# Rebecca Mason Law: full reference > The complete public text of https://rebeccamasonlaw.com, in the order a reader would want it: who Rebecca is, what each practice area covers, every planning document and probate route explained, the cities served, the plain-language glossary, and the questions families ask most. Generated 2026-09-14 from the same data the pages render from. ## Firm identity - **Practice name:** Rebecca Mason Law - **Legal name:** Rebecca Mason Law, LLC - **Attorney:** Rebecca Mason, solo practice since 2012 - **Site:** https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/ - **Detailed file:** https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/llms-full.txt - **Short file:** https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/llms.txt - **Citation policy:** https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/ai.txt - **Phone:** (262) 632-2899 - **Email:** info@rebeccamasonlaw.com - **Office:** 245 Main Street, Suite 201, Racine, WI 53403 - **Hours:** By appointment - **Counties served:** Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Walworth counties, Wisconsin - **Scope:** estate planning, probate and trust administration, guardianship. Not business litigation, divorce, or criminal defense. ## About Rebecca Source page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/about/ Estate planning attorney. Racine, Wisconsin. Solo practice since 2012. Rebecca has spent her career helping Southeast Wisconsin families plan for what comes next: first wills and powers of attorney, revocable living trusts, and the harder conversations about guardianship when a parent or spouse can no longer make decisions for themselves. Her practice is intentionally narrow. She does not take on business litigation, divorces, or criminal matters. She does estate planning and the court work that comes with it, which means when probate gets contested, or a guardianship petition has to be filed under a deadline, she is not learning the process on your file. **How Rebecca works with clients** Most first conversations with Rebecca are short. Families call with a specific question: my mother was just diagnosed with dementia, what do we do?, and the first job is to hear the situation, not sell a package. From there, if an engagement makes sense, Rebecca walks through what is needed, what it costs, and what the timeline looks like, before anyone signs anything. For estate planning, that usually means one working meeting to gather facts and talk through choices, a draft sent for review, and a signing appointment once you are satisfied. For probate and guardianship, the cadence depends on the court, but you will know at every step who is doing what and when to expect the next update. **A Main Street practice, by design** Rebecca's office sits at 245 Main Street, Suite 201 in downtown Racine, one block from the Racine County Courthouse at 730 Wisconsin Avenue. That is not just a convenient address. When a probate matter or a guardianship hearing lands on the docket, being able to walk across the street and confer with a register in probate or a guardian ad litem saves clients time and money. The office serves families across Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Walworth counties. Meetings happen in person in Racine, by phone, or by video call, whatever works for your family. **What Rebecca believes about estate planning** An estate plan is not a binder. It is a set of decisions: about money, about medical care, about guardianship of minor children, about who speaks for you when you cannot speak for yourself. The documents are just how Wisconsin law records those decisions. The plans that work, in Rebecca's experience, are the plans the family actually understands. That is why drafts come with explanations written in plain language, why Rebecca spends real time at the signing appointment making sure every document is explained, and why she encourages families to revisit their plan every three to five years, or sooner after a major life change. **Community** Rebecca is a Racine resident and has practiced in the community for more than a decade. She writes frequently on Wisconsin estate planning topics, from why everyone needs an estate plan, to Wisconsin's witness requirements, to planning for blended families, on the firm blog (https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/blog/). **Credentials** - Bar admission: Admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 2005. Member in good standing. - Education: Juris Doctor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. - Court admissions: Admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. - Professional memberships: National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA); State Bar of Wisconsin Elder Law Section; State Bar of Wisconsin Trust & Estate Section; and the Racine County Bar Association. - Honors: Super Lawyers Rising Star (2011-2016) and Super Lawyer (2021-2023). Avvo rating 9.0. - Focus area: Estate planning, probate and trust administration, guardianship, and protective placement exclusively. - Courts: Regularly appears in Racine and Kenosha County Circuit Courts on probate and guardianship matters. ## Practice areas The practice index is https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/. ### Estate Planning & Estate Administration Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/ Wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives for Wisconsin families. We work with you to make sure your plan