2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 766 - Property rights of married persons; marital property. › 766.70 - Remedies.

766.70
Remedies.
(1)
A spouse has a claim against the other spouse for breach of the duty of good faith imposed by s. 766.15 resulting in damage to the claimant spouse's property. Except as otherwise provided in sub. (6), no spouse may commence an action under this subsection later than 6 years after acquiring actual knowledge of the facts giving rise to the claim.
(2)
Upon request of a spouse, a court may order an accounting of the spouses' property and obligations and may determine rights of ownership in, beneficial enjoyment of or access to marital property and the classification of all property of the spouses.
(3)
Upon request of a spouse, a court may order the name of the spouse added to marital property or to a document evidencing ownership of marital property held in the name of the other spouse alone except with respect to any of the following:
(a)
An interest in a partnership or joint venture held by the other spouse as a general partner or as a participant.
(aL)
An interest in a limited liability company held by the other spouse as a member.
(b)
An interest in a professional corporation, professional association or similar entity held by the other spouse as a stockholder or member.
(c)
An asset of an unincorporated business if the other spouse is the only one of the spouses involved in operating or managing the business.
(d)
A corporation, the stock of which is not publicly traded. Under this paragraph, stock of a corporation is publicly traded if both of the following apply:
1.
The stock is traded on a national stock exchange or quoted on the national association of securities dealers automated quotations system.
2.
The employees, officers and directors of the corporation own, in the aggregate, less than 10 percent in value of the outstanding shares of the stock in the corporation.
(e)
Any other property if the addition would adversely affect the rights of a 3rd person.
(4)
(a)
If marital property has been or is likely to be substantially injured by the other spouse's gross mismanagement, waste or absence, upon request of a spouse a court may order any of the following:
1.
A temporary or permanent limitation or termination of any of the other spouse's management and control rights in marital property.
2.
A change in classification of marital property.
3.
A division of the obligations of the spouses existing on the date of the request, after considering the classification of the obligation under s. 766.55 and the factors specified under ss. 767.56 (1c) and 767.61.
4.
That all obligations incurred after the court order are the obligations of the incurring spouse and that the other spouse is not liable for, and his or her property is not available to satisfy, the obligations.
5.
That any property acquired by either spouse after the court order is the individual property of the acquiring spouse.
(b)
The court may make any order under this subsection subject to any equitable condition.
(c)
This subsection does not apply to property described in sub. (3) (a), (aL), (b), (d), and (e).
(5)
When marital property is used to satisfy an obligation other than an obligation under s. 766.55 (2) (a) or (b), the nonobligated spouse may request the court to order that he or she receive as individual property marital property equal in value to the marital property used to satisfy the obligations of the obligated spouse, subject to the rights of any 3rd party who relied upon the availability of the marital property to satisfy any obligation under s. 766.55 (2) (a) or (b) and subject to equitable considerations. No person may bring an action under this subsection later than one year after the obligation is satisfied.
(6)
(a)
Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), if a gift of marital property during marriage by a spouse does not comply with s. 766.53, the other spouse may bring an action to recover the property or a compensatory judgment equal to the amount by which the gift exceeded the limit under s. 766.53. The other spouse may bring the action against the donating spouse, the gift recipient or both. The other spouse must commence the action within the earliest of one year after he or she has notice of the gift, one year after a dissolution or on or before the deadline for filing a claim under s. 859.01 after the death of either spouse. If the recovery occurs during marriage, it is marital property. If the recovery occurs after a dissolution or the death of either spouse, the recovery is limited to 50 percent of the recovery that would have been available if the recovery had occurred during marriage.
(b)
1.
If a transfer of marital property to a 3rd person during marriage by a spouse acting alone becomes a completed gift upon the death of the spouse or if an arrangement during marriage involving marital property by a spouse acting alone is intended to be and becomes a gift to a 3rd person upon the death of the spouse, the surviving spouse may bring an action against the gift recipient to recover one-half of the gift of marital property. The surviving spouse may not commence an action under this paragraph later than one year after the death of the decedent spouse.
2.
