Which place’s debt rules apply—and who can help?

SettleADebt S_WI PASS-15

Wisconsin homestead and ordinary personal-property exemption amounts, eligibility, and valuation gateway

Actual fresh public-source access date: October 26, 2026, America/Los_Angeles; October 27, 2026 UTC. Historical baseline: October 22, 2026 Pacific. Mode: Regular Chat with public primary-source browsing. No separately exposed power tier, quota status, reset status, or measured capability ranking is claimed. Component boundary: Wisconsin’s ordinary nonbankruptcy homestead and personal-property exemptions under Wis. Stat. §§815.18 and 815.20, including the amounts, ownership and use predicates, valuation, spousal combination rules, tracing, exemption selection, and the limited post-sale or replacement-property rules actually found.

P01-P03, P07, P11, P13, and P14 remain saved but unreviewed and supply no accepted legal premise. PASS-08 and PASS-10 supply only the reviewed boundary that the current exemption amounts remained deferred. This pass does not adopt their other judgment-law conclusions.

Throughout this report, C001 means S_WI-P15-C001, and S001 means S_WI-P15-S001.

Source-currentness qualification

Fresh attempts to render the complete official Wisconsin Legislature bodies for §§815.18 and 815.20 timed out. I did not repeat the same failed endpoints.

The current-law conclusion is instead bounded by this combination:

1. The official Wisconsin Legislature chapter 815 index says the chapter is updated through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247.
2. Current official Legislature section fragments expose the principal dollar amounts and operative clauses.
3. A freshly read 2025 statutory reproduction supplies the contiguous text, definitions, cross-references, and history, but is labeled throughout as a nonofficial read-aid, not an official body read.
4. The official bill history shows the exemption-increase legislation became 2009 Wisconsin Act 80 and was published December 15, 2009.
5. Published Wisconsin appellate opinions apply the $75,000 homestead amount and the current occupancy, proceeds, and valuation architecture.
6. The 2025 history for §815.18 reflects later 2023 amendments to the introductory and fraudulent-transfer language, but no later dollar-cap change was located. Section 815.20’s history continues to identify 2009 Act 80 as the last amendment. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+3

Accordingly, the dollar amounts below are the best-supported current amounts on the actual access date, but the unavailable integrated official bodies remain an express source hold. An unread body is not treated as absence, permission, or proof that no unindexed exception exists.

Executive disposition

Current principal amounts

These are exemptions in debtor equity, not gross property value. Equity is fair market value of the debtor’s interest minus valid liens. “Aggregate value” is the total debtor equity in all property claimed under the category. C003–C006, C019–C032. Justia Law+2

A spouse rule can permit two exemption amounts, but it does not automatically double every cap without proving each spouse’s eligibility, ownership interest, applicable category, and—where required—use, occupancy, or selection. C007, C033. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+2

G1. Current authority, definitions, amounts, and valuation units

1. Constitutional and statutory construction

Wisconsin Constitution article I, §17 directs the legislature to recognize a debtor’s ability to retain the necessary comforts of life through reasonable property exemptions. Section 815.18 instructs that it be construed to preserve a livelihood, property necessary to sustain life, and avoidance of public dependency. The Wisconsin Supreme Court likewise construes exemption laws liberally while recognizing that courts cannot add protections the legislature did not enact. C001–C002. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+2

2. Core statutory definitions

C003–C005. Justia Law+1

3. Homestead’s physical definition

A Wisconsin “homestead” is the dwelling and surrounding land reasonably necessary for use as a home:

• at least one-quarter acre if that amount is available;
• no more than 40 acres;
• including a building, condominium, mobile home, manufactured home, house trailer, cooperative, or unincorporated cooperative association.

The statutory definition does not create one urban acreage limit and a separate rural acreage limit. The same reasonable-necessity, quarter-acre-minimum, and 40-acre-maximum text governs. C006. Justia Law

4. Current amendment and amount history

The current amounts largely originate in 2009 Wisconsin Act 80. The official legislative history identifies Senate Bill 259 as enacted as Act 80 and published December 15, 2009. The bill changed the homestead amount from $40,000 to $75,000 and increased several personal-property amounts. The current statute history shows later 2023 amendments affecting cross-references and fraudulent-transfer terminology, not a subsequent cap increase. C018, C046–C047. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+4

No periodic CPI, automatic inflation, or agency-adjustment clause appears in the §§815.18 and 815.20 text read. The amounts are facially fixed dollar figures. Because the complete current official bodies were unavailable, this negative conclusion remains bounded rather than an all-source certification. C046.

