with today's financial marketplace, some investors have racked up huge losses in their investment portfolios as well as possible carry-forward losses from previous year's tax returns. A stock that originally cost $50,000 but is worthless today has approximately $12,500 in future tax savings potential.
4. Failure to understand taxable options on division of retirement plan:
   One of the graces afforded divorcing couples is that the tax laws are actually favorable. Under section 1041 of the Code, virtually all transfers of assets between spouses can be accomplished tax free if properly structured. In addition, a premature distribution from a qualified plan prior to age 59½ can be facilitated without the traditional 10% federal penalty, and the 3.3% state penalty. This is very powerful tool when used to reduce expenses or to payoff debts, i.e. attorney fees and consumer debt.
5. Not planning for the tax consequences of maintenance:
   Many folks fail to consider their tax liabilities from the receipt of maintenance. Only at the end of the first year of divorce, when they are preparing their tax returns, do recipients of maintenance realize that they owe thousands of dollars in income taxes and underpayment penalties for which they failed to allow for in their budget. Also, maintenance received is treated like a wage for purposes of IRA contributions. Former spouses receiving maintenance are eligible to contribute $3000 ($3500 if over 50 years old) to a tax deductible IRA account or Roth IRA even if they are not employed.
6. Not planning for a contingency such as the premature death of a former spouse:
   It happens frequently; a person is receiving maintenance for 15-years under the Marital Settlement Agreement, 5 years after the divorce the payee dies unexpectedly. Of course, if you have children at home, social security benefits may kick in. However, maintenance under the tax laws must cease. If you are going to be dependant on your former spouse paying maintenance for any extended period of time, it would be in your best interest to insure that income stream. Knowing this in advance, perhaps you could get your former spouse to pay for the coverage or a portion of it. If the former spouse pays for a portion or all of the premiums, you may be required to report those as income on your tax return, as well.
7. Failure to organize personal financial affairs after divorce:
   After the divorce, it is imperative that you review all of your financial matters such as the named beneficiaries on your life insurance policies, 401(k) plans, annuities and the like. If children are involved, it is entirely possible that your premature death would result in your former spouse gaining control of your assets in trust that are left for the benefit of your minor children. That could be inconceivable in many divorce cases. A thorough review of your estate plans and a simple testamentary trust could be established so that you may name a person of your choice to handle the finances left behind for the benefit of your children, perhaps your brother or sister as an example. In that manner, the custodian spouse must then go to your named trustee for funds, and you assure that your children's inheritance is handled by a person you trust.
8. Recognizing marital assets from non-marital assets:
   Assets brought to a marriage, as well as assets acquired during marriage are considered marital property in Wisconsin. That doesn't automatically mean that all assets are divided equally between the partners. Assets that are gifts or inherited are not considered marital property. However, the characterization of those assets may very well turn unintended non-marital assets into divisible marital assets. You need to know the difference and how they are accounted for in a divorce.
9. Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO):
   This is the most treacherous area of divorce law. In fact, it is also the largest area of legal malpractice suits brought by people around the country. Many attorneys that practice family law do not fully understand how to divide a pension, and the various ways, through a QDRO. If you don't understand things such as cost of living adjustments, supplemental benefits, lump sum distribution options, marriage coverture formula's and whether or not your spouses pension accrues linear or is based upon a formula of salary and number years worked, you will lose!
   
   The house and the retirement plans are likely to be the largest assets in your marriage. It would behoove you to get educated. Did you know that you could elect to commence your former spouses pension even if they have not yet retired? What if you are 40 years old and your former spouse is 50 years old? Do you think that makes a difference? You need to know the earliest possible retirement age and why you should mark that date on your calendar? You need to find out how often the plan is valued by the administration firm. If it's once each year, if you are divorcing in the latter part of the year, what about the benefits accrued during that year? Many plans don't make their contributions to a plan until March or April of the following year for benefits earned the previous year!
   
   Another missed opportunity is forfeitures. When an employee leaves a company and has not fully vested in their plan, the nonvested portion is shared equally with the remaining participants in the plan. When are the forfeitures added to the plan? Lastly, even though your QDRO may clearly spell-out that you are to receive 50% of the accrued benefit as of the date of divorce, unless you are an actuary, that 50% is something other than what you believe it to be.
10. Failure to consult with a knowledgeable financial advisor
    A Certified Divorce Planner (CDP) understands tax issues, how to value and divide property and investments equally. A properly trained and experienced advisor can show a client the short and long-term results of the various options and proposals made throughout the divorce case. This will educate the client to make much better-informed financial decisions now and in the future.

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