Wisconsin Attorney | Random Lake, WI | Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer S.C. (hkklawoffices.com)

When you're involved in a custody battle, one of the most important things you can do is understand how a judge thinks. It could very well be the factor that determines whether you win or lose your case. Many people walk into court assuming all they need to do is tell their side of the story—but family law doesn’t work like that. Judges follow specific principles, and if you’re unaware of what matters to them, you could be wasting time—or worse, sabotaging your case. The Importance of Knowing a Custody Judge’s Mindset My name is Kyle Kaufman, and I’m a family law attorney at HKK Law Offices in Wisconsin. Over the years, I’ve learned a great deal about how judges approach custody cases, and understanding their mindset can dramatically improve your chances. In this article, I’ll walk you through some key insights based on an interview I read with a custody judge. We’ll touch on topics like child custody in the first year of life, common family court issues, the role of attorneys, attorney fees, and settlement agreements. Stick around until the end for some valuable information from this interview. 1. It’s All About the Child’s Best Interests Above all, judges are concerned with what’s best for the child. Family law judges don’t care about what’s fair to you—they care about the child’s well-being. This means they focus on factors like: Which parent can provide the most stability? Who is actively involved in the child’s daily life? Can the parents communicate and co-parent effectively? If your argument centers on badmouthing your ex without connecting it to the child’s well-being, the judge won’t be interested. It’s vital to keep the child’s best interests front and center in your case. 2. Judges Have a Lot of Discretion Custody cases are complex and filled with gray areas. Unlike criminal law, where things are more black-and-white, family law judges have significant discretion. Every judge has their own perspective on what’s best for a child. Some judges prefer joint custody whenever possible, while others lean toward maintaining stability, meaning they may favor the parent who has been the primary caregiver. By understanding your judge’s tendencies, you can tailor your approach to improve your chances of success. 3. Credibility is Key Judges don’t just listen to what you say—they pay attention to how you say it. Do you appear calm, reasonable, and focused on your child’s well-being? Or do you seem angry, combative, or unwilling to co-parent? Your tone, body language, and even facial expressions can all impact how the judge perceives you. Staying composed and showing respect for the process can help establish your credibility. 4. Avoid Common Mistakes One of the fastest ways to lose credibility in court is to make unsupported accusations or badmouth the other parent. Judges are used to hearing extreme claims, but unless you have solid evidence that the other parent poses a danger to the child, these accusations can backfire. Instead, stick to the facts and focus on what you bring to the table as a parent. 5. Use Your Knowledge to Your Advantage Understanding what a judge is likely to prioritize can help you make smarter decisions both in court and during settlement negotiations. If you can show that your position aligns with the judge’s focus on the child’s best interests, you’re in a much stronger position. Avoid arguments that aren’t backed by solid evidence or relevance—these types of disputes only increase costs and stress. 6. How to Learn About Your Judge So, how can you get to know your judge better? Here are some strategies: Ask your attorney: Attorneys often have experience with particular judges and can provide insights into their tendencies. Consult with other attorneys: A broader network of attorneys might have useful feedback on a specific judge. Research online: If your judge was elected, campaign materials or public records may shed light on their preferences and values. Use social media: Sometimes, you can find community feedback on a judge’s past decisions or approach. Observe in court: Courtrooms are generally open to the public, so sitting in on a hearing might give you a sense of how the judge operates. Read articles and interviews: Some judges write articles or give interviews that reveal their philosophy on family law. 7. Insights from a Custody Judge Interview I recently came across an interview with a custody judge, and I want to share some of the insights from that conversation. Here are a few key takeaways: On equal overnight placement for fathers with infants: When asked about whether it’s appropriate to award significant overnight placement to fathers with children under a year old, the judge explained that bonding during infancy is critical. Unless a father is unable or unwilling to meet the infant’s needs, they should be given significant, recurring overnight placement to establish a bond with the child. Common issues in family law: The judge highlighted challenges like differing perspectives on online schooling, parents' work schedules, and the evolving economic situations of families. Another issue that frequently arises is motions to limit one parent’s ability to travel with the children, which the judge typically sees as a parenting issue rather than a legal one. On parent coordinators: Parent coordinators can play a significant role, but the judge weighs their decisions on a case-by-case basis, considering the experience of the coordinator and the history with the family. What impresses a judge about attorneys: The judge appreciates attorneys who come prepared and are willing to attempt to reach a compromise. It’s disappointing when attorneys see a case as something to be fully litigated rather than focusing on solutions that benefit the children in the long term. Attorney fees in contempt cases: When a parent violates a custody order, the judge rarely awards attorney fees unless there is a history of blatant contemptuous behavior. When fees are awarded, they’re determined based on factors like the history of the parties, the work involved, and the financial situations of the parties. Conclusion The answers provided by this judge offer valuable insights into the priorities that shape their decisions. By understanding how a custody judge thinks, you can frame your case in a way that aligns with their values, improving your chances of a favorable outcome. Remember: the key to success in custody battles is focusing on what’s best for the child, staying credible, and making informed choices based on your judge’s mindset. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about the judge overseeing your case. This knowledge is one of your most powerful tools in navigating family law matters. These are complicated matters, and the point of me sharing this information with you is to make you aware of these matters and to help you explore the ideas and concepts. Thank you for reading. Can you do something for me so we can continue to make great content like this? Schedule a complimentary consultation to speak with us using Wisconsin Attorney | Random Lake, WI | Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer S.C. 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Because INCARCERATION IS NOT VOLUNTARY UNEMPLOYMENT, what happens to child support when payors are sent to jail? Wisconsin has recently made changes to the child support guidelines that includes added language to the administrative code, DCF 150, the code that covers child support, regarding this specific situation. What do these changes mean? It means that Incarcerated payors can now seek a modification to child support orders. In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has long held that incarceration is just one factor to consider when determining whether to change a support order. By adding this language to DCF 150, Wisconsin is now prohibited from having a law that bars changes for incarcerated parents. In the past, states had laws that prevented incarcerated parents from seeking changes to child support orders. The federal government, however, has come in, and established federally required language that prohibits states from barring changes when parents are incarcerated. Now, by adding the language to DCF 150, Wisconsin is now compliant with federal requirements related to child support. These are complicated matters, and the point of me sharing this information with you is to make you aware of these matters and to help you explore the ideas and concepts. Thank you for reading. Can you do something for me so we can continue to make great content like this? Schedule a complimentary consultation to speak with us using Wisconsin Attorney | Random Lake, WI | Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer S.C. Subscribe or follow HKK Law Offices on social media Like and share our social media posts Leave a comment on our social media posts