G2. Homestead exemption

5. Eligibility and amount

A qualifying homestead is exempt:

• from execution;
• from the lien of every judgment; and
• from liability for the owner’s debts,

up to $75,000 of qualifying equity per spouse, subject to mortgages, laborers’ liens, mechanics’ liens, purchase-money liens, taxes, and other applicable exceptions. C006–C007, C017. Justia Law+1

The ordinary claimant is a:

• Wisconsin resident;
• owner;
• of property meeting the homestead definition;
• who occupies it as a home, unless a statutory temporary-removal or sale-proceeds exception applies.

A leasehold or estate less than fee can qualify; tenants in common can qualify with cotenant consent. C008, C012. Justia Law+1

6. Equity, not gross value

Rumage v. Gullberg holds that the critical question is the debtor’s equity in the homestead:

homestead equity = fair market value of debtor’s interest − valid liens.

If that equity does not exceed the applicable exemption, the homestead is fully exempt and no judgment lien attaches to the debtor’s nonexempt equity because none exists. If equity exceeds the exemption, the property is partially exempt, and the excess can be subject to the judgment lien and lawful process. C013–C014. Wisconsin Court System

A commercially reasonable arm’s-length private sale can establish fair market value and equity. Section 815.18 also allows valuation by agreement of the parties or a commercially reasonable method. C014, C035. Wisconsin Court System+1

7. Married owners and the $150,000 possibility

Where land is owned by spouses:

• jointly;
• in common; or
• as marital property,

each spouse may claim a homestead exemption of no more than $75,000. A total of up to $150,000 can therefore be available where both spouses independently satisfy the statutory predicates and have sufficient combined equity.

That is not an automatic $150,000 deduction in every marriage. The analysis still requires:

• ownership form;
• each spouse’s resident-owner status;
• occupancy or a valid absence/proceeds branch;
• each spouse’s equity interest;
• whether both spouses are debtors or whether a judgment can reach the nondebtor spouse’s property; and
• the nature of the creditor’s lien.

C007. Justia Law+1

In Anderson Tooling, the court acknowledged the statute’s separate-spouse exemption language but expressly did not decide whether one spouse could abandon the homestead while the other preserved an exemption. That issue remains factual and unresolved here. Wisconsin Court System

8. Occupancy and temporary absence

Actual occupancy is generally required. A debtor ordinarily must own or lease and actually occupy the property as a homestead. C008. Wisconsin Court System

Temporary removal does not impair the exemption where the owner has a genuine, abiding intention to reoccupy. A vague possibility of returning someday is insufficient. C009. Wisconsin Court System

A person can have only one homestead at a time. Establishing a new homestead while the former property remains unsold can terminate the old exemption, even if the person intended eventually to use the old property’s proceeds to pay for the new residence. C011. Wisconsin Court System

9. Sale proceeds and replacement homestead

Sale of a qualifying homestead does not immediately destroy the exemption. Up to the applicable $75,000 amount remains protected in the sale proceeds:

• while the proceeds are held;
• with the intention to obtain another homestead; and
• for two years.

A qualifying spouse may have a separate amount, but ownership and eligibility must still be established. C010. Justia Law+1

The statute does not say that merely labeling money “house proceeds” is enough. Sale, net ownership, continued holding, tracing, and intent to procure another homestead are material. Establishing another homestead can also affect the former homestead under the one-homestead rule. C010–C011.

10. Homestead assertion and burden

Section 815.18’s generic affirmative-claim procedure expressly excludes a homestead exempt under §815.20. Published authority says a debtor’s assertion generally creates a presumption that the property is homestead property; a creditor can rebut it with occupancy and abandonment evidence. Once occupancy ceases, the debtor bears the burden of proving a valid temporary-removal or sale/replacement branch. C015. Justia Law+1

This does not mean homestead status is never disputed or that no filing is useful. It means the ordinary §815.18(6) selection-and-waiver rule is not automatically imported into the homestead branch.

