Statutory Reference to Wisconsin Statutes Annotated:

Residence: §§ 767.05, 767.083

Divorce: § 767.07, 767.12

Property Division: §§ 766.01 to 766.97, 767.255

Alimony: §§ 767.26, 767.261, 767.29

Custody: § 767.24

Visitation: 767.245

Child Support: Admin. Code DWD 40

 

Residence:

One of the spouses must have been a resident of Wisconsin for six months and a resident of the county where the divorce is filed for thirty days immediately prior to filing.  No hearing on the divorce will be scheduled until 120 days after the defendant is served or after the filing of a joint petition.

 

Grounds:

No-fault: Irretrievable breakdown of marriage, which can be shown by (1) a joint petition filed by the spouses alleging this ground, or (2) living separate and apart for 12 months immediately prior to filing, with no possibility of reconciliation.

 

Distribution of Property:

Community property regime.  Upon divorce, the court shall presume that marital property is to be divided equally, but may alter this distribution without regard to marital misconduct after considering the specified 16 factors.  The court may also divide any spouse's separate property in order to prevent a hardship on a spouse or on the children of the marriage.

 

Alimony/Spousal Support:

The court may award rehabilitative, limited, or indefinite, maintenance, without regard to marital misconduct, upon consideration of fifteen enumerated factors.  The court may combine maintenance and child support payments into a single "family support" payment. 

 

Child Custody/Visitation:

Legal custody and physical placement may be joint or sole, based on the best interests of the child, based on 11 enumerated factors.  Joint custody may be granted only if the parties agree.  The court may not modify the initial custody decree for two years unless it is shown that current custodial conditions are physically or emotionally harmful to the child's best interests, or the custodial arrangement is "impractical."  The two-year bar does not apply to relocation cases or where the parties agree to modify.

 

Child Support:

Child support guidelines are based on the flat percentage of income model, calculated on the gross income of the noncustodial parent.  Support terminates at age 18, or if the child is still in high school, at graduation from high school or at age 19, whichever is sooner. No statute or case law holds a parent to the duty of paying for college costs.