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ROWE LAW OFFICE, LLCLegal Counsel & Virtual Mediation

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Wisconsin & Florida family law mediation.

Protecting What Matters Most: Wisconsin Custody & Placement

Clear, compassionate, and strategic legal advocacy for your parental rights—delivered entirely through a secure virtual law practice.

Understanding the Difference: Custody vs. Placement

Legal Custody (Decision-Making)

Legal custody concerns authority over major life decisions, including healthcare, education, and religion. It is separate from the child’s day-to-day placement schedule.

Joint Legal Custody
Parents share authority and must consult and agree on major decisions, subject to any specific allocation of authority in the court order.
Sole Legal Custody
One parent has independent authority to make major decisions, within the terms of the court order.

Physical Placement (Where the Child Lives)

Physical placement is the actual schedule of time the child spends in each parent’s care, including ordinary routines, holidays, and school breaks.

Shared Placement
For shared-placement child support calculations, each parent generally has court-ordered placement of at least 25% of the year—92 or more days, measured through overnights or qualifying equivalent care—and shares basic support costs.
Primary Placement
The child lives with one parent most of the time. A schedule giving that parent more than 75% of the year ordinarily leaves the other parent below the shared-placement threshold; “primary placement” is not universally defined by a strict 75% cutoff.

The Rowe Law Advantage (GAL Insight)

Patrick Rowe is frequently appointed by Wisconsin courts as a Guardian ad Litem. This work brings deep insight into how GALs investigate a family’s circumstances and formulate best-interest recommendations for judges.

That perspective informs a focused, child-first approach to preparing your case. When representing a parent, Patrick acts as that parent’s advocate; a GAL appointment is a separate court-directed role.

Find a practical path forward for your family.

Connect with Rowe Law Office, LLC by secure phone or video to discuss your situation and the next steps.

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