Child Support Liens

1997 Wisconsin Act 191. Effective April 27, 1998, Section 73 of 1997 Wisconsin Act 191 allows the state to place a lien against any property or portion of property owned by a person who is obligated by a court order to pay child support and is delinquent. The lien becomes effective when the information is entered in the statewide support lien docket, and the docket is delivered to the register of deeds in the county where the property is located. The statute broadly defines property to include virtually any kind of property interest an obligor has at the time of the existing levy. The obligor must be notified of the lien's existence, the amount of the lien, and the right to request an appealable administrative review of financial records and the child support court order. The state must also provide the obligor with a notice of seizure and sale and must allow for a hearing to determine whether the obligor owes the amount of support stated in the notice of seizure and whether any alternative payment arrangement is reasonable. At any time during the aforementioned process, if the obligor pays the stated amount of child support due, the lien is extinguished.

The act also protects the property interests of third parties. Persons who, with an obligor, jointly own an interest in property that has been levied against in order to collect a child support lien may also request a hearing to determine the amount of their interest. The court may then order payment to those persons according to the amount of their interest in the property. A lien created under this act is not effective against a good-faith purchaser of titled personal property, unless the lien is recorded on that title.

© ATG atgc0998vol22

 

Print this page