Carlton D. Stansbury

Carlton D. Stansbury is one of the founding partners of Burbach & Stansbury S.C. He has decades of experience as a lawyer and mediator guiding clients through all aspects of divorce and complex property division, including divorces involving businesses and complex-support issues. 

He has been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America for more than 15 years and named as one of the Top 10 Super Lawyers in Wisconsin for 2007 - 2016 and  2018 - 2024, and is ranked amongst Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers. In 2023, he was named #1 Lawyer in Wisconsin by Super Lawyers. 

He has published many notable articles in the Wisconsin Journal of Family Law, American Journal of Family Law, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Wisconsin Chapter Newsletter, and other eminent publications.

He teaches frequently to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Office of Judicial Education, the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Carlton is a fellow and past president of the Wisconsin chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and a fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. Over his career, Carlton has been a member and officer of the State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Leander J. Foley Society of Family Lawyers, American Bar Association and Family Law Section, and Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin, Inc. He is also a member of the Milwaukee and Ozaukee County Bar Associations. 

Throughout his career, Carlton has testified before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Legislature regarding proposed legislation and changes to the judicial code. He is a member of the Joint Editorial Board for Family Law for the Uniform Law Commission. He has presented at the University of Wisconsin Law School and Marquette University Law School.

Certified Legal Specialties

• Matrimonial Law Arbitration Training, sponsored by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

• Mediation training through University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Mediation training with Zena Zumeta

• More than 50 hours of training in Collaborative Practice, including beginning, intermediate, and advanced training

Membership & Leadership Positions

• American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow 

• International Academy of Family Lawyers, Fellow

• Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, past board member

• Leander J. Foley Society of Family Lawyers, past president 

• State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section, past president 

• Milwaukee Bar Association, Member

• Ozaukee County Bar Association, Member

Published Works (Abbreviated)

• Book: The Family Law Practitioner’s Guide to Social Security (ABA Family Law Section 1995, 2nd printing February 1996).

• Chapter: Supplement on Wisconsin Prenuptial Law, published in Drafting Prenuptial Agreements, Skoloff, Singer, Jr. and Brown (Wolters Kluwer 1994; sup. 2014-2021).

• Chapter:  Subchapter S Income for Support:  Real or Illusionary?, 2008 Family Law Update (Aspen Publishers 2008).

• Article: “On Reaching an Equitable Maintenance Result:  The Case Against Rules of Thumb,” 36 Wisconsin Journal of Family Law  65 (September 2019).

• Article: “Increasing the Likelihood of Enforcing a Prenup,” 33 American Journal of Family Law 221 (Spring 2019). 

• Article: "Accessibility to a Parent's Psychotherapy Records in Custody Disputes: How Can the Competing Interests Be Balanced?" 28 Behavioral Sciences & the Law 522 (2010).

  Speeches (Abbreviated)

• Moderator, “Judge’s Panel,” Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 43rd  Annual Divorce Wisconsin Style Seminar, Milwaukee, March 2025.

• Faculty Member, “Family Law Workshop for New Judges:  Maintenance, Child Support, Property division and Modifications,” 2024 Wisconsin Judicial College, Wisconsin Supreme Court Office of Judicial Education, Madison, Wisconsin, August 2024.

• “Effectively Weaving Business Valuation Principles Into Property Division and Support Settlements,”  delivered to the State Bar of Wisconsin, Section of Family Law, 43rd Annual Family Law Workshop, Door County, August 2024.

• “Highlights of the UCCJEA:  Continuing Exclusion Jurisdiction Limits and Emergency Jurisdiction,” delivered to the 2023 Wisconsin Family Court Commissioners’ Association Fall Conference, Superior, Wisconsin, October 2023.

• “Critical Maintenance Principles From Temporary to Modified Maintenance,” presented to the Milwaukee County Family Court Judges and Commissioner’s Annual Retreat, Milwaukee, February 2022.

• “Preserve the Business and Support the Family:  Effective Use of Business Income for Support,” presented to the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Fall Divorce Wisconsin Style Seminar, virtual, November 2021.

• “Social Security and Divorce:  Key Things to Know,” Advanced Skills & Techniques for Family Law Practice,” delivered to the State Bar of Wisconsin, Virtual, December 2020.