Requesting a Court Date by Mail
For use only AFTER a Divorce, Legal Separation, or Paternity has been granted.
Getting a Court Date
- Complete only the moving papers (Order to Show Cause and Affidavit, Notice of Motion and Motion, Petition to Enforce and Notice of Hearing, etc). Do not complete your Financial Disclosure Statement, Order, or Decision and Order at this time. Also, be sure to have your signature notarized if required.
- Contact the Family Division at (262) 548-7544, if you have any questions or need procedural assistance.
Note: Your forms cannot be reviewed for completeness if you are filing by mail.
- Mail your completed forms, any supporting documentation, and payment, if required, to:
Waukesha County Family Court Division, Room C-167
P.O. Box 1627.
Waukesha, WI 53187-1627
Be sure to include the following items:
- The original moving papers and any supporting documents and at least 3 copies. (4 if the State is a party)
- A check made payable to the Clerk of Courts to cover any applicable filing fees (see the instructional packet of your forms for fees).
- A phone number where you can be reached between the hours of 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- A self-addressed, stamped, 81/2 X 11 envelope so the court can return your signed original and copies to you for service.
- Once your forms and fees are received, a Calendar Clerk will assign you a court date and obtain a court official’s signature, if necessary. They will keep a copy for the court file. The original document along with the required number of conformed copies will be returned to you in the envelope you provided. You must then make arrangements to have the other party(s) service. NOTE: The State must be serve a copy if they are a party to the case.
Notifying the Other Party (Service)
- Give the other party(s) notice of the hearing by having them served with the court papers. The form you completed to request the court date will determine which method you must use to have the other party served. See the Service Packet for options and procedural instructions.
Deadline: The other party(s) must be notified properly and provided with the forms no later than five (5) business days before the date of the hearing.
- Make a copy of the proof of service (Affidavit of Service, Admission of Service, or Affidavit of Mailing) for your records and send by mail or fax the original to the court several days in advance of the hearing.
Warning: Without proof of service, the court cannot proceed with the hearing.
Preparing for and Going to Court
Requests to Appear by Phone:
If you are requesting to appear at the hearing by phone, you must put your request to the court to appear by phone in writing and send a copy of the request to the other party. Be sure to follow-up with the court by calling (262) 548-7544 to verify that the court official has in fact given you permission to appear by phone and to make arrangements to do so.
- You may send the following items to be used by the court official with your request to appear by phone:
- Original proof of service.
- Original Financial Disclosure Statement.
- Any other documents you think may help you make your case to the court.
- If you wish to have other people testify for you, make sure they come to court in person. A letter from them is not acceptable.
- If appearing by phone, follow the direction the court clerk gave you about how to connect to the courtroom.
- Present your case to the Judge/Court Commissioner:
- Be prepared to state your side of each issue clearly and completely.
- Be prepared to answer questions that may be asked of you by the Court or others.
- Any written evidence or documents you wanted to present to the court, should have been sent previously and be in the court file for the hearing.
- While you are in court, use the forms you prepared as an outline to remind you of each issue you want to talk about.
- The Judge/Court Commissioner will state his/her decisions/rulings to you. Take notes because you must be able to write the ruling on a specific form called Decision and Order (FA-4175). The court may also set another hearing for the parties to return to court.
After Court
- After your court hearing, complete the Decision and Order form (FA-4175).
- Make four (4) copies (6 if the State is a party) of the completed Decision and Order.
- Send one copy to the other party and the State of Wisconsin, if it is a party.
- File in the Family Court Office, in person or by mail, the original, the remaining three copies of the Order, and two self-addressed stamped envelopes (one addressed to you, one addressed to the other party).
- The court will hold the Decision and Order for five (5) days to give the other party(s) time to review the order and object to its accuracy. If there are no objections within the five days and the court agrees with how you have written the Order, he/she will approve and send each party a signed copy.