is clear and your loved ones are not left guessing. Estate planning can feel overwhelming, especially when you start hearing references to statutes, probate codes, powers of attorney, and trust laws. The good news is that you do not need to memorize Wisconsin's legal code to make informed decisions about protecting your family and your assets. **Understanding Wisconsin estate planning laws** Here is a plain-language overview of some of the Wisconsin laws that most commonly affect estate planning. **Wisconsin decides who inherits if you do not have a will** If you die without a valid Will or Trust, Wisconsin's intestacy laws determine who receives your property. Generally, assets pass to a surviving spouse and children, but the outcome can vary depending on your family situation. (See Wis. Stat. § 852.01.) While these laws are designed to provide a default plan, they may not reflect your wishes. For example, Wisconsin law will not account for more complicated family circumstances, charitable gifts, unequal distributions among children, or specific gifts of sentimental property. **A will allows you to create your own plan** Wisconsin law allows adults who meet certain legal requirements to create a Last Will and Testament. A valid Will lets you determine who receives your assets, nominate guardians for minor children, and appoint a Personal Representative to handle your estate. (See Wis. Stat. Ch. 853.) Without a Will, these decisions are largely made according to Wisconsin law rather than your personal preferences. **Probate may be required for certain assets** Wisconsin probate laws govern the process of settling a person's estate after death. Probate is generally necessary when the assets solely owned by the decedent exceed $50,000 and do not pass automatically to a beneficiary. (See Wis. Stat. § 867.01(1)(b).) The probate process helps ensure that debts are paid and assets are transferred properly. However, probate typically lasts at least a year, is public, and results in publication fees, court fees, and sometimes attorney fees. For these reasons, many people choose to structure their estate plans to minimize or avoid probate whenever possible. **Funded revocable living trusts can help avoid probate** Wisconsin recognizes Revocable Living Trusts as an effective estate planning tool. A Trust allows you to transfer assets into the Trust during your lifetime and provides instructions for managing and distributing those assets after your death. (See Wis. Stat. Ch. 701, Wisconsin's Uniform Trust Code.) When properly funded, Trust assets generally avoid probate, which can save time, expense, and administrative burdens for your loved ones. **Powers of attorney protect you during your lifetime** Estate planning is not only about what happens after death. Wisconsin law allows you to appoint trusted individuals to make financial and healthcare decisions if you become unable to act for yourself. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney allows someone to manage financial matters on your behalf, while a Healthcare Power of Attorney allows someone to make medical decisions if you cannot communicate your wishes. Without these documents, your family may need to seek a court-appointed guardianship before making important decisions for you. **Wisconsin is a marital property state** Wisconsin is a marital property state. In general, property acquired during a marriage is presumed to belong equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name appears on the title. This can have significant implications for estate planning, beneficiary designations, taxation, and asset protection. Understanding Wisconsin's marital property rules is an important part of creating an effective estate plan, especially for blended families. **Guardianships protect vulnerable individuals** Wisconsin law provides procedures for appointing guardians for minor children and adults who are unable to manage their personal or financial affairs. For parents of young children, one of the most important functions of a Will is the opportunity to nominate who should serve as guardian if both parents pass away before the children reach adulthood. **Beneficiary designations matter** Many assets pass according to beneficiary designations rather than the terms of a Will or Trust. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain financial accounts often transfer directly to named beneficiaries. For this reason, reviewing beneficiary designations regularly is a critical part of estate planning. **Estate planning is about more than documents** Wisconsin's estate planning laws provide the framework, but a successful estate plan is about more than completing legal paperwork. A well-designed plan coordinates your assets, beneficiary designations, family circumstances, and long-term goals to create a clear path forward for your loved ones. **When to revisit the plan** Estate plans are not one-and-done. Industry standard is to revisit your plan every three to five years, and sooner if there are any major changes, including additions to your family (birth or adoption of a child, a new marriage) or subtractions from your family (due to a divorce or death). Changes in federal estate or gift tax law also matter. For existing estate planning clients, there is no charge to check with Attorney Mason when there are changes, to see if your plan accounted for them or needs to be updated. **Do I need a will, a trust, or both?