Wisconsin estate administration
Small-estate limit: $50,000
This guide explains probate in Wisconsin: Wisconsin has separate transfer-by-affidavit, summary-settlement, and summary-assignment procedures. This record models the $50,000 gross-value affidavit and separately discloses the court summary-settlement test.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Section 867.03 permits transfer by affidavit when property subject to administration in Wisconsin does not exceed $50,000 in gross value. This is distinct from § 867.01 court summary settlement, which has a $50,000 net-of-secured-debt family route and a separate route keyed to priority costs, allowances, and claims; the two procedures and value bases must not be conflated.
Transfer by affidavitSimplified route
Section 867.03 permits transfer by affidavit when property subject to administration in Wisconsin does not exceed $50,000 in gross value. This is distinct from § 867.01 court summary settlement, which has a $50,000 net-of-secured-debt family route and a separate route keyed to priority costs, allowances, and claims; the two procedures and value bases must not be conflated.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
Through October 31, 2026, opening an estate proceeding costs 0.2% of the value of property subject to administration less encumbrances, liens, or charges, with an effective $20 minimum at $10,000 or less and no stated cap. Effective November 1, 2026, Act 179 changes the low band to $36 at $18,500 or less; that future schedule is not treated as operative on August 9.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Subject to court approval, the default is 2% of inventory value for accountable property less mortgages or liens plus net principal gains. A written agreement may set another rate; the court may add reasonable sums for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services and may reduce or deny compensation for dereliction.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
The court sets a deadline 3–4 months from its order, while special rules apply to creditors lacking notice and an outer administration limit appears elsewhere; one number would collapse different triggers.
Wis. Stat. §§ 859.01-.02 (Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsWisconsin decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Wisconsin amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Wisconsin answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Transfer by affidavit | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; The court sets a deadline 3–4 months from its order, while special rules apply to creditors lacking notice and an outer administration limit appears elsewhere; one number would collapse different triggers. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Circuit Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Subject to court approval, the default is 2% of inventory value for accountable property less mortgages or liens plus net principal gains. A written agreement may set another rate; the court may add reasonable sums for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services and may reduce or deny compensation for dereliction. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded Wisconsin ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the Wisconsin figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Wisconsin counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Wisconsin ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official material
Wisconsin publishes statewide probate forms, including PR-1831 for the affidavit track.
Probate jurisdiction is in Circuit Court; use the statewide circuit-court directory for county contact details.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: 867.03 Transfer by affidavit. 867.03(1c) (1c) Definition. In this section, "guardian" has the meaning given in s. 54.01 (10) or s. 880.01 (3) , 2003 stats. 867.03(1g) (1g) Generally. Except as provided in sub. (1h) and subject to subs. (1j) and (1p) , when a decedent leaves property subject to administration in this state that does not exceed $50,000 in gross value, any heir of the decedent, trustee of a revocable trust created by the decedent, a person named in the will to act as personal representative, or person who was guardian of the decedent at the time of the decedent's death may collect any money due the decedent, receive the property of the decedent, and have any evidence of interest, obligation to, or right of the decedent transferred to the affiant if the heir, trustee, person named in the will to act as personal representative, or guardian provides to the person owing the
Reviewed source note: 867.01 Summary settlement of small estates. 867.02 Summary assignment of small estates subject to claims of creditors. 867.03 Transfer by affidavit. 867.04 Termination of joint tenancy and life estate. 867.045 Administrative joint tenancy or life estate termination for certain property. 867.046 Summary confirmation of interest in property. 867.05 Determination of descent of property. 867.07 Grounds for appointment of special administrator. 867.09 Who may petition for appointment of special administrator. 867.11 Notice of hearing on petition for appointment of special administrator. 867.13 Bond of special administrator. 867.15 Letters of special administration; no appeal. 867.17 Powers, duties and liabilities of special administrator. 867.19 Compensation of special administrator. 867.21 Termination of authority and discharge of special administrator. Ch.
Reviewed source note: 814.66 Fees of register in probate. 814.66(1) (1) The register in probate shall collect the following fees: 814.66(1)(a) (a) 814.66(1)(a)2. 2. For filing a petition whereby any proceeding in estates of deceased persons is commenced, if the value of the property subject to administration, less encumbrances, liens, or charges, is $18,500 or less, a fee of $36 and, if more than $18,500, a fee of 0.2 percent of the value of the property subject to administration, less encumbrances, liens, or charges. The register in probate may not base a fee under this subdivision upon the value of property that is not subject to administration.
What this means: The page leads with text effective November 1, 2026 and separately prints the currently operative pre-November text. As of the dossier date, the $20 minimum / 0.2% schedule is operative.
Reviewed source note: 857.05 Allowances to personal representative for expenses and services. 857.05(1) (1) Expenses. The personal representative shall be allowed all necessary expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate. 857.05(2) (2) Services. Subject to the approval of the court the personal representative shall be allowed for his or her services commissions computed on the inventory value of the property for which the personal representative is accountable less any mortgages or liens plus net principal gains in the estate proceedings at a rate of 2 percent or a rate that the decedent and the personal representative, or the persons who receive the majority interest in the estate and the personal representative, agree to in writing; and such further sums in cases of unusual difficulty or extraordinary services as the court determines reasonable.
Reviewed source note: 859.01 Time for filing claims. When an application for administration is filed, the court, or the probate registrar under informal administration proceedings, shall by order set a date as the deadline for filing a claim against the decedent's estate. The date shall be not less than 3 nor more than 4 months from the date of the order. If a claim is not filed by the deadline, the consequences provided in s. 859.02 apply. 859.01 History History: 1989 a. 96 ; 2005 a. 216 . 859.01 Annotation The statute of limitations concerning claims filed against an estate in probate may not be waived. Estate of Palmer, 68 Wis. 2d 101 , 227 N.W.2d 680 (1975). 859.02 859.02 Limitation on claims. 859.02(1) (1) Except as provided in sub. (2) and s.
Reviewed source note: 859.48 Claims of creditors without notice. 859.48(1) (1) A claim not barred by s. 859.02 (1) because of the operation of s. 859.02 (2) (b) may be enforced only as provided in this section. 859.48(2) (2) The claimant shall file the claim in the court in which the estate is administered within one year after the decedent's death and within 30 days after the earlier of the following: 859.48(2)(a) (a) The date that the personal representative gives notice to the potential claimant of the deadline for filing a claim against the estate under s. 859.01 or this section and of the court in which the estate is administered. 859.48(2)(b) (b) The date that the claimant first acquires actual knowledge that the estate is being or was administered and of the court in which the estate is administered.