Wisconsin Statutes 50.085 – Visitation by family members
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 50.085
- Adult: means a person who has attained the age of 18 years, except that for purposes of investigating or prosecuting a person who is alleged to have violated any state or federal criminal law or any civil law or municipal ordinance, "adult" means a person who has attained the age of 17 years. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Community-based residential facility: means a place where 5 or more adults who are not related to the operator or administrator and who do not require care above intermediate level nursing care reside and receive care, treatment or services that are above the level of room and board but that include no more than 3 hours of nursing care per week per resident. See Wisconsin Statutes 50.01
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Nursing home: means a place where 5 or more persons who are not related to the operator or administrator reside, receive care or treatment and, because of their mental or physical condition, require access to 24-hour nursing services, including limited nursing care, intermediate level nursing care and skilled nursing services. See Wisconsin Statutes 50.01
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Resident: means a person who is cared for or treated in and is not discharged from a nursing home, community-based residential facility or adult family home, irrespective of how admitted. See Wisconsin Statutes 50.01
(1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Adult child” means an individual who is at least 18 years of age and who is related to a resident biologically, through adoption, through the marriage or former marriage of the resident to the biological parent of the adult child, or by a judgment of parentage entered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(am) “Family member” means any spouse, adult child, adult grandchild, parent, or sibling of a resident.
(b) “Resident” means an adult resident of any of the following:
1. A hospital, as defined in s. 50.33 (2).
2. A hospice, as defined in s. 50.90 (1).
3. A nursing home, as defined in s. 50.01 (3).
4. A community-based residential facility, as defined in s. 50.01 (1g).
5. Any home or other residential dwelling in which the resident is receiving care and services from any person.
(c) “Visitation” means an in-person meeting or any telephonic, written, or electronic communication.
(2) Petition for visitation. If a family member is being denied visitation with a resident, the family member may petition a court to compel visitation with the resident. The court may not issue an order compelling visitation if the court finds any of the following:
(a) The resident, while having the capacity to evaluate and communicate decisions regarding visitation, expresses a desire to not have visitation with that family member.
(b) Visitation between the petitioning family member and the resident is not in the best interest of the resident.
(3) Expedited hearing. If the petition under sub. (2) states that the resident’s health is in significant decline or that the resident’s death may be imminent, the court shall conduct an emergency hearing on the petition under sub. (2) as soon as practicable and no later than 10 days after the date the petition is filed with the court.
(4) Sanctions; remedies. Upon a motion or on the court’s own motion, if the court finds during a hearing on a petition under sub. (2) that a person is knowingly isolating a resident, the court shall order the person to pay court costs and reasonable attorney fees of the petitioner under sub. (2) and may order other appropriate remedies. No costs, fees, or other sanctions may be paid from the resident’s finances or estate.