Probate in Wisconsin: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Wisconsin

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Wisconsin, if you have the original will, you must file it with the probate court within 30 days after you learn of the death, or hand it to the person the will names as executor (the law calls them the personal representative). If you are that named executor, you must file it with the court within 30 days after you know of the death and that you are named.

Wis. Stat. § 856.05Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Wisconsin, probate is handled by the circuit court in the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in any Wisconsin county where they owned property.

Wis. Stat. §§ 856.01, 851.04Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Wisconsin, when a probate case is opened the court sets a deadline for creditors to file claims, between 3 and 4 months after its order, and notice of that deadline is published in a newspaper. Most claims not filed by then are barred, with exceptions such as funeral costs, taxes and some government claims.

Wis. Stat. §§ 859.01, 859.02, 859.07, 859.48Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Wisconsin, the executor or administrator must file an inventory of everything the person who died owned, valued as of the date of death, no later than 6 months after being appointed. In informal probate, the inventory goes to the heirs and beneficiaries and is shown to, but not filed with, the probate registrar.

Wis. Stat. §§ 858.01, 865.11Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Wisconsin, if the estate can't pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays them in a set order: estate administration costs first, then funeral and burial costs, then family allowances, then last illness costs, then government debts and taxes, then recent wages, then property set aside for the surviving spouse, and finally everything else.

Wis. Stat. § 859.25Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Wisconsin has no estate tax or inheritance tax for deaths after 2007. The state tax is tied to a federal credit that no longer exists, so it comes to zero.

Wis. Stat. §§ 72.02, 72.01(11m)Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2008

Closing an estate

In Wisconsin, a formal probate estate closes when the executor or administrator files a final account, the court holds a hearing and signs a final judgment, receipts from the heirs are filed within 120 days, and the court discharges them. In informal probate, they can instead file a sworn closing statement with the probate registrar once the creditor deadline has passed.

Wis. Stat. §§ 863.25, 863.41, 863.47, 865.16Read the statute · docs.legis.wisconsin.govchecked Oct 5, 2026