** Most people need at least a Will, a Durable Power of Attorney for Finances and Property, and a Healthcare Power of Attorney. A Revocable Living Trust can be helpful in a number of situations. A properly crafted and funded Trust will allow your loved ones to avoid probate and keep your financial matters private. It is also a helpful tool to manage separately held assets in blended families. Trusts further provide you the opportunity to build in contingencies for predeceased beneficiaries, delay distributions to minor beneficiaries, and find ways to provide for your loved ones with special needs. They are also critical to avoid multiple probates if you own property in another state. **How much does an estate plan cost in Wisconsin?** Attorney Mason charges flat fees for estate planning. You are provided with the flat-fee brochure prior to your initial consultation. During that consultation you will explore options and decide which documents make sense for you. You will be provided with a quote based on the documents you choose to have Attorney Mason draft. Simple wills with powers of attorney are at the lower end; revocable living trust packages cost more and reflect the additional drafting and funding work. You will have a written fee quote before you are asked to sign an engagement letter, and nothing is owed until your signing. **Can my spouse and I share the same estate planning attorney?** Most married couples with aligned interests are represented jointly. Attorney Mason works with you as a couple with a written joint-representation agreement that explains how she handles information. If your interests are not perfectly aligned, Attorney Mason may advise that you use separate counsel. **Do my documents need to be notarized? Do I need witnesses?** Each estate planning document has different criteria for its valid execution. Some must be notarized. Some need two witnesses. Some benefit from having both, along with a self-proving affidavit. Every plan is executed in Rebecca's office with witnesses and a notary present. **What happens if I die without a Wisconsin estate plan?** You die "intestate," and Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. §§ 852.01-852.05) decides who inherits. If you are married without children, your spouse inherits. If you have children from a prior relationship, much of the estate will likely be divided between your spouse and your children. **Does a Wisconsin estate plan cover long-term care and Medicaid?** Not automatically. Medicaid planning is its own specialty and overlaps with but is not the same as estate planning. If long-term care is a near-term concern for you or a parent, it is helpful to mention this when you initially contact the firm. At the initial consultation, Attorney Mason will provide information about Medicaid eligibility, asset protection, the five-year look-back, and a Medicaid spend-down. **Can a clear estate plan prevent family conflict after I am gone?** It can prevent a great deal of it. Most estate disputes do not begin with greed. They begin because the instructions were unclear, or there were no instructions at all, and grieving family members are left to guess what you would have wanted. Reasonable people who love each other end up on opposite sides. A well-drafted plan removes the guesswork. It names who is in charge (your personal representative or your trustee), states who receives what, and can explain your reasoning where that helps. If you have a blended family, a child with special needs, or a family business, the plan can address those specific pressure points before they ever turn into arguments. Clear planning also keeps your family out of the courtroom. When you die without a will, your estate passes under Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 852) rather than your wishes, and your loved ones may have to open a formal probate, which is public and can take many months. When the issue is incapacity rather than death, the alternative to a financial power of attorney under Wis. Stat. ch. 244 is often a contested guardianship under Wis. Stat. ch. 54. Planning ahead replaces both of those court processes with documents your family can simply follow. The purpose of an estate plan is not only to transfer assets. It is to make sure the people you love are caring for one another after you are gone, instead of fighting. #### Wisconsin Wills Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/wills/ A Wisconsin will is still the foundation of most estate plans, the document that says where your probate property goes, names the person who will settle your affairs, and, for parents of minor children, names the guardian you want raising them. **What a Wisconsin will does (and what it does not)** A will directs where your probate property passes after your death. It names a personal representative, the person who opens the probate, inventories your assets, pays your debts, and distributes what remains. If you have minor children, your will is where you nominate the guardian the court should appoint. A will does not control jointly titled assets (they pass to the surviving joint owner), retirement accounts and life insurance (those pass by beneficiary designation), or trust property (that follows the terms of the trust). A Wisconsin plan almost always combines a will with beneficiary designations, jointly held accounts where appropriate, and powers of attorney. Each covers a different slice of your life. **How Wisconsin wills are executed** Wis. Stat. § 853.03 requires a will to be in writing and signed by the testator, and to be signed