11. Levy-selection procedure

If real property is levied, §815.21’s reproduced procedure permits the landowner to identify an exempt homestead before sale, describing it and estimating value. If disputed, the officer can survey and set apart a compact portion. If the property exceeds the cap, a sale can occur only under the statutory procedures, with the exempt amount paid from proceeds. Failure by the owner to select does not itself destroy the homestead right; the officer can set it apart. C016. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+1

The full real-property execution, sale, redemption, survey-cost, and priority procedure remains deferred.

12. Release of a judgment lien

Section 815.20(2) provides a declaratory-relief route where:

• an exempt homestead owner has a docketed judgment;
• the homestead is below the statutory value stated in the subsection;
• a demand for a recordable release is made; and
• the judgment owner fails to execute the release within ten days.

Heirs, devisees, grantees, and mortgagees are also named. C042. Justia Law

This is a narrow statutory route, not a conclusion that every judgment must be removed without valuation or process.

13. Liens and claims the exemption does not defeat

The homestead statute expressly excepts:

• mortgages;
• laborers’ liens;
• mechanics’ liens;
• purchase-money liens; and
• taxes.

Section 815.18’s limitation provision also generally prevents an exemption from defeating:

• a proceeding to recover the purchase price of the property;
• a security interest;
• a land contract;
• a condominium or homeowners-association assessment or maintenance lien;
• a mortgage;
• a consensual lien; or
• a statutory lien.

C017, C040. Justia Law+1

This pass does not decide foreclosure, tax priority, support liens, federal liens, mortgage validity, waiver, or fraud.

G3. Ordinary personal-property categories

14. Current category and amount matrix

C019–C031. Justia Law+7

15. Business tools and closely held business are alternatives

The debtor can claim:

• up to $15,000 aggregate equity in business/farm equipment, inventory, farm products, and professional books; or
• if that branch is not claimed, up to $15,000 in a qualifying closely held business interest.

The two $15,000 branches cannot be stacked by the same debtor merely because both descriptions fit. C019. Justia Law+1

16. Consumer goods and vehicle transfer

The consumer-goods category protects up to $12,000 aggregate equity in listed household and personal-use items. The vehicle category protects $4,000 aggregate motor-vehicle equity.

Unused consumer-goods exemption capacity can be added to the motor-vehicle category. The statute does not provide the reverse transfer from unused vehicle capacity into household goods and does not create a general wildcard covering arbitrary property. C020–C021, C032. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+2

17. Life insurance and annuities

For unmatured life-insurance and annuity contracts, the general exemption includes:

• the unmatured contract; and
• up to $150,000 aggregate value in accrued dividends, interest, or loan value.

The relevant “applicable date” is the earlier of:

• the date the exemption is claimed; or
• the date the action producing the judgment was filed.

Contracts issued less than 24 months before that date are limited to $4,000. Contracts issued earlier but funded within 24 months are protected under a more limited pre-funding-value plus capped-increase formula. C023. Justia Law+1

This is not a blanket exemption for every mature payment, credit-life policy, fraudulent funding, or support judgment.

18. Personal injury, wrongful death, and traceability

The state text protects:

• qualifying life-insurance payments necessary for support;
• qualifying wrongful-death payments necessary for support;
• personal bodily-injury payments up to $50,000;
• future-earnings compensation necessary for support; and
• property traceable to those payments.

C024. Justia Law+1

The $50,000 amount is a category cap in the text read. This report does not decide how multiple claims, structured settlements, attorney liens, medical liens, or allocations among damages are treated.

19. Retirement benefits

The retirement branch broadly covers qualifying retirement, pension, disability, death-benefit, stock-bonus, profit-sharing, annuity, IRA, Keogh, 401(k), and similar assets and payments.

Material limitations include:

• plan qualification or exclusive-benefit structure;
• owner-dominated plans are protected only to the extent reasonably necessary for support;
• support, maintenance, divorce, annulment, or legal-separation orders are excepted;
• tax qualification, rollover treatment, ERISA, bankruptcy, and actual plan classification remain separate.

C028. Justia Law+1

20. Depository accounts and no general cash wildcard

Depository accounts are protected up to $5,000 aggregate equity only where used personally and not as business accounts. The definition includes common bank, credit-union, securities, insurance, and similar deposit accounts but excludes safe-deposit boxes and their contents.

The personal-property list contains no general, uncategorized cash or wildcard exemption in the text read. Cash can still be protected where:

• it remains traceable under an expressly traceable category;
• it is exempt proceeds of partially exempt property under §815.18(9);
• it is held under another state or federal benefit exemption; or
• another law applies.

