Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 767.82 (2026)

Paternity procedures

✓ current as of July 2026

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767.82767.82 Paternity procedures.

767.82(1)(1) Appointment of guardian ad litem.

767.82(1)(a)(a) Except as provided in par. (b), the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the child and shall appoint a guardian ad litem for a minor parent or minor who is alleged to be a parent in a paternity proceeding unless the minor parent or the minor alleged to be the parent is represented by an attorney.

767.82(1)(b)(b) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the child if s. 767.407 (1) (a) or (c) applies or if the court has concern that the child’s best interest is not being represented.

767.82(2)(2) Presumption. Presumption of paternity shall be as provided in ss. 891.39, 891.405, 891.407, and 891.41 (1).

767.82(2m)(2m) Custody pending court order. If there is no presumption of paternity under s. 891.41 (1) or if paternity is conclusively determined from genetic test results under s. 767.804 (1) or acknowledged under s. 767.805 (1), the mother shall have sole legal custody of the child until the court orders otherwise.

767.82(3)(3) Time of conception; evidence. Evidence as to the time of conception may be offered as provided in s. 891.395.

767.82(4)(4) Discovery. Discovery shall be conducted as provided in ch. 804, except that no discovery may be obtained later than 30 days before the trial. No discovery may solicit information relating to the sexual relations of the mother occurring at any time other than the probable time of conception.

767.82(5)(5) Statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for commencing actions concerning paternity is as provided in s. 893.88.

767.82(6)(6) Arrest. The respondent in a paternity action may be arrested as provided in s. 818.02 (6).

767.82(7)(7) Appointment of trustee or guardian. The court may appoint a trustee or guardian to receive and manage money paid for the support of a minor child.

767.82(7m)(7m) When action has priority. The court shall give priority to an action brought under s. 767.80 if the petition under s. 767.80 (5) indicates that the matter was referred under s. 48.299 (6) (a) or 938.299 (6) (a) by a court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under chs. 48 and 938.

767.82(8)(8) Procedures applicable to other matters in action. In all other matters, paternity proceedings shall be governed by the procedures applicable to other actions affecting the family.

767.82 HistoryHistory: 1979 c. 352; 1981 c. 391; 1983 a. 447; 1989 a. 212; 1993 a. 481; 1995 a. 275; 1997 a. 191; 1999 a. 9; 2005 a. 443 ss. 208, 247; Stats. 2005 s. 767.82; 2019 a. 95.

767.82 NoteNOTE: 2005 Wis. Act 443 contains explanatory notes.

767.82 AnnotationA trust under sub. (7) is not restricted to cases in which the custodial parent is a spendthrift. Mary L.O. v. Tommy R.B., 189 Wis. 2d 440, 525 N.W.2d 793 (Ct. App. 1994).

767.82 AnnotationAffirmed in part and reversed in part. 199 Wis. 2d 186, 544 N.W.2d 417 (1996), 93-1929.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1983–2025 · leading case: Douglas L. v. Arika B., 2015 WI App 80 (Wis. Ct. App. 2015).

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Douglas L. v. Arika B., 2015 WI App 80 (Wis. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 3× “First, we consider a subsection of the paternity procedures statute, Wis. Stat. § 767.82 (8), "Procedures applicable to other matters in action [,] which provides: "In all other matters, paternity pro *272 ceedings shall be governed by the procedures applicable to other actions…”

In Re Marriage of Gould v. Gould, 342 N.W.2d 426 (Wis. 1984). “The court of appeals’ opinion clearly summarizes the law: Under sec. 767.82(2), Stats., any modification of a custody order that removes a child from the care of a parent having custody of the child, shall be based on a finding that the removal is necessary to the child’s best…”

In Re Marriage of Millikin v. Millikin, 339 N.W.2d 573 (Wis. 1983). “In so ruling, the court relied on its interpretation that sec. 767.82(2), Stats., required James to meet a higher burden of proof to show that the custody change was necessary to the children’s best interests.”

Carradine v. State of Wisconsin (E.D. Wis. 2024). · cites it 2× “at 2 (citing Wis. Stat. § 767.82 (2m)), violate his rights under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, his right to a “fair trial under the Sixth Amendment,” his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment,…”

State v. A. C. S. (Wis. Ct. App. 2025). “§ 767.82(2m) (explaining that where there is no presumption of paternity or if paternity has not been established via genetic testing, “the mother shall have sole legal custody of the child until the court orders otherwise”).”

— Wis. Stat. § 767.82(2) — 2 cases

— Wis. Stat. § 767.82(2m) — 1 case

— Wis. Stat. § 767.82(8) — 1 case

Douglas L. v. Arika B., 2015 WI App 80 (Wis. Ct. App. 2015). “First, we consider a subsection of the paternity procedures statute, Wis. Stat. § 767.82 (8), "Procedures applicable to other matters in action [,] which provides: "In all other matters, paternity pro *272 ceedings shall be governed by the procedures applicable to other actions…”

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.