Probate

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No, your beneficiaries are not required to use the lawyer who drafted the will to help them with its probate. The personal representative is free to hire any licensed attorney they feel is knowledgeable and experienced. In some situations, where there might be a challenge to the will, the attorney who drafted the will actually cannot also assist in the probate until that challenge is resolved. 

The probate and estate lawyers at Ullenberg Law have helped clients settle estates and handle probates throughout Wisconsin on wills drafted and not drafted by our attorneys, and are happy to talk with you about helping settle your loved one’s estate and affairs.

Settling an estate can be a complex and time-consuming process, especially if the deceased did not leave a will or had many assets and debts. Depending on the size of the estate, you may need to go through a court-supervised process called probate, which can involve filing various documents, paying taxes and fees, notifying creditors and beneficiaries, and distributing the property according to the will or the law. 

While it is possible to settle an estate without a probate attorney, just as it is possible for a lawyer to change the oil on their own car, you may want to consult a licensed lawyer to help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure that the estate is settled property and efficiently.

Not necessarily. A will is a document that expresses the deceased person’s wishes, but it does not transfer property by itself. Probate may still be required to prove the validity of the will, pay the estate’s debts and taxes, and transfer the property to the beneficiaries. 

However, some assets may be transferred outside probate, such as those with beneficiary designations, joint ownership, or payable-on-death clauses. 

In Wisconsin, the person who is in charge of probate is called the personal representative (PR).  This is the person who is named in the will, or appointed by the court if there is no will. The PR is responsible for gathering and managing the estate’s assets, filing the necessary documents and reports, paying the estate’s debts and taxes, and distributing the estate’s property to its beneficiaries. 

The beneficiaries are the people or entities who are entitled to receive the estate’s property. The beneficiaries have the right to be notified of the probate proceedings, to receive a copy of the will, to inspect the estate’s inventory and accounts, to object to any actions or decisions of the PR or the court, and to receive their share of the estate. The beneficiaries also have the responsibility to cooperate, to provide their contact information and identification, to pay any taxes or debts that they may owe, and to respect the wishes of the deceased person. 

This depends on many factors, such as the size and complexity of the estate, the type of assets involved, the number and location of the beneficiaries, the existence and validity of the will, and the claims and potential disputes or challenges concerning the estate and its property; but generally in our experience it can take 9 months to a year or more. However, in some situations, during that process interim distributions may be made.

This too depends on the circumstances of the estate.  Some fees in Wisconsin, like the personal representative’s fee is set at 2% of the property under administration, the court filing fee is 0.2%, but other fees like attorneys’, accountants' and appraisers' fees depend upon the type of property in the estate and its situation.  The total costs can range from several thousand to more. 

Depending upon how your parents set up their estate, there are generally four ways to transfer your parent’s assets after their death:

1. by probate: Your parent’s property that is not otherwise distributed before or at their death, will be distributed to their legal heirs, or the people named in their will if different, by a court during a proceeding called probate.
2. by trust: If you parent created a trust during their lifetime and transferred property into it, upon your parent’s death, the trustee, if and when permitted by the trust, can transfer the property to you and its other beneficiaries. 
3. by beneficiary designation: If your parent filled out forms with their financial companies naming beneficiaries on their life insurance policies and bank, retirement, and investment accounts, then usually you can take their death certificate to the company and the asset will be automatically transferred to the named beneficiary.
4. by joint ownership:  If your parent made you or someone else a joint holder of their property, then generally, upon their death, the surviving joint owner becomes the sole owner by filing notice of their death with certain government offices like the register of deeds, department of motor vehicles, etc.