C022, C032, C036–C037. Justia Law+2

This is separate from the federal automated benefit-review process and from wage-garnishment percentages, neither of which is adopted from P11 or P13.

21. Claiming and selecting ordinary exemptions

For most §815.18 property, the debtor must affirmatively claim the exemption or select the property:

• at seizure or within a reasonable time afterward;
• before sale or court-directed disposition;
• orally or in writing;
• to the creditor, creditor’s attorney, or officer imposing the judicial lien.

Failure to follow the procedure can waive the exemption. A pre-judgment contractual waiver of exemption rights is void. C034. Justia Law+1

The generic affirmative-claim rule does not apply to the listed special categories, including the §815.20 homestead. C015, C034.

22. Valuation

Property value is determined:

• by agreement of the parties; or
• in a commercially reasonable manner.

The applicable value is debtor equity, not replacement cost or gross market value without liens. C004, C035. Justia Law+1

23. Spousal exemptions

Each spouse is entitled to and may claim the §815.18 exemptions. For a category with a dollar cap:

• each spouse gets one category exemption;
• the two exemptions may be combined in the same property; or
• applied to separate property within the same category.

The net-income exemption has a special noncombination rule for the same property. C033. Wisconsin Legislative Documents+2

This is not automatic doubling. Each spouse must have a protectable interest, satisfy the category’s conditions, and be within the creditor/property-availability rules.

24. Partially exempt property and exempt proceeds

Where property is partially exempt:

• the exempt portion is set apart for the debtor or dependents;
• the nonexempt portion remains subject to the creditor;
• indivisible property can be sold;
• the exempt value is paid to the debtor or dependents; and
• those proceeds remain exempt while held as cash or in a depository account.

C036. Justia Law+1

This does not establish the distribution priority against prior security interests, tax liens, sale costs, or third-party ownership.

25. Tracing

The general rule is that property traceable to exempt property is not exempt unless the statute expressly provides traceability. Express examples include:

• personal-injury/wrongful-death/life-insurance payments under §815.18(3)(i);
• proceeds from partially exempt property under §815.18(9);
• homestead sale proceeds under §815.20;
• fire/casualty proceeds on exempt property for two years.

C025, C036–C037. Justia Law+2

Mixed funds and commingling therefore require source, transaction, and tracing evidence; a vague claim that money “came from something exempt” does not resolve the issue.

26. Fraudulent transfers and exemption denial

Transfer of wholly exempt property is not treated as fraudulent merely because it was transferred. Nonexempt value can remain subject to a voidable-transfer claim.

A court can deny some or all §815.18 exemptions where the debtor procured, concealed, or transferred assets with intent to defraud creditors. C038. Justia Law+1

This is not a conclusion about any actual exemption planning, transfer, or fraudulent intent.

27. Consumer-credit election

For an obligation arising from a consumer-credit transaction, the debtor may choose either:

• the exemptions listed in Wis. Stat. §425.106; or
• the exemptions under §815.18.

The two statutory sets are not automatically cumulative. C039. Justia Law

This report does not classify any actual debt as a consumer-credit transaction or complete the separate chapter 425 exemption analysis.

28. Purchase money, security interests, and voluntary liens

Property otherwise exempt under §815.18 cannot be claimed against:

• recovery of the purchase price;
• the holder of a security interest;
• a land contract;
• an HOA or condominium assessment or maintenance lien;
• a mortgage;
• a consensual lien; or
• a statutory lien.

C040. Justia Law

Thus, a vehicle can be exempt from an unsecured judgment creditor up to the statutory equity cap while still remaining subject to the lender’s valid purchase-money security interest.

29. Residency

Wisconsin residents use §815.18’s exemption schedule. A nonresident is directed to the law of the jurisdiction of residence. C041. Justia Law

This report makes no domicile determination and does not apply bankruptcy’s separate 730-day rule.

30. Bankruptcy boundary

Federal bankruptcy law separately determines:

• whether federal or applicable state exemptions may be elected;
• the 730-day domicile rule;
• joint-case consistency;
• the federal homestead limitations;
• lien avoidance; and
• exemption objections.

No conclusion in this state-collection pass determines which exemption set applies in bankruptcy. C044. U.S. Code

G4. Fictional workflows and calculations

All examples are invented. None identifies a real debtor, creditor, property, judgment, spouse, lien, account, insurer, or benefit.