Legal custody disputes related to transgender children present special issues in family court. To help understand these types of disputes, it is important to know terminology, such as: Gender identity Gender expression Transgender Nonbinary Gender dysphoria Transition It is also important be aware of the people who could be relevant in legal custody disputes involving transgender youth, such as: Counselors Doctors Expert witnesses on transgender youth Examples of these types of disputes between parents: What if one parent is supportive of their child’s gender identity, but the other is not supportive? What if parents disagree as to whether and to what extent gender-affirming care should be provided to a child? What if one parent views a trans child’s gender expression as a mental health concern? These of disputes can generally be decided by a Wisconsin Court under the “best interest of the child standard.” The court can consider the positive or negative impact of gender-affirming health care, mental health care, counseling, and even medications and medical procedures, including hormone therapy, and surgical options. The court can also consider the existing mental health of the child, and whether there are any existing mental health disorders or the need for assessments or evaluations. The court will consider the conduct of the parents and the reasons for their support or rejection of the child’s gender identity or expression. These are complicated matters, and the point of me sharing this information with you is to make you aware of these matters and to help you explore the ideas and concepts. Thank you for reading. Can you do something for me so we can continue to make great content like this? Schedule a complimentary consultation to speak with us using Wisconsin Attorney | Random Lake, WI | Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer S.C. Subscribe or follow HKK Law Offices on social media Like and share our social media posts Leave a comment on our social media posts

Wisconsin child support guidelines use the term “Serial-Family Parent.” A “Serial-family parent" means a parent with an existing legal obligation for child support who incurs an additional legal obligation for child support in a subsequent family because of a court order. Who is a serial-family parent? If you have a child with one parent, and then have another child with a different parent, you are a serial-family parent when it comes to considering how to set the support order for the second child. In Wisconsin, this means that when determining monthly income available for support for the second child, the court needs to know the dollar amount of the prior order, or the court needs to determine how much the parent would owe in the first case if support were determined today. Who is not a serial-family parent? If you have a child with one parent, and then have another child with a different parent, you are not a serial-family parent when it comes to considering how to set the support order for the first child In Wisconsin, this means that when determining monthly income available for support for the first child, the court is not instructed to know the dollar amount of the order for the second child, and the court does not need to determine how much the parent would owe in the second case if support were determined today. How is this fair? As always, there may be good reason for the court to deviate from the guidelines. The reasons to deviate are included in Wisconsin statutes, and one reason includes, the needs of any person, other than the child, whom either party is legally obligated to support. These are complicated matters, and the point of me sharing this information with you is to make you aware of these matters and to help you explore the ideas and concepts. Thank you for reading. Can you do something for me so we can continue to make great content like this? Schedule a complimentary consultation to speak with us using Wisconsin Attorney | Random Lake, WI | Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer S.C. Subscribe or follow HKK Law Offices on social media Like and share our social media posts Leave a comment on our social media posts

