Divorce Attorney in Wausau, WI and the Surrounding Areas

A courtroom battle can be a prolonged, frustrating ordeal. Many couples facing an uncontested or amicable divorce choose to work through mediation to resolve as many disputes as possible without relying on traditional courtroom litigation.

Since 1920, the law firm of Schmidt & Schmidt S.C., has served clients in North Central Wisconsin who were facing the full range of family law matters. As the trend of “friendly divorce” has risen, we have devoted a significant portion of our firm to divorce mediation and guiding clients through the process with a divorce attorney in Wausau, WI. If you have questions regarding family law and how our skill can benefit you, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with our team to help you find the right divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI.

With more than 20 years of experience as a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI, attorney Andrew W. Schmidt can act as either your lawyer through divorce mediation or the neutral facilitator — but not both.

Wisconsin requires disputing couples to try mediation. As a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI, our firm can help you understand the numerous benefits to the mediation process, including:



• A shorter process than litigation
• Having a voice in the compromise
• Low-conflict discussions
• Productive, positive environment
• Lower cost than litigation
• Process is navigated by an experienced facilitator
• Can find nontraditional compromises

The goal of mediation is to foster cooperation and have couples work together rather than driving a larger wedge between them. By using external professionals such as certified public accountants (CPA), divorcing couples can reach resolutions regarding alimony, property division, pension plans and small-business matters.

The word “divorce” is so commonly associated with bitterness and anger that it is easy to forget that it is possible to end a marriage without allowing those to be the overriding feelings. For parties who are able to sit down, reason with each other and reach agreements on issues, uncontested divorce can be a great option.

At Schmidt & Schmidt S.C., we are the uncontested divorce attorneys Wausau, WI families rely on to do everything possible to minimize conflict between parties. When children are involved, we treat the situation with the utmost care, always shielding them from unnecessary tension. Our divorce lawyers in Wausau, WI are happy to sit down and help divorcing couples work through their issues out of court, sparing them the expense and anguish of litigation.

Uncontested divorce brings with it a number of real, tangible advantages over traditional litigation. For example:

• You and your former spouse get to control your own futures. You reach agreements about things like child custody, visitation, property division, and any other issue that comes up.
• Your family’s destiny is not determined by a judge who does not know who you are or what is important to you.
• The legal expenses for uncontested divorce are vastly lower than they would be for any litigated divorce.
• When the divorce is over, you and your ex-spouse can be on civil terms, which is important if you have children, because your contact with each other will not end simply because you are no longer married.

If you believe an uncontested divorce might fit your needs, we encourage you to reach out to a divorce attorney in Wausau, WI. Even if you think litigation is the only option, still get in touch with us, because there may be less conflict than you think. Our divorce attorneys in Wausau, WI certainly litigate when needed, but we encourage the more economical, affordable, and civil approach of uncontested divorce when it makes sense.

When you get married, the property you own merges with that of your spouse and becomes “marital” property. If you are about to get married and want to keep some of your property from becoming part of the marriage estate, you should consider a prenuptial or premarital agreement prepared by a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI. Schmidt & Schmidt, S.C., has drafted many of these agreements as well as antenuptial or post-marital agreements, which spouses enter into after they have said their vows.

When you work with our team, your divorce attorney in Wausau, WI will work for the good of the client, providing both the best service and the best of all possible results. If you have questions about prenuptial or antenuptial agreements, contact our Wausau premarital agreements attorneys online or call (877) 757-6995 to schedule an appointment to discuss your plans.

Under marital property law, a couple (before they are married) or a husband and wife (after they are married) can contract as to who actually owns the property and how it is to be shared or distributed upon a death or a divorce.

Under Wisconsin law, there are three basic kinds of property for the purposes of prenuptial and antenuptial agreements: individual property, commingled property and marital property.

• Marital property: This refers to property that is acquired during the marriage as well as any property that was brought by either party into the marriage.
• Individual property: This refers to property owned by the parties individually. This property will become marital property once they have said their vows unless they agree otherwise. Examples of property people sometimes want to exclude from marriage by agreement are vacation homes, retirement accounts and pension plans.
• Commingled property: When the partners get married and they share assets, such as depositing funds in a joint bank account, the property is said to be commingled. Commingled property is generally considered marital property unless, again, there is an agreement.

As experienced divorce lawyers in Wausau, WI, we have drafted many prenuptial and antenuptial property agreements for many satisfied clients over the years. We will make sure your exact intent is reflected so that there can be no doubt as to what you wanted to retain as individual property.

Marital property agreements have two major requirements: 1) that a marital property agreement must be fair and 2) it must have full disclosure.

Fairness: “Fair,” for purposes of a marital property agreement, means that each party:

• Has had an opportunity to review the other party’s financial disclosure,
• That the agreement is inherently fair to both people (not lopsided or vindictive), and
• Each party has the right to have his or her own attorney review the documents.

Full disclosure: Each party must reveal to the other party all of the following:

• His or her assets and all the property he or she owns
• All of his or her liabilities, both long-term and short-term debts
• His or her sources of income
• His or her monthly expenses

Failure to fully disclose your financial information by hiding, underreporting or misrepresenting any assets, income or debt could be grounds for a court to later overturn the marital property agreement. If you require assistance with the due diligence required for one of these property agreements, our experienced business law and estate planning attorneys can assist you.

Maybe an unexpected layoff has put you in a bad financial position. Maybe your former spouse recently remarried. As life goes on after a divorce, change happens. New jobs, illnesses, unemployment and growing children are just some of the things that may make it necessary to revisit some of the issues that were originally settled by your final divorce decree.