Example 1 — Single-debtor homestead, fully exempt equity

Facts

• Wisconsin resident owner occupies one qualifying residence.
• Fair market value: $310,000
• Valid mortgage balance: $255,000
• No other valid liens.
• Single qualifying debtor.

Calculation

1. Debtor equity: $310,000 − $255,000 = $55,000.
2. Homestead cap: $75,000.
3. Exempt amount: min($55,000, $75,000) = $55,000.
4. Modeled nonexempt equity: max($0, $55,000 − $75,000) = $0.

Conditional result: The homestead is fully exempt from the ordinary judgment lien on these stipulated facts. C004, C006, C013.

Adverse branch: An invalid occupancy claim, tax lien, mortgage, purchase-money interest, abandonment, or different ownership interest changes the result.

Missing records: Title, occupancy, mortgage payoff, other liens, residence, and valuation.

Example 2 — Married joint owners without assumed automatic doubling

Facts

• Married Wisconsin resident owners jointly own and occupy one homestead.
• Fair market value: $500,000
• Valid liens: $320,000
• Combined equity: $500,000 − $320,000 = $180,000.
• Each spouse is stipulated to own one-half of the equity and independently qualify.

Calculation

• Each spouse’s stipulated equity: $180,000 ÷ 2 = $90,000.
• Each spouse’s cap: $75,000.
• Exempt combined amount: $75,000 + $75,000 = $150,000.
• Modeled combined nonexempt equity: $180,000 − $150,000 = $30,000.

Conditional result: Up to $150,000 is available because both spouses satisfy the stated ownership and homestead predicates. C007.

Adverse branch: If only one spouse owns the property, one spouse abandoned the homestead, the judgment cannot reach the other spouse’s property, or ownership shares differ, the $150,000 calculation cannot simply be used.

Missing records: Deed, marital-property classification, occupancy, each spouse’s interest, judgment parties, and lien availability.

Example 3 — Sale proceeds and replacement-home intent

Facts

• Qualifying single-owner homestead sold March 1, 2026.
• Net homestead proceeds after valid liens: $68,000.
• Proceeds are separately held with documented intent to procure another homestead.
• No new homestead has yet been established.

Conditional result

The full $68,000 is below the $75,000 cap and can remain protected for two years while held with the required intent. The two-year anniversary reference is March 1, 2028. C010.

Adverse branch: Spending proceeds on unrelated expenses, abandoning replacement-home intent, establishing a different homestead under inconsistent facts, inability to trace the funds, or expiration of the two-year period can change the result.

Timing limit: The statute supplies “for 2 years,” but this pass does not establish an individualized last-day, time-of-day, weekend, or filing convention.

Example 4 — Financed vehicle

Branch A: fully exempt equity

• Vehicle market value: $18,000
• Valid purchase-money lien: $15,000
• Equity: $18,000 − $15,000 = $3,000
• Vehicle cap: $4,000

Exempt equity: min($3,000, $4,000) = $3,000. Modeled nonexempt equity: $0.

Branch B: partial exemption with unused consumer-goods capacity

• Vehicle market value: $18,000
• Valid lien: $10,000
• Equity: $8,000
• Vehicle cap: $4,000
• Unused consumer-goods capacity: $2,000
• Combined vehicle exemption: $4,000 + $2,000 = $6,000
• Modeled nonexempt equity: $8,000 − $6,000 = $2,000

C004, C020–C021, C040.

Adverse branch: If the vehicle is primarily business equipment, the vehicle definition may not apply. The lender’s purchase-money lien is not defeated by the exemption.

Example 5 — Tools and equipment used in an occupation

Facts

• Equipment market value: $22,000
• Valid liens: $5,000
• Debtor equity: $22,000 − $5,000 = $17,000
• Equipment is stipulated to be used primarily in the debtor’s business.
• Debtor does not claim the alternative closely held-business interest.

Calculation

• Business-property cap: $15,000
• Exempt equity: $15,000
• Modeled nonexempt equity: $17,000 − $15,000 = $2,000

C004, C019.

Adverse branch: If the items are hobby property, not primarily used in business, owned by an entity rather than the debtor, or subject to a valid security interest being enforced, the result changes.

