Tag Archive for: divorce judges

Nebraska Bill Would Let Divorce Judge Require Marriage Counseling

According to statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Division of Public Health, the divorce rate in Wisconsin in 2009 was 2.9 percent. That was lower than the national rate of 3.4 percent, but means that 16,705 marriages ended in the state that year. While most agree that some marriages are too strained or abusive to save, some people connect the rise in divorce in the U.S. with social problems. Some politicians seek to make it more difficult for people to get divorced, on the theory that the public benefits from more couples staying together.

A legislator in Nebraska is one such politician. According to an article in the Omaha World-Herald, State Senator Tony Fulton is sponsoring a bill that would give judges the power to require divorcing couples with children to go to marriage counseling before granting them a divorce. The bill would also authorize judges to take any other actions the judge believes to be in the best interests of the couple and their children. The article does not go into detail about what those “other actions” might include.

Sen. Fulton said that he believes that discouraging divorce benefits society and the individuals in the marriage. High rates of divorce and broken families in Omaha have led to increased violence in that city, he said.

The bill would also give judges the power to limit the divorce proceedings to six months, and require counseling for childless couples if one of the spouses says he or she still wants to salvage the marriage.

The World-Herald article quotes a family law attorney in Lincoln who disagreed with the bill. Couples in troubled marriages already make an effort to save their marriages, she said, and people should be as free to end their marriages as they are to start them.

Source: Omaha World-Herald, “Divorce counseling bill introduced,” John Schreier, January 13, 2011

Wisconsin man learns of divorce years after the fact

A Wisconsin man returned home after an absence of many years to learn his wife had divorced him. She also sold the house they owned together even though he never signed papers allowing the sale. The case illustrates the importance of ensuring one’s interests are represented in a family law proceeding.

When the man’s wife filed for divorce, she never personally served him with divorce papers. He had moved out of state and his wife served him by publication only. Then, when he did not appear in court, she was awarded divorce by default. The divorce court awarded the house to the wife, and she sold it with the help of a forged signature on the quit claim deed.

When the man learned what happened, he successfully petitioned the court for a post-divorce modification. The court acknowledged that it did not have authority to transfer property in a default divorce proceeding when the defendant had not been personally served. The court ordered the ex-wife to split the sale proceeds. The man then sued the title company for conspiring with the ex-wife to transfer title to the home by forgery. In 2008, a jury awarded actual and punitive damages to the man. The title company appealed, and on Dec. 4, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the earlier jury verdict.

In any divorce proceeding, it is important to have qualified legal representation. An experienced family law attorney can advise people about the long-term implications of any decisions and agreements to be made. The attorney also can help ensure property division issues are addressed fairly and in accordance with the law.

Source: State Bar of Wisconsin, “Divorce Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Transfer Property, Title Company Loses,” Joe Forward, Dec. 4, 2012