Last month’s column took a look back at the developments in family law for 2021. So, it seems appropriate to dedicate this month’s column to a look ahead to 2022.
Tagged with: Gregg Herman
Read More »Last month’s column took a look back at the developments in family law for 2021. So, it seems appropriate to dedicate this month’s column to a look ahead to 2022.
Tagged with: Gregg Herman
Read More »My late partner, Leonard Loeb, used to say that every lawyer has at least one case which they think is the cause of most of their headaches and lost sleep. The lawyer thinks “as soon as that case is completed, my life will be so much easier.” But, naturally, as soon as that case does wrap up, there is another one with the same effect on the lawyer.
Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman Laura Beck
Read More »One of the expected consequences of the COVID epidemic was disputes between parents regarding parenting children.
Tagged with: Gregg Herman
Read More »Nothing in our legal system is more important than judges. Cases proceed (or don’t proceed) and resolve largely on the basis of the individual proclivities of the person wearing the robe. A good judge can make a complex, difficult case ...
Read More »Some things sound better on paper than they turn out to be in real life.
Read More »Last month, I took a look at the Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions in family law in the past year.
Read More »Typically, I end a year of columns with a review of the previous year.
Read More »Several months ago, my friend, Dr. Ken Waldron, a (semi) retired psychologist from Madison, and I were discussing the importance to children of their divorcing parents peacefully settling their disputes when Ken noted the lack of empirical data on settlement negotiations.
Read More »The Wisconsin Supreme Court now has an opportunity to clarify an area of family law which very much needs clarifying.
Read More »One of the most common questions clients ask me is: “When do the children get to make the decision as to placement?”
Tagged with: Family Law
Read More »On June 16, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin issued its opinion in Miller v. Carroll, 2020 WI 56, a case involving a judge’s decision to accept a Facebook friend request from a mother in a custody and placement dispute.
Tagged with: Family Law
Read More »My mother used to say that it takes a very ill wind to blow no good.
Tagged with: Family Law
Read More »In the movie “A Marriage Story,” a female lawyer (played by Laura Dern, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) is incredibly compassionate toward her client, saying she will move forward with the divorce, “as gently as possible.”
Read More »It has been eight years since the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted a review of a family-law case, other than regarding grandparent visitation.
Read More »Although I’m normally not one to bemoan the “good old days” gone by, there are instances in which I do. And given the unprecedented and unusual circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak as it affects the legal system, one such instance comes to mind.
Tagged with: divorce Family Law
Read More »Recently, a default divorce hearing fell through because the judge in the case had the temerity to ask a party whether she thought the proposed settlement was fair.
Tagged with: divorce Family Law
Read More »Although I consider myself a movie buff, I typically dislike movies about lawyers and the legal system. For example, although Paul Newman (a great actor) was nominated for the Academy Award for playing a lawyer in “The Verdict”, I found the movie irritating (at best). Apparently, the rules against ex parte contact with the court were unknown to the script writers.
Read More »After a year of writing this column for the Wisconsin Law Journal, it is time to take a look back at the main issues for the year. This affords me the opportunity of taking another kick at such cats as seem to warrant another kick.
Read More »On Jan. 13, 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the question of who can be friends with a judge – at least in the cyber world. The implications of the case may affect the use of ESM (Electronic Social Media) by judges and bring into play the adage “bad facts make bad law”.
Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »The greatest change in the practice of family law in recent years has been the incredibly higher rate of resolution versus settlement.
Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »Among the changes in the practice of family law over the years (and there have been many) none have been as significant as the transition of the practice from litigation focused to settlement focused.
Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »The Wisconsin Supreme Court does not accept many family-law cases (the last one, other than one regarding grandparent visitation, was McReath v. McReath, 2011 WI 66, 335 Wis.2d.643, 789 N.W. 89 eight years ago).
Read More »It is rare enough that the Wisconsin Supreme Court decides a family-law case (the last one of any significance was McReath eight years ago) and even more rare when the case involves issues of constitutional law. The court’s recent decision in Michels v. Kelsey, 2019 WI 57 also involves issues of the nature of family in our society and the effect of the legal system on families.
Read More »When it comes to employment choices, having a support obligation means that the good ol' USA is no longer a free country.
Tagged with: Employment Family Law Gregg Herman jobs
Read More »It’s not that the previous law on relocation was perfect, but the new version, while improving on certain aspects, violates what should be a principal tenet for legislation: Don’t adopt laws, at least parts of which, everyone is just going to ignore.
Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »With a new legislative session underway, once again there are efforts to require Wisconsin family courts to order equal physical placement in every – or virtually every – case.
Tagged with: domestic abuse Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »An interesting article recently appeared in the Wisconsin Lawyer concerning domestic abuse and child custody: Meuer, Gibart & Roach, “Domestic Abuse: Little Impact on Child Custody and Placement”, Wisconsin Lawyer, Vol. 91, No. 11 (December, 2018).
Tagged with: domestic abuse Family Law Gregg Herman
Read More »On Nov. 7, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a grandparent-visitation case, Michels v. Lyons, 2017AP1142. This case affords the Supreme Court an opportunity to affect the law in an important and highly emotional area. In the ...
Read More »With same-sex marriage now legal in 36 states -- and probably legal in all 50 after the U.S. Supreme Court rules next summer -- same-sex divorces will follow in due course.
Tagged with: divorce Family Law gay marriage Gregg Herman U.S. Supreme Court
Read More »It is common, where there are minor children, for a divorce agreement to require at least the payor of child support and sometimes both parties to maintain life insurance with the children as beneficiaries.
Tagged with: child support Family Law Life insurance
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