Documents Needed For Divorce

If you are going to represent yourself in your divorce these are the documents you will need to complete. You will need to file a summons, a petition, a confidential petition addendum. If minor children are involved, the court will want you to file a child support application.

Attorney Toby Kinsler, sits with Anthony Karls in this video and discusses the documents that you file with the Wisconsin Courts. He explains the purpose of each document.

You can get all the required circuit court divorce forms for Wisconsin through the Court System Website. We provide a service for those representing themselves in court. Representing yourself in court is called ProSe. This DIY, or ProSe, service will include helping you complete the right documents and making sure they are filed properly with the court.

The best solution is to hire a Family Law attorney to file your divorce paperwork. The attorney will complete these documents and make sure they are filed correctly. This way mistakes in your paperwork will not delay your filing. However, if you are completing these documents yourself, it is important that you know what each document will accomplish.

The Summons is the heads up giving to your spouse when you serve them with the court filed documents. This lets them know that they are being sued for divorce. The serving of the summons is required for the divorce proceedings to move forward. The Petition for Divorce is the statement of facts for the case. The Confidential Petition Addendum is the roster for the case that outlines all the parties involved. This included listing the children and their ages. Social security numbers will be required on this document. When minor children are involved, there will be a requirement for a Child Support Application.

Considerations Before You File

To file for divorce in Wisconsin, you must first be a resident for at least six months. Once you file your divorce paperwork and have served your spouse a summons you will have to wait one hundred and twenty days before the final court hearing.

If there are minor children involved, you’ll need to complete a parenting plan. Child support payments will be determined and there could possibly be spousal support and division of assets, debt, and property division to come to an agreement on. If you're not in agreement, the court could order mediation or make the final decisions themselves. Learn more about filing for divorce in Wisconsin through the Wisconsin court system forms.

Attorney Toby Kinsler
2810 Crossroads Drive, #3100
Madison, WI 53718
(608) 208-6002

References:
Sterling YouTube Channel,
YouTube Video,
Forms Provided by the Wisconsin Court System