Wisconsin estate planning terms, in plain language

The set of legal documents that say who receives your property, who can act for you, and who makes decisions if you cannot. A typical Wisconsin plan includes a will, a durable financial power of attorney, and a healthcare power of attorney.

A document that directs where your property goes after death and names a personal representative to carry out your wishes. In Wisconsin a will must be signed and witnessed under Wis. Stat. § 853.03, and a will does not by itself avoid probate.

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The person who makes a will.

A short, separately signed amendment to an existing will. It must be executed with the same formalities as the will itself.

The person appointed to settle an estate by gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains. Older documents may call this role the executor.

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A person or organization you name to receive property, whether under a will, a trust, or a beneficiary designation.

An instruction on an account or policy, such as a retirement plan, life insurance, or a payable-on-death account, naming who receives it at death. These pass outside your will, so they need to stay in sync with the rest of your plan.

Dying without a valid will is dying "intestate." Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 852) then decides who inherits, which may not match what you would have chosen.

A sworn statement signed by the witnesses when a will is executed (Wis. Stat. § 853.04) so the probate court does not have to track them down years later.

A legal arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages property for the benefit of others under rules you set. Wisconsin trusts are governed by the Wisconsin Trust Code (Wis. Stat. ch. 701).

A trust you create and control during your lifetime and can change or revoke at any time (Wis. Stat. § 701.0602). When it is funded, it lets assets pass to your beneficiaries without probate.

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A trust that generally cannot be changed once it is created, used for specific goals such as asset protection or tax planning.

The person who creates a trust and places property into it. Also called the settlor or trustor.

The person or institution that manages trust property and follows the trust's terms. With a revocable living trust you usually serve as your own trustee while you are able.

The person who steps in to manage and distribute a trust when the original trustee dies or can no longer serve.

Retitling assets into the name of your trust. A trust only controls what is actually transferred into it, so an unfunded trust does not avoid probate.

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A short will used alongside a trust that directs any assets still in your own name at death into the trust.

A trust that provides for a person with a disability without disqualifying them from means-tested benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.

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A document naming someone, your agent, to act for you. Wisconsin recognizes separate financial and healthcare powers of attorney.

Authorizes an agent to handle your financial affairs and stays effective if you become incapacitated (Wis. Stat. ch. 244). Without one, your family may have to seek a guardianship of the estate.

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The person you authorize to act for you under a power of attorney.

A power of attorney that takes effect only after a specified event, usually a physician's finding that you are incapacitated, rather than immediately on signing.

Names the person who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself (Wis. Stat. ch. 155).

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A written statement of your wishes about life-sustaining treatment, called a declaration to physicians in Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. ch. 154). It guides both your care team and your healthcare agent.

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The inability to make or communicate your own decisions, as determined for the document or proceeding at issue. Your planning documents decide who acts for you if this happens.

Wisconsin, unlike many states, has no broad law that automatically lets a family member make your healthcare decisions. Without a healthcare power of attorney, the usual alternative is a court guardianship.

The court-supervised process of paying a decedent's debts and transferring their remaining property to the people entitled to it.

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Wisconsin's default, administrative probate path, handled by the register in probate without a judge in routine cases (Wis. Stat. ch. 865).

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Court-supervised probate used when a will is contested or the estate needs a judge's involvement (Wis. Stat. ch. 867).

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A small-estate shortcut that collects a decedent's property by sworn affidavit, without opening probate, when the net probate estate is $50,000 or less (Wis. Stat. § 867.03).

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The court document that gives a personal representative authority to act for an estate. Banks and other institutions require it before releasing assets.

A listing of the decedent's probate assets that the personal representative files with the court during probate.

The mostly private process of settling a trust after the grantor's death: notifying beneficiaries, paying expenses, and distributing assets under the trust and the Wisconsin Trust Code (Wis. Stat. ch. 701).

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Property that passes at death outside of probate, such as jointly held accounts, beneficiary-designated assets, and trust property (Wis. Stat. ch. 705).

Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death designations that let a bank or investment account pass directly to a named beneficiary without probate (Wis. Stat. ch. 705).

Wisconsin is a marital property state (Wis. Stat. ch. 766). Property acquired during a marriage is generally presumed to belong equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the title.

A written agreement between spouses that classifies their property. It can be a useful estate planning tool, including provisions that pass property at death without probate.

A recorded deed that passes Wisconsin real estate to a named beneficiary at your death, outside probate, while you keep full control during your lifetime (Wis. Stat. § 705.15).

A feature of joint ownership under which a surviving owner automatically receives a deceased owner's share (Wis. Stat. § 705.04). It overrides what your will says about that particular asset.

Wisconsin's program to recover certain Medicaid costs from a recipient's estate after death. It is one reason long-term care and estate planning are often considered together.

A court proceeding that appoints someone to make decisions for an adult or minor who cannot make them safely (Wis. Stat. ch. 54). Wisconsin courts favor the least restrictive option.

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A guardian authorized to make personal, medical, and placement decisions for the ward.

A guardian authorized to manage the ward's money and property. A financial power of attorney signed in advance can often avoid the need for one.

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The person for whom a guardian has been appointed.

Wisconsin's requirement that a court use the least intrusive option that meets a person's needs, such as a power of attorney, before imposing a guardianship.

A court order placing a person who needs long-term care in the least restrictive appropriate setting (Wis. Stat. ch. 55). It is separate from guardianship, though the two often go together.

The annual review Wisconsin requires for every protective placement (Wis. Stat. § 55.18), named for the Watts case, to confirm the placement is still the least restrictive option that meets the person's needs.