AB54,1,5 1An Act to repeal 767.56 (6), 767.56 (7) and 767.56 (8); to renumber 767.56 (1),
2767.56 (4), 767.56 (5) and 767.56 (10); to renumber and amend 767.56 (intro.),
3767.56 (2), 767.56 (3) and 767.56 (9); to amend 767.59 (3); and to create 767.56
4(2m), 767.56 (3m), 767.56 (4m) and 767.56 (5m) of the statutes; relating to:
5requirements for ordering maintenance.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, in an annulment, divorce, or legal separation, the court may
order one party to pay maintenance (formerly known as alimony) to the other party.
The statutes set out factors that a court must consider in ordering maintenance, such
as the length of the marriage, the educational level of the parties at the time of the
marriage and at the commencement of the action, the age and physical and emotional
health of each party, and the contribution that a party has made to the increased
earning power of the other party. The amount of maintenance and the length of time
that it must be paid are in the court's discretion.
This bill provides, as an overall guiding principle, that maintenance is a
rehabilitative measure to enable the party for whom it is ordered to acquire the
education or skills to become self-supporting and sets out more specific standards
for courts to use in ordering maintenance. Under the bill, a court may not order
maintenance unless the parties have been married for at least 15 years, which
eliminates the availability of maintenance in most annulment actions, and the party
seeking maintenance shows either: 1) that because of the marriage he or she lacks

sufficient resources to provide for his or her minimal, reasonable needs; or 2) that
employment is difficult for the party to obtain or maintain because of a physical or
mental disability that was incurred during the marriage.
The bill, for the most part, retains the factors under current law for the court
to consider when ordering maintenance, but eliminates some of the factors under
current law, such as the tax consequences to each party and any mutual agreements
made before or during marriage concerning any arrangement for the financial
support of the parties. The bill adds as factors to consider all financial resources of
the party seeking maintenance in addition to the property division, the contributions
and sacrifices of each of the parties during the marriage, and the efforts of the party
seeking maintenance to obtain suitable employment before and during the pendency
of the action. The bill provides that, regardless of the court's findings after
considering the other factors, the court may deny maintenance if the party seeking
maintenance engaged in extramarital activities during the marriage or has not made
reasonable efforts to obtain employment or develop skills to become self-supporting.
The bill limits the length of maintenance to the shortest time necessary for the
payee to become employed at a level that provides for minimal, reasonable needs, but
not more than three years, with two exceptions. If the payee contributed to the
education of the payer, maintenance may continue until it equals the amount that
the payee contributed; if the payee became disabled during the marriage,
maintenance may continue for the shorter of: 1) as long as the disability continues
but not past the age at which a person the same age as the payee would be eligible
for unreduced social security benefits; or 2) until the payee receives or is eligible to
receive disability payments or other benefits on account of the disability. The bill
limits the amount of maintenance to the amount necessary to meet minimal,
reasonable needs, but not more than 20 percent of the payer's monthly income, based
on a 40-hour work week or the payer's base pay.
Under current law, the court is required to terminate maintenance, upon
application by the payer, if the payee remarries. The bill adds that the court must
also terminate maintenance, upon application by the payer, if the payee cohabits
with another adult person of the opposite sex.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB54, s. 1 1Section 1. 767.56 (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (1m) and
2amended to read:
AB54,3,43 767.56 (1m) Order of court. Upon a judgment of annulment, divorce, or legal
4separation, or in rendering a judgment in an action under s. 767.001 (1) (g) or (j), the
5court may, subject to sub. (2m), grant an order requiring maintenance payments to