by at least two witnesses. Each witness must sign within a reasonable time after the testator either signs the will or acknowledges the signature or the will in that witness's conscious presence, and the two witnesses do not have to be present at the same moment. A witness who is also a beneficiary does not invalidate the will, but under Wis. Stat. § 853.07 any gift to that witness is cut back to what they would have received if there had been no will, so Rebecca uses witnesses who take nothing under the document. Rebecca always executes wills in her office with staff witnesses and a notary, so the signing creates a self-proved will under Wis. Stat. § 853.04 and the probate court does not need to hunt down witnesses years later. Wisconsin does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills executed in-state. It does recognize a will that was validly executed under another state's law, something Rebecca checks any time a new Wisconsin resident brings in planning documents from elsewhere. **Common provisions Rebecca drafts** Residuary clause directing the balance of the estate after specific gifts. Per stirpes or per capita distribution language that matches the family's actual intent. No-contest (in terrorem) clauses where appropriate. A named personal representative with one or two alternates, and a clear decision about whether the personal representative should be required to post bond. For parents: a primary guardian nomination and a successor, with a statement about why that person was chosen. Rebecca also builds in contingent trust provisions for minor or young-adult beneficiaries, so a nineteen-year-old does not inherit a lump sum on their eighteenth birthday. The trust can terminate at a later age, or stagger distributions in thirds at specified ages, whichever fits the family. **When a will needs to be updated** Marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, death of a beneficiary, a move into or out of Wisconsin, a significant change in assets, or simply more than three to five years without a review. Wisconsin does not automatically revoke a will on marriage or divorce, but divorce does revoke provisions in favor of the former spouse under Wis. Stat. § 854.15. So the will still needs updating to pick a new beneficiary and fiduciary. **Do I need a lawyer to write a Wisconsin will?** Wisconsin does not legally require an attorney. But most of the contested wills Rebecca sees in probate were written without one: homemade wills with ambiguous language, wills that ignore the signing and witnessing rules in Wis. Stat. § 853.03, wills that conflict with beneficiary designations, or wills that accidentally disinherit someone the testator loved. The cost of a professionally drafted will is almost always less than the cost of litigating a bad one. **How much does a Wisconsin will cost?** Rebecca quotes flat fees after your first meeting. Simple wills paired with powers of attorney are at the lower end of estate-planning engagements. Wills that include trust provisions, blended-family distributions, or business interests cost more and reflect the additional drafting. You get a written quote before signing an engagement letter. **Can I name out-of-state family as my personal representative?** Yes. Wisconsin allows non-resident personal representatives (Wis. Stat. § 856.23), though the court may require them to consent to Wisconsin jurisdiction, appoint a Wisconsin resident agent, and, in some counties, post bond. Rebecca represents out-of-state personal representatives routinely. The county filings and hearings are things she handles locally while the family member runs things from a distance. **What happens if my will names a guardian but my ex-spouse is still living?** A surviving legal parent almost always takes priority over a guardian nomination in a will. If both parents die, your nomination carries significant weight but the court still makes the final appointment in the child's best interests. The will is your voice in that decision. The more thoughtfully it is written (why this person, what support structures exist), the more weight it carries. **Does a Wisconsin will need to be recorded or filed anywhere during my lifetime?** No. A will only becomes public when it is admitted to probate after your death. Wisconsin does let you deposit a will with the Register in Probate for safekeeping during your lifetime (Wis. Stat. § 853.09), but most clients simply store the original in a safe place at home and give a copy to their personal representative. Rebecca keeps signed copies in her office so a replacement can always be produced. #### Revocable Living Trusts Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/revocable-living-trust/ A revocable living trust lets you keep full control of your assets during your lifetime while giving your family a private, faster path around probate when you pass. It is not the right tool for everyone. But when it is right, it solves problems a will alone cannot. **What a revocable living trust actually does** You create the trust while you are alive, transfer selected assets into it, and name yourself as trustee. While you are alive and competent, nothing about your day-to-day changes. You still buy, sell, spend, and invest as you would with your own name on the title. The trust is just the owner of record. When you pass, the successor trustee you named steps in, distributes the trust's assets according to its terms, and the trust closes. No probate is required for trust property. That