In Wisconsin, it is unethical for a lawyer to represent both sides in a divorce. If you think you have an attorney who is representing both of you there is a pretty good chance that attorney was hired by your spouse and your spouse told you that the attorney was taking care of everything. All Wisconsin divorce lawyers know that one attorney cannot represent both sides.
This does not mean you both need an attorney and perhaps one attorney can take care of all of the necessary paperwork to accomplish your divorce. Of course, that lawyer is not protecting your rights and his or her client is not you.
There are many issues both emotional and financial that most times require you to have your own divorce lawyer. One example that quite often occurs is one person gets the house and the mortgage and agrees to pay the mortgage. The other person may think all is well. Later, the spouse who thought he or she was out from the mortgage goes to purchase another house only to find that they have not been released from the mortgage. Many times the first mortgage will prevent you from obtaining another mortgage because your income is not high enough to support the two mortgages.
You may have heard that just because you are divorcing your spouse does not mean you are divorcing the creditors. The marital obligation always is a marital obligation until the creditor releases you from that liability. For that reason, it is always best to take action to have the person who is keeping the house and the mortgage get you released from the mortgage from the creditor. This is one example of where and your spouse may have had a complete agreement but, because you are not represented by an experienced divorce attorney, could have a substantial negative impact on your future.
Remember, there are some cases in which there just are very few issues so that perhaps you do not need an attorney. However, if you have been married for any length of time, have any debt of any nature, have children, own any real estate or own a business then it is essential that you have an experienced divorce attorney to make sure that even if there are agreements they are able to be enforced and are to your future benefit.
If you have any questions or concerns about divorce or any post-divorce matters such as maintenance, child support, placement or custody, please contact the family law attorneys at Krueger Hernandez & Thompson SC. In the Madison area call (608) 824-8540, the Baraboo area call (608) 356-3961 or statewide call (866) 455-2993. Please feel free to check out our website at https://khtlawyers.com for more information.
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