1either party for a limited or indefinite length of time after considering:, in the manner
2provided in this section, as a rehabilitative measure to enable the party for whom
3maintenance is ordered to acquire the education or skills necessary to become
4self-supporting.
AB54, s. 2 5Section 2. 767.56 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 1.
AB54, s. 3 6Section 3. 767.56 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 2. and
7amended to read:
AB54,3,98 767.56 (3m) (a) 2. The age and physical and emotional health of the parties,
9both before and during the marriage
.
AB54, s. 4 10Section 4. 767.56 (2m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB54,3,1211 767.56 (2m) Criteria for ordering. The court may order maintenance to a
12party only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
AB54,3,1313 (a) The parties have been married for at least 15 years.
AB54,3,1414 (b) The party seeking maintenance shows either of the following:
AB54,3,1615 1. That because of the marriage he or she lacks sufficient resources to provide
16for his or her minimal, reasonable needs.
AB54,3,2017 2. That employment is difficult for the party to maintain, or that gainful
18employment is not possible for the party to obtain, because of a physical or mental
19disability that was incurred by the party during the marriage and that is certified
20by a physician.
AB54, s. 5 21Section 5. 767.56 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 3. and
22amended to read:
AB54,3,2423 767.56 (3m) (a) 3. The division of property made under s. 767.61, and all other
24financial resources of the party seeking maintenance
.
AB54, s. 6 25Section 6. 767.56 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB54,4,3
1767.56 (3m) Factors to consider. (a) In determining whether to order
2maintenance and, subject to sub. (5m), the amount of maintenance to order, the court
3shall consider all of the following that apply:
AB54,4,54 7. The efforts of the party seeking maintenance to obtain suitable employment
5before and during the pendency of the action.
AB54,4,76 (b) Notwithstanding the court's findings under par. (a), the court may deny
7maintenance to a party if any of the following applies:
AB54,4,98 1. The party seeking maintenance engaged in extramarital activities during
9the marriage.
AB54,4,1110 2. The party seeking maintenance has not made reasonable efforts to obtain
11employment or develop the skills necessary to become self-supporting.
AB54, s. 7 12Section 7. 767.56 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 4.
AB54, s. 8 13Section 8. 767.56 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB54,4,1714 767.56 (4m) Length of time for order. (a) If the court orders maintenance,
15it shall require payment for the shortest time necessary for the payee to become
16employed at a level that provides for the payee's minimal, reasonable needs, but in
17no case for longer than 3 years.
AB54,4,2018 (b) Notwithstanding par. (a), if the payee during the marriage contributed to
19the education of the payer, the court may order maintenance to continue until the
20total amount of maintenance paid equals the amount the payee contributed.
AB54,4,2321 (c) Notwithstanding par. (a), if the payee became disabled during the marriage,
22the court may order maintenance to continue for either of the following periods of
23time, whichever is shorter:
AB54,5,3
11. For as long as the disability continues, but in no case after the payee reaches
2the age that, for a retired worker who was born on the same date as the payee, is full
3retirement age for the purpose of receiving unreduced social security benefits.
AB54,5,54 2. Until the payee receives or becomes eligible to receive disability payments
5or other benefits paid on account of his or her disability.
AB54, s. 9 6Section 9. 767.56 (5) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 5.
AB54, s. 10 7Section 10. 767.56 (5m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB54,5,118 767.56 (5m) Amount of maintenance. If the court orders maintenance, it shall
9set the amount at a level that does not exceed a monthly amount necessary to meet
10the minimal, reasonable needs of the payee, but in no case at more than 20 percent
11of the payer's monthly income, based on a 40-hour work week or the payer's base pay.
AB54, s. 11 12Section 11. 767.56 (6) of the statutes is repealed.
AB54, s. 12 13Section 12. 767.56 (7) of the statutes is repealed.
AB54, s. 13 14Section 13. 767.56 (8) of the statutes is repealed.
AB54, s. 14 15Section 14. 767.56 (9) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 6. and
16amended to read:
AB54,5,1917 767.56 (3m) (a) 6. The contributions and sacrifices of each of the parties during
18the marriage, including the
contribution by one party to the education, training, or
19increased earning power of the other.
AB54, s. 15 20Section 15. 767.56 (10) of the statutes is renumbered 767.56 (3m) (a) 8.
AB54, s. 16 21Section 16. 767.59 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB54,6,222 767.59 (3) Remarriage; vacating maintenance order. After a final judgment
23requiring maintenance payments has been rendered and, if the payee has remarried
24remarries or cohabits with another adult person of the opposite sex, the court shall,

1on application of the payer with notice to the payee and upon proof of the remarriage
2or cohabitation, vacate the order requiring the payments.
AB54, s. 17 3Section 17. Initial applicability.
AB54,6,74 (1) New orders. The treatment of section 767.56 (intro.), (1), (2), (2m), (3), (3m),
5(4), (4m), (5), (5m), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) of the statutes first applies to actions or
6proceedings in which maintenance is sought that are commenced on the effective
7date of this subsection.
AB54,6,108 (2) Revisions. The treatment of section 767.59 (3) of the statutes first applies
9to actions or proceedings to vacate maintenance orders that are commenced on the
10effective date of this subsection.
AB54,6,1111 (End)
Loading...
Loading...