767.201.Civil procedure generally governs.
Subch. III: General Procedure · Last amended 2005 · Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 · Last verified September 8, 2026
Full Text of Section 767.201
Official Notes
Wisconsin prints certain labelled notes with the statute — effective-date notes, cross-references, and notes of the Judicial Council. They are reproduced verbatim below. The unlabelled digest of court decisions that the Legislative Reference Bureau prints after them is annotation rather than statute, and is not reproduced.
NOTE: 2005 Wis. Act 443 contains explanatory notes. Because this chapter does not prohibit civil sanctions for frivolous proceedings under s. 802.05, a motion for sanctions under s. 802.05 (2) and (3) in a divorce action under this chapter is governed by the rules of civil procedure. Wenzel v. Wenzel, 2017 WI App 75, 378 Wis. 2d 670, 904 N.W.2d 384, 16-1771.
Amendment History
Wisconsin prints each section’s legislative history as a single “History” line naming every act that created or amended it, and every renumbering. It is reproduced verbatim below.
History: 2005 a. 443.
Plain-English Summary
Chapter 767 is not a self-contained code. Except as the statutes otherwise provide, chapters 801 to 847 — the ordinary civil procedure chapters — govern procedure and practice in an action affecting the family.
Pleadings and the summons get their own sentence: except as this chapter provides, chapters 801 and 802 apply to their content and form. So the family petition is a complaint in everything but name, and Section 767.215 says so expressly.
The practical consequence is that the two bodies of law have to be read together. Where Chapter 767 is silent — on discovery, on motions, on evidence — the civil rules fill the gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the ordinary Wisconsin civil procedure rules apply to a divorce?
Yes. Except as the statutes otherwise provide, chapters 801 to 847 govern procedure and practice in an action affecting the family.
What governs the pleadings in a family case?
Except as Chapter 767 provides, chapters 801 and 802 apply to the content and form of the pleadings and summons.