Wisconsin Child Support Arrears Forgiveness: Motions, Limits, and Payment Plans

Wisconsin child support arrears forgiveness does not come from a single form or a blanket program. Reducing what you owe runs through one of three paths: a signed stipulation with the other parent, a compromise with the child support agency for debt owed to the state, or a court motion to change how arrears are paid going forward. Every path ends with a judge’s order, and federal law puts a hard ceiling on how much of a past-due balance any court can erase.

First, Figure Out Who the Debt Is Owed To

Before anything else, find out whether your arrears are owed to the other parent, to the state, or split between them. The rules diverge sharply.

Unassigned arrears are owed directly to the custodial parent. Interest on these arrears is also owed to that parent. Only the custodial parent can agree to accept less.
Assigned arrears are owed to the state. These built up during periods when the custodial parent received public assistance such as W-2 (Wisconsin Works), TANF, SSI Caretaker Supplement, or BadgerCare Plus, or when Medicaid paid birth costs. Interest on assigned arrears is also owed to the state.¹

The state can compromise debt owed to itself. It cannot forgive debt that belongs to the other parent. Your local county child support agency can tell you the breakdown on your case.

Reducing Arrears Owed to the Other Parent

When both parents agree to lower the balance, Wisconsin uses form FA-604A, “Stipulation to Change: Custody/Physical Placement/Support/Maintenance/Arrears.” Section 1.D of the form covers changes to the arrears payment amount, and Section 1.E covers changes to the arrears balance itself.²

Both parents sign. Notarization is not required. If either parent is receiving public assistance, or a caseworker is assigned to your case, the stipulation has to go through the county child support agency for approval before it reaches the court.² File the signed stipulation along with the companion order form FA-604B in the family court for the county where the child lives or where the original case was filed. If the agreement looks sound, a judge or court commissioner can sign it as an order without holding a hearing.³

The hard part is getting the other parent to say yes. That money is theirs, and they are under no obligation to accept less. A record of recent, consistent payments and a realistic proposal for what you can pay from here gives you something to negotiate with.

Reducing Arrears Owed to the State

Debt assigned to the state cannot be modified without written approval from the child support agency.² Wisconsin is one of at least 36 states that run debt compromise programs for noncustodial parents, and the particulars are set at the state and county level.⁴ Contact your county child support agency directly to ask about current criteria. Common factors include a period of consistent on-time payments, documented financial hardship, or both.

Interest reduction on state-owed arrears is usually easier to get than principal reduction. The agency’s goal is future compliance, not collecting on old balances that may never be paid, so there is flexibility to lower or waive interest when doing so makes continued payments more likely. Whatever the agency agrees to still needs a court order to take effect.

When the Other Parent Won’t Agree: Filing a Motion

If the custodial parent refuses to sign a stipulation, you can file form FA-4170V, “Notice of Motion and Motion to Change (Legal Custody, Physical Placement, Child Support, Maintenance, Arrears Payment).”⁵ This route requires a hearing, and the judge decides.

You will need to support the motion with a Financial Disclosure Statement (FA-4139V) or an Income and Expense Statement (FA-4138V) showing why your current income cannot cover the existing arrears payment. The other parent and the child support agency must be served with the motion at least eight business days before the hearing by mail, or five business days in person.⁵

Note what this motion can and cannot do. It can adjust how much you pay toward arrears each month going forward. It cannot wipe out the balance that has already accrued. The reason is federal.

The Federal Ceiling on Erasing Past-Due Arrears

The Bradley Amendment, found at 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9), requires every state to treat each missed child support payment as a judgment that cannot be retroactively modified.⁶ Once a payment is due and unpaid, that arrearage is locked in. No state court can erase it after the fact.

There is one narrow opening. A court can modify arrears that build up after the other parent and the child support agency have been served with a pending modification petition. If your income drops and you wait six months to file, the arrears from those six months are untouchable. Filing right away is the only way to limit how much new debt accumulates at the old amount.

This is the reconciliation point. The state can compromise what is owed to the government. The other parent can voluntarily accept less than they are owed. A judge, acting alone, cannot wipe out arrears that have already vested.

Why Interest Reduction Often Matters More Than Principal

Wisconsin arrears carry simple interest of 1 percent per month, which is 12 percent per year. Interest starts accruing once your arrears balance reaches at least one month’s ordered support amount.⁷ If your current support obligation has ended because the child aged out, interest keeps accruing on the full remaining balance. A pilot program in participating counties drops the rate to 0.5 percent per month, so ask your local agency which rate applies to your case.⁸

At 12 percent a year, a $10,000 arrears balance generates $1,200 in interest annually. That is why parents who are paying something each month still watch the total climb. Getting interest reduced or waived is often more impactful than knocking down principal, and it is also the easier ask, especially on state-owed debt.

What Keeps Happening While You Work on This

Collection does not pause while you pursue a reduction. The state certifies arrears to the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for tax refund interception, triggered at $500 if the debt is owed to the other parent and $150 if any portion is assigned to the state.⁹ If your total arrears across all cases exceed $2,500, the federal government will deny or revoke your passport.¹⁰ Negotiating a payment plan does not stop tax refund interception and does not restore passport eligibility while the balance stays above the threshold.¹

The agency or the custodial parent can also seek a contempt finding. If the court decides you had the ability to pay and did not, it can impose jail time, often with purge conditions letting you avoid jail by paying a set amount. In serious cases, the district attorney can bring criminal nonsupport charges.¹¹

Bankruptcy Won’t Clear Child Support

Child support is a “domestic support obligation” under federal bankruptcy law and is excluded from discharge in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.¹² The automatic stay that halts other creditor collection does not apply to support, and wage garnishment for support continues during the bankruptcy case.

If Reduction Isn’t Available, Set Up a Plan

When neither the other parent nor the state will reduce the debt, the county child support agency can structure a payment plan covering arrears alongside your current obligation. A plan does not shrink what you owe. It will not remove the child support lien, stop tax refund interception, or restore your passport.¹

What a plan does is build the record you need for later. Consistent payments strengthen a future interest reduction or compromise request, and they show a court good faith if contempt is ever on the table. If your income has dropped substantially since the original support order was set, ask the agency to review the underlying order for modification. Lowering the going-forward obligation keeps new arrears from stacking on top of old ones while you work on the balance.³

1
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Your Guide to Past Due Support
2
Wisconsin Court System. FA-604A Stipulation to Change Custody Physical Placement Support Maintenance Arrears
3
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Reviewing a Court Order for a Change
4
Administration for Children and Families. State Child Support Agencies With Debt Compromise Policies
5
Wisconsin Court System. FA-4170V Notice of Motion and Motion to Change
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement
7
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 767.511 – Child Support
8
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 767.511(6m) – Pilot Program on Interest Rate
9
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Intercepting Tax Refunds
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary
11
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Court Actions
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge