Colin A. Drayton

414-359-9100 • Contact Colin

“Everyone needs to understand their unique situation, learn the law, and tailor a strategy to best achieve their goals. This is a cost-benefit analysis.”

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude

  • Carthage College, summa cum laude

  • Clerkship – Honorable G. Michael Halfenger, U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Honors

  • Rising Star by Wisconsin Super Lawyers, as published in Milwaukee Magazine, 2020-2024

  • Top 10 Under 40 for excellence in field of family law by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys, 2022

Colin Drayton represents those going through divorce. He is well-versed in dealing with financial issues such as property division, child support, maintenance, and children’s issues. Additionally, he has drafted and negotiated over 130 prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements, and has several published works on this topic.

Colin also has experience with family-law appellate cases, including drafting briefs to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This included serving as co-counsel in a successful appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Siech v. Schwab (Wisconsin Supreme Court, published opinion June 22, 2021).

He publishes and presents on family law issues, and on prenuptial agreements. This includes multiple articles in the Wisconsin Journal of Family Law, the American Journal of Family Law, and a co-authored chapter on Wisconsin Prenuptial Agreement Law that was published by Wolters Kluwer.

He is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section, the Leander J. Foley Society of Family Lawyers, the Association of Family Conciliation Courts, and the Waukesha Bar Association. He also devoted time as part of a task force that revised the Milwaukee County family court rules.

Membership & Leadership Positions

  • Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Member

  • Leander J. Foley Society of Family Lawyers, Member

  • State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section, Member

  • Waukesha Bar Association, Member

Published Works

  • Chapter: Carlton D. Stansbury and Colin A. Drayton, Wisconsin: Prenuptial Law published in Drafting Prenuptial Agreements, Skoloff, Singer, Jr. and Brown (Wolters Kluwer 1994; supp 2021).

  • Article: “Where did all the published cases go?” Wisconsin Journal of Family Law (2025 forthcoming)

  • Article: “Views from the Mediator’s Bench: Making Mediation More Effective,” 40 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law 9 (January 2023)

  • Article: “Not Empty Promises: Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Divorce Agreement Integrity,” 38 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law 73 (October 2021)

  • Article: “Stimulate Your Value with Stimulus Language,” 38 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law 62 (July 2021).

  • Article: Colin A. Drayton, Junion and the Enforceability of Prenuptial Agreements. 38 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law 6 (January 2021)

  • Article: Colin A. Drayton, Crime Doesn’t Pay: The Impact of Criminal Acts During Divorce, 36 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law 89 (November 2019)

  • Article: Carlton D. Stansbury & Colin A. Drayton, Increasing the Likelihood of Enforcing a Prenup, 33 American Journal of Family Law 221 (Spring 2019)

  • Presentation co-author: “Divide All Stock Options If-As-When? Not So Fast”, prepared for the American Association of Matrimonial Law-Wisconsin Chapter October 24, 2020 meeting.

  • Caselaw Update: Junion v. Junion, Appeal. No. 19-AF-844 (Court of Appeals, June 16, 2020)

  • An Overview of “Parental Separation of Overnight Care of Young Children”, prepared for the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Wisconsin Chapter, 2017 Annual Education Event, Milwaukee, March 2017.

Classes & Seminars

  • Contributor to case studies, “Divorce Wisconsin Style: Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers,” Judges Panel, 2019-2025

  • Co-Presenter, Between Shirking and Earning Capacity: An Analysis of Caselaw, Wisconsin Judicial College, January 2018

Representative Appellate Cases

  • Rust v. Rust, 2023-AP-974 (Court of Appeals, January 22, 2025)

  • Danielson v. Danielson, 2024 WI 57 (Court of Appeals, September 11, 2024 published decision)

  • Buck v. Buck, 2023-AP-1569 (Court of Appeals, July 3, 2024) (Petition for Review to Wisconsin Supreme Court denied)

  • Siech v. Schwab (Wisconsin Supreme Court, published opinion June 22, 2021)

  • Quartana v. Quartana, Appeal No. 20-AP-1168 (Court of Appeals 2021)

  • Bernhard v. Bernhard, Appeal No. 20-AP-194 (Court of Appeals, December 3, 2020)

  • Siech v. Schwab, 2020 WI App. 40, Appeal No. 19-AP-1200 (Court of Appeals, May 5, 2020)

  • Kearns v. Kearns, Appeal No. 16-AP-1407 (Court of Appeals, March 22, 2017) (Petition for Review to Wisconsin Supreme Court denied)