• Areas of Practice
• Family Law
• Introduction
• The Use of an Attorney For Family Law Matters
• Counseling In A Divorce
• What Is Collaborative Divorce?
• What if my Spouse is Abusing or Harassing Me?
• Custody and Physical Placement
• Child Support
• Maintenance
• Property Division
• Estate Planning, Trust Administration, and Probate
• Elder Law and Medicaid Planning
• Business Law
• Litigation

Property Division

In Wisconsin, the presumption is that all property is to be divided equally between the parties at the time of the Judgment of Divorce. The exception is gifted or inherited property, which may be exempt from property division under specified circumstances. Wisconsin courts do have the right to make an unequal property division dependent on a variety factors.

Legitimate questions that can be asked on a property division would include the following:

1. If I inherit money and use it as a down payment on a house that I title in the name of my spouse and I, is the exempt nature of the inheritance lost?
2. How do I value my pension plan?
3. Is my spouse entitled to an interest in my pension plan?
4. Can I deduct from my pension plan valuation the amount in the plan as of the date of my marriage?
5. Can my spouse exclude from the property division household furniture and furnishings which was given to him/her as a gift but which was used by both of us during our marriage?
6. How do I value items of personal apparel or clothing or is it even necessary to value a lot of the personal property if my spouse and I can come to an agreement on division?
7. If I have primary placement of the children and want to keep the house, will I have some time to pay my spouse his/her share of the equity in the house?
8. Do I have to pay my spouse interest if I cannot pay the cash equalization payment to him/her immediately?
9. If our marriage agreement is that I stay home with the children and my spouse works, should I be penalized in the property division because I did not make as much money as he/she did?
10. How do we divide up the cars and personal property if we cannot agree?

Some of the above questions may apply to your case or you may have other questions for which you do not know the answers to. Poor sources of information are comments by friends as to what happened on their divorces, or comments from friends as to what their attorneys advised them. Most people who have been divorced consider themselves instant experts; or they will tell you what they think you want to hear. Do not take chances. If you have questions, consult with your own attorney and get your questions answered promptly.