The purpose of the Financial Disclosure Statement is to provide the court with ample proof of income and expenses of each spouse. It also shows the court that you and your spouse have shared pertinent financial information during the divorce process. Depending on the amount of income and expenses you and your spouse have will determine the time you will need to spend completing the Financial Disclosure Statement.
REMINDER: you should attach to the Financial Disclosure Statement a copy of your last 3 pay stubs or a W-2 statement to provide proof of your income. Also attach copies of any other documents that will help substantiate any other income recorded.
The "Wisconsin Child Support Worksheet" must be completed because it is often required to be submitted with the Joint Petition of Divorce and presented along with the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment at the time of the short hearing. Calculating child support involves addition and subtraction and should be carefully reviewed once the obligation amount has been determined. Please keep in mind, that you may deviate from the results of the worksheet if you and your spouse agree to do so. Wisconsin has specific deviation factors for child support within the Wisconsin state statutes.
Each one of your documents should be reviewed for accuracy and completeness. It is not time to take short cuts. Reading the same document several times before signing is very common. The documents are legal binding documents, so once they are signed you are obligated to what is stated by a court of law. Do not sign any of the documents unless you completely understand what they are conveying and what you are bound to by law.
When reviewing the documents you will notice the Marital Settlement Agreement is most often the longest of them all. The Marital Settlement Agreement outlines and resolves the issues of your divorce. It is a legal binding agreement between you and your spouse and must be signed and notarized. If you do not understand something or can not come to agreement (after lengthy negotiating) with your spouse, it is a wise choice to consult a lawyer in your area, because it would appear that your divorce is no longer uncontested.
Once you have reviewed all of the documents, it is time to go before a Notary Public. Some of the documents will need to have notarized signatures. Those documents that have a notary clause by the signature lines will need to meet this requirement.
The following documents should be prepared for the initial filing with the County Clerk’s Office of the Family Court. Keep in mind that some in the list below are not necessary if you do not have minor children.
The originals (not the photocopies) will be filed with the County Clerk’s Office of the Family Court. Most courts require to file a copy of your "Marriage License", so be sure to have one ready. If you do not have a copy, try contacting the county court in which you where married. This court will have a records department and they will retrieve you a copy of your Marriage License for a small fee.
When filing your documents, you will be assigned your Case Number and this must be included on all the documents you file. Also ask for the Judge's (Master's or Referee's) name, so you can also include it on all the documents. If they do not have the Judge's name or it is not required in your county, then just leave it blank. Sometimes, due to case load, the County Clerk’s Office of the Family Court will not know who will be assigned to your case.
If for some reason you are requested to complete a few other standard forms or make minor changes or additions to your existing forms, be sure to comply, do not get upset or frustrated, because you only have these people to help you. These additional forms will be short and can often be completed in the office at the time of filing.
There is a fee for filing and that fee varies from county to county through Wisconsin and depending upon your divorce situation. Your situation typically yields a lower filing fee, because you and your spouse are in agreement and filing as Joint Petitioners. This is the easiest and most simplistic way to file for a divorce in Wisconsin.
After you have filed the Joint Petition of Divorce and the other documents, you will be waiting for a hearing date. Sometimes they are able to give you a date immediately, but if you have not received any correspondence from the County Clerk’s Office of the Family Court within 60 days, be sure to give them a call and always reference your Case Number.
On your hearing date you will be given a location to go to and a time to appear in front of a Judge (Master or Referee) of the Family Court. The Judge will have everything pertaining to your case that has been filed on hand. It is at this hearing you will present the following final divorce documents:
Once the Judge has agreed to sign your Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment you are officially divorced! If for some reason the judge does not agree with the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment (this almost never happens in an uncontested divorce) do not worry, the Judge will discuss the issues at hand and request a few adjustments to be made. You simply leave the hearing and make the minor adjustments and file the modified Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment, at which point the Judge will sign it at a later date and grant your divorce.
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