815.19 Levy on personal property; appraisal.

(1) Personal property shall be bound from the time it is seized. Whenever personal property is seized on attachment or execution and any part of the property is exempt therefrom and the exemption is claimed by the debtor or the debtor's spouse, the officer making the seizure shall, upon request by either of them, or may upon the officer's motion, cause the exempt property to be appraised by 2 disinterested freeholders of the county, who shall first be sworn by the officer to make a true appraisement thereof, which appraisement shall be in writing, be signed by the appraisers and be prima facie evidence of the value of the property appraised. The appraisement, together with the true inventory of all the property seized, shall be returned with the writ. The fees of the appraisers are prescribed in s. 814.72.

(2) If the property seized is an automobile which is appraised and can be sold for more than $1,000 or if the property seized is a tractor used in farming operations which is appraised and can be sold for more than $1,500, the officer may sell such automobile or tractor and out of the proceeds of such sale the officer shall pay to the debtor or the debtor's spouse the exempted value of such automobile or tractor. The balance of the proceeds of such sale shall be applied on the execution or attachment.

History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761 (1975); 1975 c. 94 s. 91 (3); 1975 c. 199; Stats. 1975 s. 815.19; 1979 c. 355; 1981 c. 317; 1983 a. 186.