Wisconsin living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Wisconsin

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life — you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time — then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Wisconsin, trusts are governed by the Wisconsin Trust Code, Wis. Stat. Chapter 701.

Avoiding probate in Wisconsin

Probate in Wisconsin is governed by the Wis. Stat. Chapters 851–879 and handled by the Circuit Court, through the county Register in Probate. See state probate code for administration options.

Transfer by affidavit for estates of $50,000 or less. That simplified procedure is set out in Transfer by affidavit, Wis. Stat. §867.03 — up to $50,000. A funded living trust passes outside probate entirely, whatever the size of the estate — which is why Wisconsin homeowners in particular set one up. Wisconsin also authorizes a transfer-on-death beneficiary designation (Wis. Stat. § 705.15) to pass real estate outside probate — a living trust does the same for every asset, not just real estate.

In Wisconsin, creditors generally have a court-set deadline of 3 to 4 months from the order (6-year outside bar from death) to file claims against the estate (Wis. Stat. § 859.01) — one reason court probate takes time that a funded trust avoids.

Estate and inheritance tax in Wisconsin

Wisconsin imposes no estate tax and no inheritance tax: Wisconsin has no estate or inheritance tax. The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Community property in Wisconsin

Wisconsin uses the MARITAL PROPERTY system of ch. 766 (its community-property-type regime). The joint trust's Section 1.03 is drafted in marital-property terms — '(c) Marital Property' — and asset labels use 'marital property', not 'community property'.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Wisconsin

Wisconsin also sets aside a court-set support allowance during administration for a surviving spouse and minor children (Wis. Stat. § 861.31), protected ahead of most creditors.

Signing your Wisconsin documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Health Care Directive in the presence of two adult witnesses, who then sign the witness statements (each part of the form that shows witness lines is signed the same way). The eligibility rules printed on the form govern who may serve.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Wisconsin — follow those as the authoritative guide.

Serving all of Wisconsin

Answer the questionnaire from anywhere in Wisconsin and download your completed documents in minutes: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton, Waukesha, Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Janesville, West Allis, La Crosse, and every community in between.