Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

Yes, unfortunately, in WI, nearly all debts of married couples are presumed to be "family purpose" debts which are within the scope of the WI Marital Property Act. This makes the assets of both of the spouses more or less jointly liable to satisfy any legal judgment which court issues to a collector of such a debt. These judgments can then form the grounds for a wage garnishment, including garnishment of the wages of the non-obligated spouse. There are several ways for a spouse to fight such liabilities, the easiest of which is probably a chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would usually discharge all legal obligation to pay for either spouse of the cosigned debt in question as well as all other general unsecured debts. Other defenses include obtaining a prenuptial agreement before the debt is incurred and using that agreement in court to contest the wage garnishment, Once can also challenge the initial lawsuit seeking the judgment if one finds out about the litigation early enough, before the time limits to contest the claim have run out. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and are not legal advice specifically tailored to you and your case. Instead, you should retain a lawyer in order to meet your legal needs, since I will be taking no action on your case. Disclosure of confidential information in a public web forum is not recommended and is always subject to being used against you in court. You are welcome to contact my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090 or email me at [email protected] for further information. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.