In Wisconsin, your child has the right to deny you placement or visitation with your grandchild absent a court order requiring visitation or placement. You, as the grandparent, have the right to petition the state courts for relief. When determining whether placement or visitation is appropriate, a court will look at whether the grandparent will act in accordance with the parent’s wishes and if placement or visitation is in the best interests of the grandchild. Grandparents have a high burden of proof to obtain visitation. Courts will start with the presumption that the parent is acting in the child’s best interests and the burden is on the grandparent to overcome this presumption. Courts may look to what historical visitation schedule the grandparent exercised, the nature and length of relationship between grandparent and grandchild, the ability of the parties to cooperate and communicate, and any other factor that the court deems relevant. There are pros and cons in filing a petition for grandparent visitation and consulting with an attorney may be helpful to parties who think they will request relief.

Child support is generally ordered pursuant to the guidelines provided for in the governing statutes. Courts may deviate from these guidelines if it finds that the guidelines amount would be unfair. The court makes the fairness determination after evaluating the fifteen fairness factors. It is important for litigants to be prepared ahead of any request for deviation because the burden is on the requesting party to show that deviation is appropriate. Litigants often believe that child support is “just math,” but it can be much more complicated than that. An attorney can help parties look at all 15 factors, determine which ones apply, and make legal arguments on your behalf.

The Wisconsin Administrative Code pertaining to child support guidelines was updated effective January 1, 2024. The code chapter, specifically Department of Child and Families Chapter 150 (DCF 150), was updated to clarify when and how equivalent care should be applied when calculating child support. Child support is the obligation to support a child financially. Support is calculated by reviewing the payor’s gross income and comparing it to the amount of overnight placement that person has with the child. In some instances, a parent would be unable or unavailable to have overnight placement with their child. For example, a parent working third shift would not feasibly be able to have overnight placement. In that case and if a parent provided a certain amount of care during they day, they could be given credit for overnight placement. The purpose is to not penalize a parent for working third shift who provides meaningful care and support for their child but is unable to actually have overnight placement. That is called “Equivalent care”, which contemplated that periods of time a parent has with their child of at least 6 hours and during which a meal is provided could be considered equivalent of an overnight. Unfortunately, when applying equivalent care credit, courts were giving individuals duplicate credit for overnight placement and placement the day following but did not include an overnight. For example, If an individual had placement Saturday into Sunday, they would receive credit for Saturday overnight placement. Courts would often give that parent credit for an additional overnight if that parent had placement of the child until Sunday at 7:00 under the presumption that the child was provided meals and was with that parent nearly the entire day. The scenario was not consistent with the original intent for equivalent care credit. The update to DCF 150 removed the equivalent care definition and clarified its implementation within the code that is consistent with the original intent and purpose for equivalent care. The update specifically states that Duplicate credit, as described above, is not permitted. A parent cannot receive credit for equivalent care during a period that is within 24 hours of an overnight period for which they received a credit, unless the other parent is providing overnight care the night before and after.  Child support calculations and placement arrangements are often among the most contentious issues in family law cases. If you find yourself lost and in need of direction, contact our Family Law Team today!

Unfortunately, there are times when one party withholds placement of a child. There a can be many reasons or motivations for a party to withhold placement from the other parent. Regardless of the reason, the party who has had their placement denied, withheld or interfered with may file a motion with the court to have the placement order enforced. As in most cases when a motion is filed, the moving party must allege facts to show that their placement has been denied or interfered with. Because this particular motion asserts that one parent has been denied placement with their child—and the parent-child relationship is of such great importance—the court is obligated to hold a hearing on the motion within 30 days of service, unless both parties agree to extend the time to hold a hearing. During the hearing, both parties present their case to the court. At the conclusion, the court must determine whether the party alleged to have denied placement to the other party did so intentionally and unreasonably. If the court finds both occurred, it must issue an order granting additional period of placement to replace those denied periods of placement and award the moving party a reasonable amount for the cost of the action. The court may make additional findings to include additional financial compensation to the moving party, find the responding party in contempt and issue an injunction requiring the responding part to strictly follow the placement order. It is possible for a court to find that placement was intentionally denied while determining that that denial was not unreasonable given the circumstances. If you have had periods of placement denied to you or have been accused of withholding placement from another parent, call one of the attorneys at Hawley, Kaufman & Kautzer, S.C. today!