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Recent Blog Posts
Calculating Child Support in a Wisconsin Divorce
Determining child support is an important component of the divorce process for couples who have children. Child support is seen by the courts as a way to protect children from the economic instability that could come from divorce.
Child support should be used to meet all of the child’s needs, such as housing, food, transportation, and medical care. It should also be used for items that may not be necessities but are things that the child became accustomed to during the marriage, such as camps and extracurricular activities.
If you are in a situation in which one parent has the children less than 25 percent of the overnight stays each year, then that parent will be the paying parent, and his or her income will be used. Child support will be calculated based on the following percentages of the paying parent’s gross income:
Avoiding Car Accidents During the Winter
Learning to drive in Wisconsin’s winter weather is a skill unto itself. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures all increase the difficulty level of driving and, unfortunately, they also increase the chances of a car accident.
Anyone getting behind the wheel this winter should familiarize themselves with the following tips in order to keep the roadways safe for everyone:
1. Use the Right Equipment
Winter tires are recommended in temperatures less than 44 degrees. Many people operate under the false notion that all-season tires are able to adequately handle winter driving. However, the rubber compound in all-season tires begins to freeze when temperatures go below 44 degrees. This means that such tires will be less effective at gripping the road. If you do not have winter tires, proceed with caution and the understanding that your car may not be able to handle all winter road conditions.
Making Modifications to Your Divorce Decree
As the saying goes, the only thing that is constant is change. While your initial divorce decree may have worked for you and your family at the time, these orders may need to be updated throughout the years, and it is important for divorced spouses to understand the processes that must be followed when making post-divorce modifications.
People may seek changes to child custody, child support, and spousal maintenance orders. Circumstances leading to a change in child custody orders include:
- Parent relocation
- A parent re-marrying and/or the addition of half-siblings or step-siblings
- Changes in children’s schools
- Changes in children’s extracurricular activities
- The emergence of a child’s medical condition
Alimony and child support modifications may be granted if there has been a change in the payor’s income. Child support modifications may also be granted if the child requires more or less support or if changes to child custody arrangements have increased or decreased the amount of time a child spends with a parent.
What Is Embezzlement? Understanding Criminal Charges in Wisconsin
By Ray Dall’Osto
If you pay attention to the news, you will often see stories about an employee being charged with embezzlement. A common embezzlement fact pattern involves an office manager or bookkeeper who is accused of diverting their employer’s money to his personal account, often in small increments over a long period of time, or charging and purchasing personal items using the employer’s credit. Another situation involves a company officer, attorney, or trustee who diverts funds they are entrusted with for their personal use or for another, without the company’s or client’s knowledge and permission.
By the time the employer or entity detects possible impropriety and embezzlement, thousands to millions of dollars will have gone unaccounted for. A 2017 study of embezzlement cases nationally found the median loss to be at $300,000 and the average loss over $1 million.
When Will Alimony Be Awarded in a Wisconsin Divorce?
Divorce is common in the United States, and every day, people choose to end their marriages for a variety of reasons. However, many people choose to say married for financial reasons. When two people have merged their lives, one spouse may become financially dependent on the other, and in these cases, the dependent person may believe that he or she has no option other than to stay in the marriage despite wanting a divorce.
In this scenario, Wisconsin courts will entertain a request for spousal maintenance, which is commonly referred to as alimony. A spouse may seek spousal maintenance regardless of how the marriage ended.
It is important to keep in mind the purpose of alimony. Spousal maintenance is not meant to punish a party. Rather, it is meant to support one spouse and allow them to maintain the standard of living they were accustomed to during the marriage.
5 Ways Streetcar Accidents Happen
Milwaukee recently began operating a streetcar line, known as The Hop. The Hop now runs on a 2.5-mile loop through downtown and the Historic Third Ward. While streetcars provide a valuable form of transportation, they also present specific safety risks, and they can cause serious bodily and property injury.
Unfortunately, the risk of accidents can be higher when a streetcar system first begins operation. Necessary safety precautions may not be implemented, and drivers can be inexperienced. In addition, motorists may not be used to sharing the road with the streetcars. Victims of streetcar accidents may include streetcar passengers, drivers and passengers in a vehicle that collides with a streetcar, and pedestrians and bicyclists traveling near the tracks.
Here are five ways a streetcar accident can occur:
Election of New Wisconsin Governor Re-Opens Possibility of Pardons
By Ray Dall’Osto and Steve McGaver
Governor Scott Walker lost the November 6 gubernatorial election to Democrat Tony Evers. With the change in leadership in January 2019, hopefully there will come a change in priorities and policies in Wisconsin. One area that is expected to change is how pardons are handled. It is hoped that governor-elect Evers may reverse the current Walker policy of no pardons and no reviews and grant pardons to those he deems meritorious.
Scott Walker was elected in 2010, and he has held office from 2011 through January 2019. He is the first governor in the State of Wisconsin’s history since 1848 to categorically refuse to exercise the state constitutional prerogative to consider or grant pardons or commutation, no matter how worthy a pardon applicant might be of getting such.
Avoiding Drunk Driving Charges During the Holiday Season
During the holiday season, you will likely have many occasions to celebrate with friends and family. When you drink alcohol at these parties, it is best to avoid getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. You should do everything you can to ensure that you are not one of the many who will be arrested for OWI (Operating While Intoxicated, the official charge for drunk driving in Wisconsin) during the holidays.
Alcohol Consumption by Holiday
According to Alcohol.org, the average number of drinks consumed on Thanksgiving is 2.7. The average number of drinks consumed on other “winter holidays” is 3.1. New Year’s Eve is one of the booziest holidays for Americans, as the average number of drinks consumed on that day is 4.4.
Tips to Avoid Driving Drunk
Can I Be Charged With DUI When Using Marijuana?
Many people associate DUI, or driving under the influence, with the overconsumption of alcohol. However, one can be convicted of a DUI (also called Operating While Intoxicated or OWI) for driving while under the influence of illegal drugs or prescription medications.
Marijuana OWI
There are several reasons why marijuana OWI charges are on the rise in recent years. Marijuana has become legal for medical or recreational purposes in many states. Also, Canada recently legalized pot for recreational use nationwide. In addition, growing practices have yielded increasingly more potent marijuana crops.
Wisconsin law states that “No person may drive or operate a motor vehicle while . . . [t]he person has a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood.” This is different from how the law defines OWI for alcohol, which occurs when someone drinks to a point that “renders him or her incapable of safely driving.”
Consequences for Possession of Child Pornography in Wisconsin
Wisconsin takes child pornography charges seriously and does not often grant leniency to those who have been accused of these types of crimes. A conviction of this nature can affect every aspect of your life, including where you live, who will hire you, and who will associate with you. It is important to fight these charges as aggressively as possible.
The Wisconsin Child Pornography Possession Law
Under Wisconsin law, possession of child pornography is defined as possessing or accessing any material depicting a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The law requires that the accused have the intent to view such an image. The law applies to any developed or undeveloped film, photographic negatives, photographs, motion pictures, videotapes, or other recordings.
