767.78.Enforcement; contempt proceedings.
Subch. VIII: Enforcement · Last amended 2021 · Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 · Last verified September 8, 2026
Full Text of Section 767.78
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: 1977 c. 105; 1979 c. 32 ss. 50, 92 (4); 1979 c. 196; 1979 c. 257 s. 17; Stats. 1979 s. 767.305; 1993 a. 481; 1995 a. 77; 1997 a. 27, 191; 1999 a. 103; 2005 a. 443 ss. 142, 143; Stats. 2005 s. 767.78; 2015 a. 373; 2019 a. 95; 2021 a. 35.
Plain-English Summary
The last resort, and deliberately the last. Contempt is available where a person has incurred a financial obligation, has failed to satisfy it within a reasonable time or as ordered, and the wage assignment and account transfer routes are inapplicable, impractical or unfeasible.
That sequencing matters. The chapter would rather take the money out of a paycheck or a bank account than put anyone in front of a judge to explain themselves, and contempt sits behind both.
May and shall. The court may issue the order to show cause on its own initiative. It shall issue one on the application of the receiving party. So a payee who has exhausted the automatic routes does not have to persuade the court to take the step — only to ask.
The obligations this reaches are listed by cross-reference and are broad: family support, temporary orders, attorney fees, child support, maintenance, property division, reconciled arrearages, paternity obligations, and support ordered in children's court proceedings.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a Wisconsin court hold someone in contempt for unpaid support?
Where the person has failed within a reasonable time or as ordered to satisfy a financial obligation, and the wage assignment and account transfer routes are inapplicable, impractical or unfeasible.
Does the court have to act if I ask?
It shall issue the order to show cause on the application of the receiving party, and may do so on its own initiative.
What obligations does this cover?
Those listed by cross-reference, including child support, maintenance, family support, attorney fees, property division, reconciled support arrearages, paternity obligations, and support ordered in children's court proceedings.