As reliable divorce attorneys in Wausau, WI, we can help you secure the changes you need. We have been helping people in the Wausau area and throughout North Central Wisconsin resolve difficult family law issues for nearly 90 years. Attorney Andrew Schmidt handles all types of post-divorce litigation, and he can help you with issues such as:

• Paternity testing
• Child support enforcement
• Modification of child support order
• Modification of spousal maintenance order
• Visitation rights
• Modification of child custody order
• Custodial parent relocation (move away cases)

One thing to be aware of in Wisconsin is that once you have received your first order for placement, do not expect to be able to change that order for at least two years — unless some form of domestic violence or abuse occurs. Making a false allegation in hopes of obtaining a modification anyway is something that will not be viewed kindly by the court and will most likely backfire.  As your divorce attorney in Wausau, WI, Schmidt & Schmidt, S.C. can advise you on matters of child custody.

Modifying a prior court order can be more difficult than getting the divorce was. Unless the two of you are in agreement (in which case a Stipulation to Modify an Order is best advised), seeking an order to modify a prior court order requires you to prove that (1) there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the last time the order was last changed by the Court and (2) the change is in the best interest of the children.

Undertaking these actions are at times more expensive that the original divorce. As your divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI,  Andrew Schmidt will meet with you to discuss how this process works, the steps necessary to begin and the steps necessary to undertake these legal actions.

Some divorce lawyers in Wausau, WI are zealous advocates who rely on passion, charged emotions and righteous indignation to win their cases. Other divorce attorneys in Wausau, WI are tenacious and aggressive and will do whatever they legally and ethically can to win — regardless of what “winning” actually costs the client. Both can be very effective at what they do. Both can fail miserably just as often.

The question to ask yourself is this:

“What do I want my life to be like after the divorce?”

At Schmidt & Schmidt, our divorce lawyers in Wausau, WI believe in an approach using tact, diplomacy, reason and compassion to help all parties concerned come to a realistic agreement. In our experience, people who are getting a divorce have enough charged emotions happening and don’t need any fuel added to the fires already burning.

There are two kinds of divorces, ‘contested’ and ‘uncontested’. A contested divorce is where the sides are unable to reach an agreement. This inability to reach an agreement may stem from actual or perceived problems or concerns about the other party that are perhaps too difficult for the parties to over come. Your divorce attorney in Wausau, WI can help answer your questions about divorce type.

An uncontested divorce is where the two sides are able to come to an agreement, this contract is called a Marital Settlement Agreement. This contract is then made a part of your divorce and it becomes an order in your final divorce decree. Your divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI can explain this in depth.

• Mediation – an attempt to reach a guided and reasonable agreement.
• Temporary orders – court orders during the ongoing divorce action
• Child placement – where the children live
• Preliminary property division – for pre-agreed property divisions
• Child custody and visitation
• Paternity/DNA testing – for non-marital children
• Alimony and spousal maintenance
• Property division
• Guardian ad litem situations
• Children in need of protective services (CHIPS) where the county has stepped in to protect children
• Post-divorce modifications
• Custodial parent relocation – when the parent with primary placement is moving

Sometimes a divorce catches one party off guard, a complete surprise. Or one party has committed a breach of the marriage causing a complete breakdown of trust, respect and love.

Emotions run high – sometime very high.

If you, or someone you know has fallen into one of these categories; PLEASE, PLEASE have them seek out professional mental health counseling immediately. It is impossible to offer guidance and proper legal counseling from a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI when a party to a divorce has emotions running away.

Revenge and divorce are "deadly." As your divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI, we recommend that you also seek professional health counseling as soon as possible. While these emotions will be temporary, there is no reason to be overly sad, angry, frustrated, or revengeful for what is happening.

Because Wisconsin is a “no-fault” divorce state, all that is needed in order to complete a divorce is that one of you state that the “Marriage is Irretrievably Broken." Even in a “no-fault” state, it is important to seek guidance from a dependable divorce attorney in Wausau, WI.

When a divorce has been filed you need a law firm that can help you identify whether your marriage is irretrievably broken or in need of serious mediation. You need an attorney who understands the legal time guidelines for filing divorce petitions and the time frame for how soon remarriage can occur after a divorce. And when it comes to property division, you need a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI who can explain the differences among real property, personal property and debt.

You also need a friend interested in finding solutions to your problems — not in creating new ones and in racking up billable hours in the process. As your divorce attorney in Wausau, WI, Schmidt & Schmidt, S.C. works to fully support you.

Friends are what you’ll find here.

If money is an issue or you and your spouse are able to cooperate with one another, try our low-cost alternative – DIVORCE FORM ASSISTANCE – where our firm offers assistance as your divorce attorney in Wausau, WI to help you with filing in the divorce forms necessary to get your divorce done with a minimum of hassle as possible. Call to learn more.

Lastly, we would like to mention that Andrew Schmidt is not only a divorce lawyer in Wausau, WI, but also a guardian ad litem. This means he is a licensed attorney whose role is to represent the best interests of children during investigations and court processes. As a result of his experiences in this capacity, he has seen firsthand the devastating effects that mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, ADD/ADHD, and obsessive-compulsive disorders can have on families. He is determined to help clients avoid these consequences wherever he possibly can.

Schedule a Consultation With a Divorce Attorney in Wausau, WI Today

Reach us by phone or by email today to schedule a consultation with a divorce attorney in Wausau, WI. Weekend and evening times are available by appointment. We can also meet with you in your home, in a health care facility, or in another setting, if necessary. Major credit cards are accepted.