How Probate Works in Wisconsin

1) File a petition for formal administration with the circuit court, or an application for informal administration with the probate registrar (Register in Probate), in the proper county. 2) Give notice to interested persons; the court or registrar appoints the personal representative, who files any required bond and receives letters. 3) The court or registrar sets a deadline for creditor claims 3 to 4 months after the order, and notice to creditors is published. 4) The personal representative prepares an inventory within six months after appointment (in informal administration it is given to interested persons rather than filed). 5) Pay valid claims, expenses and taxes. 6) Distribute the estate and close it by final judgment or, in informal administration, by filing a sworn closing statement.

Summary settlement: the court settles the estate without appointing a personal representative if the estate, less secured debts, is worth no more than the funeral, administration and other priority costs and allowances, or no more than $50,000 when the decedent is survived by a spouse or domestic partner or minor children. Summary assignment: for other estates of $50,000 or less (less secured debts), the court assigns the property without a personal representative after the petitioner publishes a notice to creditors. Informal administration: an estate of any size may be administered with limited court supervision through the probate registrar if the will names a personal representative who accepts (and does not prohibit informal administration), or, if not, all interested persons consent.

When administration is opened, the court (or probate registrar) sets a deadline for filing claims that is not less than 3 nor more than 4 months from the date of the order. Claims not filed by then are barred against the estate, the personal representative and the heirs and beneficiaries, with exceptions (for example, tort claims, certain tax and state benefit-recovery claims, funeral and administration expenses, and known creditors who did not receive required notice at least 30 days before the deadline).

Letters go first to the person named in the will, then to any interested person or that person's nominee (in the court's discretion), then to anyone the court selects. A person may not serve who is under 18, of unsound mind, a corporation not authorized to act as a fiduciary in Wisconsin, or found unsuitable for good cause. A nonresident must appoint a Wisconsin resident agent to accept service of process and file the appointment with the court, and nonresidency may be a reason not to appoint someone, in the court's discretion. Whether a bond is required, and its amount, is up to the court; a will's request to waive bond is not binding on the court.

Yes, 'transfer by affidavit.' If the decedent's property subject to administration in Wisconsin does not exceed $50,000 in gross value, an heir, the trustee of the decedent's revocable trust, the person named in the will as personal representative, or the decedent's guardian at death may collect money and receive property by giving the holder an affidavit describing the property and stating the total value of the property subject to administration and whether the decedent or spouse received certain public long-term care or medical assistance benefits (if so, notice must first be sent to the Department of Health Services by certified mail). Real property may be included: at least 30 days before recording the affidavit with the register of deeds, the affiant must give the heirs a copy and notice by certified mail or personal service. A person named as personal representative who is not also an heir, trustee or guardian may not take real property this way, and holders must wait 30 days before transferring to such a person. The affiant must use the property to pay the decedent's obligations in statutory priority and distribute the rest to those entitled.

Probate court actions are governed by Wis. Stat. chapters 851 through 882, and each county has a Register in Probate; the Wisconsin Court System's probate self-help page directs people to their county Register in Probate (some counties also use county-specific forms) and links to a directory of probate offices. Circuit court cases can be looked up on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA).