Wisconsin Statutes 812.34 – Exemption
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 812.34
- 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
- Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- United States: includes the District of Columbia, the states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories organized by congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
(1) The exemptions provided in this section do not apply if the judgment debt meets one of the following conditions:
(a) Was ordered by a court under s. 128.21 or by any court of the United States under 11 U.S. Code § 1301 to 1330.
(b) Is for the support of any person.
(c) Is for unpaid taxes.
(2)
(a) Unless the court grants relief under s. 812.38 (2) or par. (b) or (c) applies, 80 percent of the debtor’s disposable earnings are exempt from garnishment under this subchapter.
(b) The debtor’s earnings are totally exempt from garnishment under this subchapter if:
1. The debtor’s household income is below the poverty line.
2. The debtor receives need-based public assistance, has received such assistance within 6 months prior to service of the earnings garnishment forms upon the garnishee or has been determined eligible to receive need-based assistance although actual receipt of benefits has not commenced.
(c) If the garnishment of 20 percent of the debtor’s disposable income under this subchapter would result in the debtor’s household income being below the poverty line, the amount of the garnishment is limited to the debtor’s household income in excess of the poverty line before the garnishment is in effect.
(3) The judicial conference shall adopt and make available schedules and worksheets to assist debtors in computing their eligibility for exemption under sub. (2) (b) 1. The schedules shall divide the annual poverty line for families of various sizes by 12, rounding to the nearest dollar, and the worksheets shall assist debtors to compute their household incomes. The judicial conference shall develop separate schedules for debtors paid on a weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly basis by dividing the annual poverty line by 52, 26, 24 and 12, respectively, and rounding to the nearest dollar. The judicial conference shall revise those schedules annually to reflect changes in the poverty line. The revised schedules shall take effect July 1 for earnings garnishments or extensions commencing thereafter.