saves time (months instead of the four-to-eight month probate minimum), keeps the distribution private (probate is a public court proceeding; trusts are not), and lets you include contingent provisions: ongoing trusts for minor children, special-needs protection, staged distributions, that a simple will cannot replicate as cleanly. **When a trust is worth the cost** Families that own real estate in more than one state. Probate has to run in every state where you own real property; a trust consolidates the process into one administration. Blended families where the distribution is not a simple "everything to my spouse, then to my children." Trusts can hold assets for the surviving spouse's lifetime and then pass to the first spouse's children, a pattern Wisconsin wills struggle to execute cleanly. Beneficiaries with special needs or addiction issues. A trust can distribute funds on a schedule or subject to a trustee's discretion, protecting the beneficiary without disqualifying them from means-tested benefits. Privacy-sensitive families. Probate inventories and final accounts are public record in Wisconsin. A trust administration is not. **Funding the trust, where most families go wrong** A trust only controls assets that are titled to it. Signing the document is step one; retitling your real estate, brokerage accounts, and business interests into the trust is step two. If step two never happens, your beneficiaries end up in probate anyway and the trust sits empty. Rebecca walks clients through funding at the signing appointment: which assets should be transferred, which should keep their beneficiary designations, and which should be left in individual name with a "pour-over will" that catches them at death. She prepares the deeds for Wisconsin real estate and sends written instructions for retitling accounts, then checks in several months later to confirm the funding is complete. **Wisconsin's Trust Code** Wisconsin adopted the Uniform Trust Code as Wis. Stat. ch. 701. It spells out the duties of the trustee, the rights of beneficiaries, the procedures for modifying or terminating a trust, and the standards courts use if a trust is contested. Rebecca drafts trusts to work cleanly within that framework. So if a dispute ever arises, the rules the court will apply are already baked into the document. **Does a revocable living trust save me taxes?** Not by itself. A revocable trust is tax-neutral. The IRS treats the assets as still belonging to you during your lifetime. Estate tax savings come from separate strategies (irrevocable trusts, lifetime gifting, charitable vehicles) that can layer on top of a revocable trust. Most Wisconsin families are well below the current federal estate tax threshold; trusts solve probate, privacy, and control issues, not tax issues. **Can I change or revoke my trust after I sign it?** Yes. That is the "revocable" part. You can amend the trust, add or remove assets, change beneficiaries, or revoke the entire document at any time while you have capacity (Wis. Stat. § 701.0602). When you pass or become incapacitated, the trust becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee takes over under its terms. **Do I still need a will if I have a trust?** Yes. Rebecca always pairs a revocable trust with a "pour-over will" that catches any asset not successfully retitled to the trust during your lifetime. The pour-over will directs those stray assets into the trust at death. A trust also does not nominate a guardian for minor children. That has to live in the will. **How expensive is a trust compared to a will?** A Wisconsin revocable-trust package (trust + pour-over will + powers of attorney + funding work) costs more upfront than a simple will package. Most families who choose a trust do so because the savings on the back end: probate avoidance, privacy, ongoing trust provisions for children, outweigh the upfront drafting cost. Rebecca will tell you directly when a trust is the right tool and when it is not. **Who should I name as successor trustee?** Someone who is organized, trustworthy with money, and able to work with professionals (attorneys, CPAs, investment advisors). Many families name the same person who serves as personal representative under the will. Some name a corporate trustee, a bank or trust company, especially when beneficiaries are minor or when the family dynamics make a neutral professional a better choice than a sibling or in-law. Naming your own successors matters: if a trustee cannot serve and the document names no successor, filling the vacancy falls to the process in Wis. Stat. § 701.0704. #### Special Needs Trusts Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/special-needs-trust/ A well-drafted special needs trust lets a Wisconsin family provide meaningful support to a loved one with a disability, supplementing SSI, Medicaid, and other means-tested benefits rather than wiping them out. **The problem a special needs trust solves** Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid are means-tested. A person cannot generally qualify if they own more than $2,000 in "countable resources." An inheritance, a life insurance payout, or even a well-meaning gift from a grandparent can push a beneficiary over that threshold and cost them the benefits they depend on, sometimes retroactively, with demands for repayment. A special needs trust solves that problem by holding the inheritance or gift in trust for the beneficiary's benefit without making the funds their "property" for eligibility