Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB161 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
2	2	LRB-2146/1
3	3	SWB:cdc
4	4	2025 SENATE BILL 161
5	5	March 27, 2025 - Introduced by Senator WIMBERGER, cosponsored by
6	6	Representatives MURSAU, ARMSTRONG, BEHNKE, BROOKS, DALLMAN, KNODL,
7	7	KREIBICH, O'CONNOR, PIWOWARCZYK and STEFFEN. Referred to Committee on
8	8	Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families.
9	9
10	10	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
11	11	AN ACT to amend 767.41 (4) (a) 2.; to create 767.41 (5) (am) 5m. of the statutes;
12	12	relating to: a presumption that equalizing physical placement to the highest
13	13	degree is in the child[s best interest.
14	14	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
15	15	Under current law, a court must set a physical placement schedule in an
16	16	action affecting the family that allows a child to have regularly occurring,
17	17	meaningful periods of physical placement and that maximizes the amount of time
18	18	for a child with each parent and that is based on the best interest of the child. The
19	19	Wisconsin Supreme Court in Landwehr v. Landwehr, 2006 WI 64, 291 Wis. 2d 49,
20	20	715 N.W.2d 180, has stated that this standard does not require equal placement for
21	21	a child with both parents.
22	22	This bill removes the current standard for determining a physical placement
23	23	schedule and instead creates a presumption that equal placement of a child with
24	24	both parents is in the child[s best interest. The presumption is rebutted if a court
25	25	finds by a preponderance of the evidence, after considering all of the statutory best-
26	26	interest factors, that equalizing physical placement time between parents would not
27	27	be in a child[s best interest.
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30	30	3 2025 - 2026 Legislature
31	31	SENATE BILL 161
32	32	- 2 - LRB-2146/1
33	33	SWB:cdc
34	34	SECTION 1
35	35	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
36	36	enact as follows:
37	37	SECTION 1. 767.41 (4) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
38	38	767.41 (4) (a) 2. In determining the allocation of periods of physical
39	39	placement, the court shall consider each case on the basis of the factors in sub. (5)
40	40	(am), subject to sub. (5) (bm). The court shall set presume that a placement
41	41	schedule that allows the child to have regularly occurring, meaningful periods of
42	42	physical placement with each parent and that maximizes equalizes to the highest
43	43	degree the amount of time the child may spend with each parent, taking into
44	44	account geographic separation and accommodations for different households is in
45	45	the best interest of the child. The presumption under this subdivision is rebutted if
46	46	the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence, after considering all of the
47	47	factors in sub. (5) (am), subject to sub. (5) (bm), that equalizing physical placement
48	48	to the highest degree is not in the child[s best interest.
49	49	SECTION 2. 767.41 (5) (am) 5m. of the statutes is created to read:
50	50	767.41 (5) (am) 5m. The geographic separation of the parties.
51	51	SECTION 3. Initial applicability.
52	52	(1) This act first applies to actions or proceedings that are commenced on the
53	53	effective date of this subsection.
54	54	(END)
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