(1)AUTHORITY OF COURT TO REQUIRE. If the court determines that income withholding under s. 767.75 is inapplicable, ineffective, or insufficient to ensure payment under an order or stipulation specified in s. 767.75 (1), or that income withholding under s. 767.513 (3) is inapplicable, ineffective, or insufficient to ensure payment of a child’s health care expenses, including payment of health insurance premiums, ordered under s. 767.513, the court may require the payer to identify or establish a deposit account, owned in whole or in part by the payer, that allows for periodic transfers of funds and to file with the financial institution at which the account is located an authorization for transfer from the account to the department or its designee. The authorization shall be provided on a standard form approved by the court and shall specify the frequency and the amount of transfer, sufficient to meet the payer’s obligation under the order or stipulation, as required by the court. The authorization shall include the payer’s consent for the financial institution or an officer, employee, or agent of the financial institution to disclose information to the court, county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5), department, or department’s designee regarding the account for which the payer has executed the authorization for transfer.
(2)TRANSFER OF FUNDS BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. A financial institution that receives an authorization for transfer under sub. (1) shall transfer the amounts as specified in the authorization or shall transfer the amount available for transfer if at a time of transfer that amount is less than the amount specified in the authorization. The financial institution may accomplish the transfer by any lawful means, including payment by check, subject to the terms of the account. The financial institution may deduct from the payer’s account for each transfer its usual fee for such fund transfers. If the account is closed or if no funds are available at a time of transfer, the financial institution shall notify the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) or the department or its designee, whichever is appropriate, within 10 days after the date on which the funds should have been transferred.
(3)PRIORITY OF TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION. An authorization for transfer under sub. (1) has priority over any other authorization for transfer and over an assignment, garnishment or similar legal process under state law or the laws of another state.
(4)REVOCATION OF TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION. An authorization for transfer under sub. (1) may not be revoked except by court order.
(5)AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE. A financial institution or an officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution may disclose information to the court, county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5), department, or department’s designee concerning an account for which a payer has executed an authorization for transfer under sub. (1).
(6)LIABILITY IMMUNITY. No financial institution or officer, employee or agent of a financial institution is liable to an account owner for any sum transferred, or for any information disclosed, in compliance with this section.
End
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: 1993 a. 481; 1995 a. 279; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 38, 61, 105; 2005 a. 443 ss. 120, 238; Stats. 2005 s. 767.76.
Plain-English Summary
Income assignment reaches wages. It does not reach the self-employed, the irregularly paid, or the person whose money never passes through anyone else's hands. This section is the answer.
Where the court determines that income withholding is inapplicable, ineffective or insufficient — for support, or for a child's health care expenses and premiums — it may require the payer to identify or establish a deposit account they own in whole or in part that allows periodic transfers, and to file an authorisation for transfer with the financial institution. The authorisation goes on a standard court-approved form, specifies the frequency and amount, and includes the payer's consent for the institution to disclose information about the account to the court, the agency and the department.
The bank's part. It transfers what the authorisation specifies, or whatever is available if that is less, by any lawful means, and may take its usual fee for such transfers. If the account is closed or empty at a transfer date, it must notify the agency or the department within 10 days of the date the funds should have moved.
Why it holds. The authorisation outranks any other transfer authorisation, assignment, garnishment or similar process, under this state's law or another's; it cannot be revoked except by court order; the institution is expressly permitted to disclose account information; and neither the institution nor its people are liable to the account owner for money transferred or information disclosed in compliance with the section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the payer has no wages to garnish?
The court may require them to identify or establish a deposit account and file an authorisation for periodic transfers from it to the department.
Can I cancel the transfer authorisation?
No. It may not be revoked except by court order.
What if the account is empty?
The financial institution transfers whatever is available, and if the account is closed or has no funds it must notify the child support agency or the department within 10 days of the date the funds should have been transferred.
Can the bank charge for this?
It may deduct from the payer's account its usual fee for such fund transfers.
Source & verification. The statutory text, official notes and history are reproduced verbatim from the
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 767 (Wis. Stat. § 767.76), published by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:bank account child support Wisconsinaccount transfer support order767.76 account transfers