purposes. The trustee can use the funds for things the benefits do not cover: dental care, therapies, assistive technology, recreation, travel, a companion, while the beneficiary's core support (housing, medical, food assistance) stays in place. **Third-party vs first-party trusts** A third-party special needs trust holds money that never belonged to the beneficiary, typically a parent's or grandparent's gift or bequest. At the beneficiary's death, anything remaining can pass to other family members. This is the most common kind and the one Wisconsin parents typically build into their estate plan. A first-party (or "self-settled") special needs trust holds money that was the beneficiary's own: a personal injury settlement, a direct inheritance that arrived before planning was in place, or retroactive Social Security. It must include a Medicaid payback provision under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A), so Medicaid is reimbursed from the remainder at the beneficiary's death. Rebecca drafts both when the family situation calls for them. **How the trust fits into the broader plan** For most Wisconsin families with a child or adult relative with a disability, the special needs trust sits inside the revocable living trust, not as a stand-alone document. When the parents pass, the portion of the estate earmarked for that beneficiary flows into a sub-trust that follows special-needs rules. Siblings and other beneficiaries receive their shares outright. The choice of trustee matters enormously. The trustee must understand SSI and Medicaid rules well enough to avoid distributions that would be counted as income or resources to the beneficiary. Rebecca talks through whether a family member, a professional trustee, a corporate trustee, or a pooled trust administered by a Wisconsin-based special-needs organization is the right fit. **ABLE accounts, the companion tool** Wisconsin residents can open an ABLE account (Achieving a Better Life Experience) for a beneficiary whose disability began before age 26. ABLE accounts hold up to a federal annual cap without affecting SSI or Medicaid eligibility (subject to limits), and the beneficiary themselves can have direct access to the account for qualified disability expenses. A special needs trust and an ABLE account are complementary, not competing. Rebecca often recommends both. **When should we set up a special needs trust?** As soon as a diagnosis is in hand and the family knows long-term support will be needed. Waiting risks a scenario where an inheritance arrives, from a grandparent who did not know about the disability, before planning is in place, and the family has to scramble to protect benefits. Building the trust into the parents' estate plan removes that risk entirely. **Can other family members contribute?** Yes. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends can name the third-party special needs trust as the beneficiary of a gift, bequest, or life insurance policy. Rebecca prepares a short letter to family members after the trust is signed, so relatives know how to make sure their planning supports, rather than inadvertently disqualifies, the beneficiary. **What can the trustee spend money on?** Supplemental items and services, things that improve quality of life without duplicating what SSI or Medicaid already provides. Common distributions: therapies not covered by Medicaid, private schooling, recreation, travel, a companion, a vehicle adaptation, technology, dental work. What the trustee generally cannot do: give cash directly to the beneficiary (it is counted as income), or pay for food and shelter without triggering an SSI reduction. **What happens to the trust when the beneficiary passes?** For third-party trusts, the remainder passes to whoever the parents named in the trust, typically siblings, nieces, nephews, or a charity. For first-party trusts, Medicaid must be reimbursed from the remainder before any other distribution. That distinction is why Rebecca works hard to keep family contributions in third-party trusts whenever possible. **Can the beneficiary serve as their own trustee?** No. The whole structure depends on the beneficiary not having legal control over the funds. The trustee must be someone else, a parent during the parents' lifetimes, then a successor trustee after. Rebecca thinks carefully with families about the right successor; it is one of the most important decisions in a special needs plan. #### Durable Financial Power of Attorney Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/power-of-attorney-financial/ A durable financial power of attorney is the document that keeps your financial life running if you lose capacity. Without one, a family member may have to file for guardianship of the estate, a public, expensive, months-long process that a single document could have prevented. **What a Wisconsin durable POA authorizes** A durable financial power of attorney names an "agent" who can act for you on the financial matters you specify. Paying bills, managing bank and investment accounts, dealing with the IRS and Wisconsin Department of Revenue, handling real estate, managing a business, collecting benefits, and signing documents. The POA can authorize any combination of these. "Durable" means the authority survives your incapacity. A non-durable POA ends the moment you lose capacity, exactly when your family needs it most, so every Wisconsin estate plan Rebecca drafts uses the durable form. **Wisconsin's statutory framework** Wisconsin adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act as Wis. Stat. ch. 244. Wis. Stat. § 244.61 provides a statutory short form, and Wis. Stat. § 244.20 sharply limits the grounds on which a bank, brokerage, or agency may refuse an acknowledged power of attorney. Together they are the protection against the common problem of a financial institution refusing to honor a valid POA because it does not match their internal template. Rebecca uses the statutory form as the backbone of every Wisconsin financial POA, then customizes within it: expanding or limiting specific powers, naming primary and successor agents, and adding conditions such as whether the agent's authority is effective immediately or "springs" into effect only upon a certified finding of incapacity. **Springing vs immediate** An immediate POA takes effect the moment it is signed. The agent has authority right away, alongside you. Most Wisconsin families are comfortable with this for a spouse or adult child who is already trusted with financial matters. A springing POA takes effect only when you are certified incapacitated, typically by one or two physicians. It feels safer to some clients, but in practice it can slow things down in an emergency: the agent may be blocked from acting for days while medical certifications are obtained. Rebecca walks through the trade-off at the drafting meeting. **Who to name, and not to name** Someone who is financially competent, organized, and geographically reachable. Someone whose judgment you trust on money matters, because the agent will be making real decisions, not just signing paperwork. Typically a spouse, an adult child, a sibling, or occasionally a close friend. Rebecca names a primary agent and one or two successors in case the primary predeceases or becomes unavailable. Someone to avoid: a person with a history of financial trouble, a person who lives halfway across the country without the bandwidth to handle Wisconsin paperwork, or, and this matters, a person whom other family members will resent being empowered. Family friction is the single most common reason Wisconsin POAs end up challenged. **How is a POA different from guardianship?** A POA is something you choose and sign while you have capacity. Guardianship is a court proceeding that happens after you have lost it, or nearly lost it. A good POA can eliminate the need for a guardianship of the estate entirely. That is why Rebecca views the POA as one of the most important documents in the whole plan. **Can my bank refuse to honor my POA?** Only for limited reasons. Wis. Stat. § 244.20 lets an institution refuse an acknowledged power of attorney in good faith within 10 business days, but only on specific grounds, such as actual knowledge that the POA was revoked or a genuine belief that it is invalid. What it may not do is refuse merely because of how old the document is, or because it would rather you use its own in-house form, or for no good-faith reason at all. A refusal that violates the statute can be taken to court, which may order acceptance and award attorney fees. Banks can require reasonable verification (a signed agent certification, for example) but cannot insist on using their own internal form. If a Wisconsin bank does refuse to honor a valid POA, Rebecca writes a letter citing the statute, which resolves the issue in almost every case. **When does a Wisconsin POA end?** On your death (at which point the personal representative of your estate takes over). On written revocation while you have capacity. On divorce, if your spouse was named agent. Wis. Stat. § 244.10(2) treats the agent's authority as terminated as to a former spouse once a divorce, annulment, or legal-separation action is filed, unless the document says otherwise. On the agent's resignation, death, or incapacity, if a successor is named. **Can I have more than one agent?** Yes. You can name co-agents who must act jointly, co-agents who can act independently, or a primary agent plus successors. Joint agents add oversight but can slow things down when the two do not agree. Independent co-agents move faster but risk conflicting decisions. Rebecca usually recommends a single primary agent with a strong successor, rather than co-agents, unless there is a specific reason to split authority. **What does a Wisconsin POA cost?** A financial POA is almost always part of a bundled estate-planning engagement, a will plus financial POA plus healthcare POA plus advance directive, quoted as one flat fee. Rebecca does not sell POAs as a stand-alone product except in limited situations (updating a single document after a divorce, for example). #### Healthcare Power of Attorney Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/power-of-attorney-healthcare/ A Wisconsin healthcare power of attorney names the person who speaks to your doctors, about treatments, surgeries, placement decisions, and end-of-life care, when you cannot speak for yourself. It is the document hospitals want to see, and the one Rebecca considers non-negotiable for every adult client. **What a healthcare POA authorizes** Your healthcare agent can consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf, review your medical records, speak with your physicians, and make placement decisions (hospital, rehab, skilled nursing, home care) when you lack capacity to decide for yourself. The document activates only when a physician certifies you are unable to make your own healthcare decisions. While you have capacity, you remain in charge. The POA is inert. If