Wisconsin Small Estate Affidavit

Wisconsin small estate rules at a glance

Can you use it?

You can generally use the Wisconsin shortcut when all of these are true:

• The probate estate is $50,000 or less (property subject to administration in Wisconsin).
• Timing: no waiting period for an heir (30 days after the holder receives it, if the named executor signs).
• No one has been appointed, or applied to be appointed, executor or administrator.
• Real estate: yes, by recording the affidavit in the county where the property is, after notice to the heirs.

Other Wisconsin rules

• If the person or their spouse received Medicaid or Family Care, you first send a copy to the Estate Recovery Program by certified mail.
• For real estate, notify the heirs at least 30 days before recording the affidavit.

How to use the Wisconsin affidavit

1. Add up the probate estate. List what the person owned in their name alone, with no beneficiary or surviving joint owner, at its value on the date of death.
2. Check the timing. No waiting period for an heir (30 days after the holder receives it, if the named executor signs).
3. Get the paperwork. Use Transfer by Affidavit instructions (State Bar of Wisconsin).
4. Sign it under oath, usually before a notary, listing each person entitled to the property and their share.
5. Give it to each holder. Hand a copy, with a certified death certificate, to each bank, broker or other holder. They pay or transfer what they hold.
6. Pay debts and distribute. Pay the funeral and valid debts, then distribute under the will or Wisconsin's intestacy law. If you take more than your share, the other heirs and creditors can come after you for it.

The person's final income tax return is still due by April 15 of the year after the death. See the final tax returns guide, and Form 1310 to claim a refund without an executor.

A car has its own paperwork at the DMV: see how to transfer a car title after death in Wisconsin (MV2300).

If the estate is over the limit

Then the estate goes through probate: the court appoints an executor, who gets letters testamentary (or letters of administration when there is no will) and settles the estate. Wisconsin's court and forms are in the probate forms by state table. In Wisconsin, creditors have this long to claim: the date the court sets in its order, 3 to 4 months after the order. See how long probate takes in Wisconsin.

Use the probate cost calculator to estimate the court, attorney and executor fees.

Wisconsin taxes on a small estate

Wisconsin has no estate or inheritance tax, so a small estate owes no state death tax. See Wisconsin estate tax for the rules heirs still meet, such as income tax on an inherited IRA.

Small estate affidavits in other states

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wyoming

Or compare them all in the 50-state table.

Related guides

• Letters testamentary: how executors get them, by state
• What is probate? How it works, step by step
• How long does probate take? Timeline by state
• Probate cost calculator: fees by state
• Probate court forms by state
• Transfer a car title after death, by state
• Executor checklist: what to do when someone dies
• Form 1310: claiming a deceased person's tax refund