Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 49 — PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 49.08 (2026)

Recovery of relief and other assistance

✓ current as of July 2026
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49.0849.08 Recovery of relief and other assistance. If any person is the owner of property at the time of receiving general relief under ch. 49, 1993 stats., relief funded by a relief block grant or other assistance as an inmate of any county or municipal institution in which the state is not chargeable with all or a part of the inmate’s maintenance or as a tuberculosis patient provided for in ss. 252.07 to 252.10, or at any time thereafter, or if the person becomes self-supporting, the authorities charged with the care of the dependent, or the board in charge of the institution, may sue for the value of the relief or other assistance from the person or the person’s estate. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 10-year statute of limitations may be pleaded in defense in an action to recover relief or other assistance. Where the recipient of relief or other assistance is deceased, a claim may be filed against the decedent’s estate and the statute of limitations specified in s. 859.02 shall be exclusively applicable. The court may refuse to render judgment or allow the claim in any case where a parent, spouse, surviving spouse or child is dependent on the property for support. The court in rendering judgment shall take into account the current family budget requirement as fixed by the U.S. department of labor for the community or as fixed by the authorities of the community in charge of public assistance. The records kept by the municipality, county or institution are prima facie evidence of the value of the relief or other assistance furnished.
49.08 HistoryHistory: 1975 c. 94; 1975 c. 413 s. 18; 1979 c. 102 s. 237; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29; 1989 a. 96; 1993 a. 27; 1995 a. 27; 1999 a. 9.
49.08 AnnotationA dependent of a relief applicant incurs no liability to repay any portion of relief granted under the application. Claims against the recipient’s estate are not limited to recovery of relief granted less than ten years prior to death. Ames v. Kenosha County Department of Social Services, 81 Wis. 2d 32, 259 N.W.2d 701 (1977).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1960–1999 · leading case: City of Madison v. Lange, 408 N.W.2d 763 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987).
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City of Madison v. Lange, 408 N.W.2d 763 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 7× “The City of Madison appeals from an order dismissing its claim against Kathleen Lange for reimbursement of general relief payments under sec. 49.08(1), Stats. (1981-82). The statute authorizes the city to recoup relief payments from welfare recipients who are, or become,…”
Ames v. Kenosha Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 259 N.W.2d 701 (Wis. 1977). · cites it 3× “se: (1) Is one who has not made application for relief but who is listed as a dependent wife of the relief applicant personally liable for such charges as a recipient of the relief and, upon death, is such dependent’s estate liable for repayment of the value of the relief…”
Schubert v. Milwaukee Cnty., 101 N.W.2d 95 (Wis. 1960). · cites it 4× “We conclude that the testimony was barely sufficient to qualify the exhibits as' “the records kept by the municipality” under sec. 49.08, Stats. While Exhibits 2 and 3 each corroborate, to some degree, the authenticity of Exhibit 4, the claim could not be sustained without…”
DeHaven v. Dan-Co Coop., 383 N.W.2d 509 (Wis. Ct. App. 1986). “They also cite sec. 49.08, Stats., which provides in part that "[wjhere the relief recipient is deceased, a claim may be filed against the decedent's estate and the statute of limitations specified in s.”
Moran v. Wisconsin Dep't of Admin., 603 N.W.2d 234 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). “§49.08 (5th ed.); see also Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.”
City of Sheboygan v. Steinhaus, 341 N.W.2d 395 (Wis. 1983). · cites it 2× “While the application form admittedly is somewhat ambiguous as to exactly who was making the application, we believe on balance that it is more reasonable to conclude that Oscar was the applicant and, as such, the recipient of relief for purposes of recovery under sec.”
— Wis. Stat. § 49.08(1) — 3 cases
City of Madison v. Lange, 408 N.W.2d 763 (Wis. Ct. App. 1987). “The City of Madison appeals from an order dismissing its claim against Kathleen Lange for reimbursement of general relief payments under sec. 49.08(1), Stats. (1981-82). The statute authorizes the city to recoup relief payments from welfare recipients who are, or become,…”
Ames v. Kenosha Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 259 N.W.2d 701 (Wis. 1977). “se: (1) Is one who has not made application for relief but who is listed as a dependent wife of the relief applicant personally liable for such charges as a recipient of the relief and, upon death, is such dependent’s estate liable for repayment of the value of the relief…”
City of Sheboygan v. Steinhaus, 341 N.W.2d 395 (Wis. 1983). “While the application form admittedly is somewhat ambiguous as to exactly who was making the application, we believe on balance that it is more reasonable to conclude that Oscar was the applicant and, as such, the recipient of relief for purposes of recovery under sec.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.