If the spouse entitled to a remedy under subd. 1. predeceases the donor spouse, no action may be commenced later than one year after the decedent's death. Except as provided in s. 766.61 (7), recovery in such an action is the same as if the donor spouse had predeceased the spouse entitled to recover, but is valued at the date of death of the spouse entitled to recover.
(c)
1.
If a spouse acting alone makes a gift of marital property to a 3rd person during marriage in the form of a joint tenancy and the spouse and the 3rd person are joint tenants with respect to that property, the other spouse has a right of reimbursement against the donor spouse or the gift recipient or both with respect to that portion of the gift representing the quotient resulting from dividing the number of joint tenants other than the donor spouse by the total number of joint tenants, including the donor spouse. The other spouse must commence the action within the earliest of one year after he or she has notice of the gift, one year after a dissolution or one year after the death of either spouse.
2.
If the gift of marital property under subd. 1. remains in the form of a joint tenancy, at the death of the tenant spouse the surviving spouse has a right of reimbursement against the decedent spouse's estate or the gift recipient or both with respect to one-half of that portion of the joint tenancy representing the quotient resulting from dividing one by the total number of joint tenants immediately before the death of the tenant spouse, valued at the date of death. The surviving spouse may not commence the action later than one year after the death of the decedent spouse. If the spouse entitled to a right of reimbursement under this subdivision predeceases the tenant spouse, the action may not be commenced later than one year after the decedent's death. The portion subject to the right of reimbursement in such an action is the same as if the tenant spouse had predeceased the spouse with the right of reimbursement, but is valued at the date of death of the spouse with the right of reimbursement.
(7)
After the date of death within 90 days after the earlier of either the receipt of the inventory listing any life insurance policy or deferred employment benefit plan covered by s. 766.61 or 766.62, or the discovery of the existence of such a policy or plan, the surviving spouse may purchase the decedent's interest in the policy or plan from the decedent's estate at the interest's fair market value at the date of death, if all or part of the policy or plan is included in the decedent spouse's estate.
(8)
Except as provided in sub. (6) and ss. 766.55 (4m), 766.56 (2) (c) and 766.57, no decree issued under this section may adversely affect the interest of a 3rd party.
History:  1983 a. 186; 1985 a. 37 ss. 89, 130 to 139; 1987 a. 393; 1989 a. 96; 1991 a. 301; 1993 a. 112; 2005 a. 443 s. 265; 2013 a. 209; 2021 a. 258.
Intentional misrepresentation is a breach of the duty of good faith for which the exclusive pre-divorce remedy is s. 766.70 (1). Commencement of a divorce bars an action under this section. Gardner v. Gardner, 175 Wis. 2d 420, 499 N.W.2d 266 (Ct. App. 1993).
A divorce action terminates on the death of a spouse. After the death an order prohibiting an act in regard to marital property entered in the divorce may not be enforced under ch. 767. As the parties are legally married at the time of death, the sole remedy for resolving disputes over marital property lies under this section. Socha v. Socha, 204 Wis. 2d 474, 555 N.W.2d 152 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-1641.
A cause of action under this section requires that the complained of conduct arise as a result of the marital relationship and a breach of the good faith duty between spouses. Once a divorce is commenced, the claim must be resolved in divorce court. A cause of action between spouses arising outside the marital relationship, such as a stockbroker-client relationship, does not fall within this section and may be maintained independent of the divorce. Knafelc v. Dain Bosworth, Inc. 224 Wis. 2d 346, 591 N.W.2d 611 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-0067.
Under sub. (6) (b) 1., when an improper gift of marital property during marriage becomes effective upon the death of the spouse, the action is against the gift's recipient and must be commenced within one year of the spouse's death. A demand for formal proceedings in the decedent's probate estate did not commence an action to enforce a marital property right to a nonprobate asset. As a spouse's one-half interest in marital property is not subject to administration, even if the demand for formal administration could be called commencing an action, that “action" had nothing to do with asserting the surviving spouse's marital property interest. Joyce v. Joyce, 2008 WI App 92, 312 Wis. 2d 745, 754 N.W.2d 515, 07-1751.