Example 6 — Household-property aggregate

Facts

Debtor owns qualifying personal-use consumer goods with equity values:

• furniture: $5,000
• appliances: $2,500
• clothing: $1,500
• jewelry/keepsakes: $2,000
• sporting goods: $3,500

Total category equity: $5,000 + $2,500 + $1,500 + $2,000 + $3,500 = $14,500.

Calculation

• Consumer-goods cap: $12,000
• Exempt equity: $12,000
• Modeled nonexempt equity: $14,500 − $12,000 = $2,500

C020, C035–C036.

Adverse branch: A qualifying spouse could have a separate category exemption, but only with a protectable ownership interest and proper category claim. Items used primarily for business may belong in another category.

Example 7 — Mixed deposit and benefit tracing

Facts

A deposit account contains:

• $3,000 from ordinary income;
• $4,000 allegedly from a personal-injury payment;
• $2,000 from an unidentified transfer.

Total balance: $9,000.

State-law questions

• Personal-use deposit cap: up to $5,000 aggregate.
• Personal-injury proceeds may remain exempt if the source and tracing requirements are established.
• The unidentified transfer is not protected merely because it is commingled with exempt money.

Conditional result: No final number is calculated because the transaction history, category election, source identity, tracing, and other accounts are missing. C022, C024, C032, C037.

Adverse branch: Inability to trace the personal-injury proceeds can defeat that source-based claim; the ordinary deposit-account exemption may still apply to qualifying personal-use equity.

This does not adopt the unreviewed federal bank-review conclusions from PASS-13.

Example 8 — Joint personal property and nondebtor title

Facts

A married couple possesses equipment worth $20,000. Only one spouse is the judgment debtor. The other spouse claims sole ownership.

Result

The debtor can exempt only the debtor’s protectable interest; the creditor can reach only property legally available for the debtor’s obligation. Section 815.18’s spousal combination rule does not establish title or make the nondebtor spouse’s property available. C003–C005, C033, C043.

Adverse branch: If the property is marital property available under chapter 766, jointly owned, fraudulently transferred, or pledged for the debt, the analysis differs.

Missing records: Purchase documents, payment source, marital-property classification, title, possession, security agreement, and judgment basis.

Example 9 — Voluntary security interest

Facts

A debtor owns tools with $12,000 equity but voluntarily granted a valid security interest covering those tools to the lender whose claim is being enforced.

Result

The $15,000 business-property cap does not automatically defeat that secured creditor’s interest because §815.18(12) limits the exemption against security interests and consensual liens. C019, C040.

Adverse branch: An unrelated unsecured judgment creditor may face the exemption, while the secured creditor’s own rights depend on the valid security agreement, attachment, perfection, default, and applicable enforcement law.

Example 10 — Recently funded annuity

Facts

• An annuity was issued 30 months before the applicable date.
• Value immediately before a recent contribution: $25,000.
• Value on the applicable date: $40,000.
• Recent funding occurred within 24 months.
• No retirement-plan branch applies.

Statutory-formula illustration

Increase after the relevant funding: $40,000 − $25,000 = $15,000.

Recent-funding increment protected under the special branch: min($15,000, $4,000) = $4,000.

Modeled exemption: $25,000 pre-funding value + $4,000 = $29,000.

Modeled excess under that branch: $40,000 − $29,000 = $11,000.

C023.

Adverse branch: Contract classification, funding dates, applicable date, debtor/insured relationship, retirement-plan status, and fraudulent-transfer issues can change the result.

Example 11 — Bankruptcy-versus-state collection boundary

Facts

A Wisconsin resident owns a home and personal property but files a hypothetical bankruptcy case.

Result

The state nonbankruptcy caps in this report do not by themselves determine the bankruptcy exemption outcome. Federal law applies its own:

• exemption-election structure;
• domicile period;
• joint-debtor election rule;
• bankruptcy valuation date;
• federal exemption option;
• homestead limitations; and
• lien-avoidance provisions.

C044. U.S. Code

Adverse branch: Selecting state exemptions in bankruptcy does not mean every state-court rule applies unchanged; selecting federal exemptions uses a different schedule.

G5. P08 D7 crosswalk, tools, and remaining boundaries

31. Old-to-new disposition

32. Evidence-backed content and tool opportunities

A. Wisconsin exemption worksheet

A defensible worksheet would request:

• debtor and spouse status;
• Wisconsin residency;
• ownership percentage;
• property category;
• personal, household, business, or farm use;
• fair market value;
• every valid lien;
• debtor equity;
• category cap;
• exemptions used on other property;
• spouse combination;
• source tracing;
• purchase-money or security-interest status;
• exemption-election facts; and
• whether the property is homestead, ordinary property, or bankruptcy estate property.

