Child Support Attorney in Madison WI

When you are getting divorced, you may wonder how your children will be affected and how you will be able to support them financially. Ongoing financial support can be a major cause of stress in any divorce, which is why it is important to have a Madison child support lawyer on your side. At Balisle Family Law Legal Counsel, S.C., we work to ensure that the child support award is fair, whether you are the payer or the recipient.

Wisconsin child support guidelines use a formula based on a percentage of the parents’ gross income. If both parents have placement of their children at least 25% of the time, then each parent’s gross income is used in the calculation. If one parent has less than 25% placement, then the other parent’s gross income is not taken into consideration when calculating the amount of child support. Gross income includes income from any source, whether or not it is reported or taxed under federal law.

The child support guidelines are based on each parent’s income and the number of overnights or equivalent care time a child spends with each parent.

Fighting for child support? Let our Madison child support attorneys at Balisle Family Law Legal Counsel, S.C. help! Call (608) 765-1001 today!

When Does Child Support End in Wisconsin?

By state law, the duty of a parent to support his or her child ends at 18 years of age, unless the child is enrolled in high school or working on a high school equivalency course (GED), which extends the obligation to pay child support until age 19.

If a child is emancipated, it is likely that parents have no obligation to pay child support, but there is no statute that states this. In Wisconsin, the only definition of “emancipated minor” is found in a statute regarding a minor obtaining an abortion:

Wis. Stat. §48.375(2)(e) provides, “’Emancipated minor’ means a minor who is or has been married; a minor who has previously given birth; or a minor who has been freed from the care, custody and control of her parents, with little likelihood of returning to the care, custody and control prior to marriage or prior to reaching the age of majority.”

It is likely, though not certain, that a minor who fits this definition will not be entitled to child support from a parent. 

Sometimes when a parent is interfering with the other parent’s physical placement with the child, the parent believes they can stop paying child support. However, this belief is not true as Wis. Stat. §767.511(3) prohibits a parent from withholding child support in this circumstance. It states, “Violation of physical placement rights by the custodial parent does not constitute reason for failure to meet child support obligations.”