Family Law

Family law cases, by their very nature, can be quite sensitive.  In addition to the legal parts of these cases, there are the emotional ones, and that can make these cases feel very personal.  When all of these elements come together, dealing with anything in the family law realm can quickly become overwhelming.  

That’s why hiring an attorney who understands both the legal process and the emotions that go into family cases will give you the best chance at a successful outcome.  Attorney Hirsch helps clients manage the emotional side of these cases and assists with legal decisions, all while navigating through the procedures that are required by the courts.

Scroll down to see some of the most common types of family law cases that Attorney Hirsch handles.

Divorce

No one gets married planning to have a divorce, but today, between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce.  Some divorces can be grueling and extremely challenging, others can be relatively simple and straightforward, and most fall somewhere in between.  What all divorces share in common is that it is extremely important to handle them properly on the legal side of things; not doing so could have years-long consequences.  Having an attorney represent you in a divorce is a significant advantage over representing yourself – especially if children are involved.  

Attorney Hirsch strives to ensure that every client dealing with a divorce understands the process from start to finish, and is able to feel that their goals and concerns are heard.  No two divorces are identical, and Attorney Hirsch treats every client uniquely based on his or her individual circumstances.

No matter what stage of a divorce you’re in, your best move is to bring in competent legal representation to work with you.  Contact Attorney Hirsch to get started and gain some peace of mind.

Mediated Divorce

Sometimes, a married couple decides to move forward with a divorce that both sides are ready for.  While hiring an attorney is still the best decision, these cases might best be resolved through a mediated divorce.

In a mediated divorce, the attorney acts as a neutral third party, working with each spouse to settle up all of the areas of the marriage.  The attorney does not represent either spouse, though, and instead, is able to communicate with both of them to get everyone on the same page for all the aspects of the divorce.  Once everything is agreed to, the attorney will draft all of the necessary paperwork and submit it to the court on behalf of the couple.  Oftentimes, this can be a less costly way of getting a divorce as compared to both spouses hiring their own attorneys.

If you and your spouse believe that you may be candidates for a mediated divorce, contact Attorney Hirsch.    

Child Support

Child support is money that is meant to go towards the financial support and care of children.  The amount of support is based on a number of factors, including each parent’s financial situation, child placement schedule, and how many children are involved.  But, there are plenty of individual circumstances that keep child support from simply being an easy math formula.  For instance, what if one parent receives a bonus from work?  What if a parent loses a job?  What if one parent might be hiding earnings?

In order to make sure that the right amount of child support is being calculated, contact Attorney Hirsch to discuss your case.

Placement

Placement is the schedule that you and the other parent operate under for parental responsibilities.  This schedule can be divided up into a variety of ways, and deals with weekdays, weekends, holidays, vacations, and more.  Placement also directly impacts child support.  Oftentimes, placement gets confused with custody, but they deal with two different aspects of family law.

It is important to understand that once a placement schedule has been ordered by the court, there are only specific circumstances that allow it to be changed.  This is why it is very important to hire an experienced attorney to handle placement matters.  Contact Attorney Hirsch and get the legal assistance and advice you need for your placement case.

Custody

Custody is the legal decision-making power of a parent for a child on major decisions.  These decisions include choice of school, medical providers, whether a child can get a license, and other important decisions.  Custody can either be joint (equal between the parents), or sole (one parent makes all of the decisions).  Oftentimes, custody gets confused with placement, but they deal with two different aspects of family law.  

It is important to understand that once custody has been ordered by the court, there are only specific circumstances that allow it to be changed.  This is why it is very important to hire an experienced attorney to handle custody matters.  Contact Attorney Hirsch and get the legal assistance and advice you need for your custody case.

Paternity

Paternity cases deal with parents who are unmarried but share a child(ren) in common.  “Paternity” means legal fatherhood, and establishing paternity is the process of legally making a man the father of a child.  Children have a right to have two parents, because it entitles children to things like child support, health insurance, and social security benefits of both parents.

There are several ways to establish paternity, which include filing the proper documents and presenting the correct requests and information to a court.  For a potential father, a successful paternity filing could allow you to get placement and custody with your child, and for the mother, it could result in the father providing child support and other financial benefits for the child.  Paternity cases can be established by either parent, or the State of Wisconsin. 

To have the best potential for a successful outcome on your paternity case, contact Attorney Hirsch.

Contempt

Even though a court issues an order for a parent to do – or not do – something, occasionally people just don’t listen.  A filing for contempt is a request for the court to enforce previous orders and potentially issue a penalty to the rule-breaking parent, including fines. 

Contempt is not always the best remedy to fix a problem though, and sometimes the threat of contempt is actually better to give the needed incentive to follow the court’s orders.  Each circumstance is different, though, and in the best way to find out if a contempt filing is right for your case, contact Attorney Hirsch.