B. Homestead equity calculator

The calculator should display:

debtor equity = fair market value of debtor interest − valid liens

and:

modeled nonexempt equity = max(0, debtor equity − qualifying homestead cap).

For spouses, it must calculate each interest separately rather than automatically subtracting $150,000 from the property’s gross value.

C. Category allocation checker

A checklist can prevent double counting by showing:

• $15,000 business property or closely held-business interest;
• $12,000 consumer goods;
• $4,000 vehicle plus unused consumer-goods capacity;
• $5,000 personal-use deposits;
• separate spouse amounts where genuinely available;
• no general catch-all wildcard in the text read; and
• security-interest/purchase-price limitations.

No worksheet, calculator, article, site, or publication was built or approved.

Source register — S_WI-P15-S001 onward

All fresh accesses occurred October 26, 2026 Pacific / October 27, 2026 UTC. Exact resource-specific access times are unavailable.

Source-register count: 22.

Atomic claim register — S_WI-P15-C001 onward

Atomic-claim count: 49.

Complete granular core coverage table

Core coverage rows: 128.

Territorial and special-category table

Territorial/special rows: 14.

Deferred families

Deferred rows: 24.

Workflow inventory

Workflow count: 11.

Final researcher self-check

Actual fresh reading

Freshly read or inspected:

• the official chapter 815 currentness/index material and current section fragments;
• the bounded failed official bodies for §§815.18 and 815.20;
• the contiguous 2025 read-aids for §§815.18, 815.20, 815.21, 815.205, 806.15, and 990.01;
• official Senate Bill 259/Act 80 history;
• official 2023 Act 12 and Act 246 fragments;
• Wisconsin Constitution article I, §17;
• official Rumage HTML;
• official Anderson Tooling PDF, with zero-based pages 10–14 visually inspected; and
• current federal 11 U.S.C. §522 for the bankruptcy boundary.

Currentness and source limits

• The complete current official §815.18 and §815.20 bodies were not rendered.
• The principal amounts are corroborated by current official Legislature fragments and the 2025 contiguous text.
• The chapter index states currentness through 2025 Act 247.
• No periodic adjustment clause was located, but the complete-body access gap prevents an all-source negative certification.
• No commercial citator, unpublished-order search, or county operational review was performed.

Arithmetic check

The fictional calculations are internally correct:

• $310,000 − $255,000 = $55,000;
• max(0, $55,000 − $75,000) = $0;
• $500,000 − $320,000 = $180,000;
• $180,000 − $150,000 = $30,000;
• $18,000 − $15,000 = $3,000;
• $18,000 − $10,000 = $8,000;
• $8,000 − $6,000 = $2,000;
• $22,000 − $5,000 = $17,000;
• $17,000 − $15,000 = $2,000;
• consumer goods total $14,500, leaving $2,500 above the cap;
• annuity increase $15,000, capped increment $4,000, modeled exemption $29,000, modeled excess $11,000.

No amount is an actual value, lien, exemption award, forced-sale result, fee, or recoverable balance.

Timing check

The sale-proceeds example uses March 1, 2028 only as a two-year anniversary reference from March 1, 2026. It is not represented as an individualized statutory last day, filing deadline, or time-of-day cutoff.

Register reconciliation

Sources, claims, coverage, territorial rows, deferred rows, examples, crosswalks, and opportunities are counted separately.

No actions performed

No named debtor, spouse, creditor, provider, registrant, business, bank, insurer, retirement plan, property, title, lien, appraisal, judgment, docket, private case, account, benefit record, deed, mortgage, or security agreement was searched.

No exemption was claimed, selected, valued, filed, litigated, waived, transferred, or published. No form, complaint, filing, contact, record request, payment, purchase, account action, API, browser-control action, new chat, subagent, local coordinator file, website change, or publication occurred.

This is the researcher’s self-check, not independent review, complete current-law certification, an individualized exemption opinion, bankruptcy planning, operational approval, publication approval, or acceptance of Wisconsin PASS-15, A066, A097, A098, or the parent dossier.

END S_WI PASS-15.