Estate administration in Wisconsin
Key takeaway
Wisconsin offers several ways to settle an estate without full court supervision, including summary settlement, summary assignment and transfer by affidavit for estates valued at $50,000 or less. Informal administration requires the personal representative to publish notice and mail notice to known creditors. A disputed creditor claim requires a demand for formal administration so a judge can decide it.
Small estate procedures
Summary settlement is available for estates valued at $50,000 or less when the decedent had a surviving spouse or domestic partner, or surviving minor children.
Summary assignment is designed for estates valued at $50,000 or less that cannot be settled by summary settlement.
In summary assignment, the petitioner must give notice by certified mail to the Department of Health Services and publish notice to creditors after filing the petition.
Persons who pay or transfer property under a summary assignment court order are released to the same extent as if they had dealt with a personal representative.
No assignee or assignee's bondsman is liable for more than the value of the property assigned to the assignee from the estate, determined at the time of the assignment.
Transfer by affidavit
Transfer by affidavit allows transfer of assets without court-supervised administration for estates valued at $50,000 or less.
An affidavit recipient generally must wait 30 days before transferring property when the affiant is named in the will as personal representative, subject to listed exceptions.
An affidavit describing an interest in or lien on real property requires notice to the decedent's heirs at least 30 days before recording.
The recipient assumes responsibility for applying the property to obligations by statutory priority and distributing any balance under the governing instrument or intestacy rules.
A recorded register of deeds application ends a decedent's joint tenancy or life estate with the same force as a probate court certificate, without opening probate.
A purchaser or lender takes title free of any claims of the decedent's estate and incurs no personal liability to the estate, whether or not the termination was proper. The purchaser or lender has no duty to inquire.
Informal administration
The court system lists common reasons for denying an application for informal administration, including that the original will cannot be found or its execution or validity is improper.
In informal administration, the personal representative must take the notice to the newspaper for publication and mail a copy of the notice to all known creditors.
The Demand for Formal Proceedings form can move a particular issue or the remaining administration from informal to formal proceedings. A demand may suspend the personal representative's powers and the informal administration until court reinstatement.
Choosing a procedure
Wisconsin guidance says the choice of administration procedure may depend on disagreement among interested persons, tax issues, estate size, claims, and issues requiring a judge's decision.
Probate registrars may guide personal representatives in preparing required court documents but are prohibited from giving legal advice.
Receipt of the Closing Certificate for Fiduciaries does not relieve the fiduciary from the responsibility of filing the final fiduciary return.