capacity returns (as it often does after illness or surgery), the POA goes back to inert status and you resume decision-making. **Wisconsin's Ch. 155 framework** Wis. Stat. ch. 155 governs the healthcare POA. The statute provides a recommended form. Rebecca uses it as the foundation, adding customizations where the client wants them. Execution requirements are specific, and Wis. Stat. § 155.10 is strict about who may witness. The document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, and neither may be related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, or be your domestic partner. That rule alone disqualifies the spouse and adult children most families would reach for first. A witness also may not have a claim on your estate, be directly financially responsible for your health care, be your health care agent, or be a health care provider serving you at the time, or an employee of that provider or of the facility where you are a patient, other than a chaplain or social worker. Rebecca executes healthcare POAs in her office with staff witnesses who meet every one of those requirements, avoiding the common failure mode of a document signed at a kitchen table with witnesses who later turn out to have been ineligible. **The questions you get to answer, now, in writing** Life-sustaining treatment in a terminal condition: withhold or continue? Feeding tube and hydration if you are in a persistent vegetative state: yes, no, or "let my agent decide"? Transfer to hospice when curative treatment is no longer helping? Organ donation? Wisconsin's statutory form walks through each of these, and Rebecca talks through them with every client. These are not abstract policy questions. They are the questions a Wisconsin hospital will ask your spouse or child at 2 a.m., and your healthcare POA is where you get to give an answer now, while you have time to think, rather than leaving your family to guess. **Who to name** Someone who knows your values, is available on short notice, and can advocate for you in a hospital setting, including pushing back on a doctor if the doctor's recommendation diverges from what you have clearly asked for. Most clients name a spouse as primary agent with an adult child or sibling as successor. Rebecca asks clients to talk to their chosen agent before signing, so the agent understands they have been named and agrees to serve. **Is a healthcare POA the same as a living will?** No. They are separate documents that do overlapping things. The healthcare POA names your agent. A living will (advance directive) gives specific directions about end-of-life treatment. Wisconsin clients typically sign both; they are each covered by a different statutory chapter (Wis. Stat. ch. 155 for the POA, Wis. Stat. ch. 154 for the advance directive) and hospitals prefer to have both on file. **Can my agent override what I have put in writing?** Generally no. Wisconsin hospitals follow the clear written directions of the principal first, then defer to the agent on matters the principal did not address. Rebecca drafts POAs so the boundaries are clear: what the principal has specifically said governs, and the agent fills in the gaps on everything else. **What happens if I do not have a healthcare POA?** Wisconsin is one of the few states with no broad default-surrogate law, so this matters more here than people expect. If you lose capacity without a healthcare power of attorney under Wis. Stat. ch. 155, your family does not automatically gain the legal right to make your medical decisions. Apart from a narrow rule for admission to a nursing home or community-based residential facility (Wis. Stat. § 50.06), the usual alternative is for someone to ask a court to appoint a guardian under Wis. Stat. ch. 54, which is public, costs money, and takes time. A healthcare POA lets you choose your decision-maker in advance, in writing, so your family never has to go to court to care for you. **Will out-of-state hospitals honor a Wisconsin healthcare POA?** In almost all cases, yes. Most states have comity provisions recognizing a healthcare POA validly executed in another state. For clients who spend significant time out of state (snowbirds, college-age children at school), Rebecca sometimes prepares a second document under the other state's statute as well, belt and suspenders. **How often should I update my healthcare POA?** Whenever your named agent is no longer the right person: divorce, death, moving, a relationship shift. Otherwise, review it with your other estate-planning documents every three to five years. Medical practice and Wisconsin law do not change often enough to require routine rewrites of a well-drafted POA. #### Advance Directive & Living Will Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/estate-planning-estate-administration/advance-directive/ An advance directive, sometimes called a living will, puts your wishes about life-sustaining treatment in writing, so the hospital has a document to follow and your family is not forced to guess at the hardest moment. **What a Wisconsin advance directive covers** An advance directive under Wis. Stat. ch. 154 addresses a narrow but important question: if you have a terminal condition, or are in a persistent vegetative state, do you want life-sustaining procedures, mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes, hydration, continued or withheld? The statute requires the document to be signed with two witnesses who are not related to you by blood or marriage, not entitled to any portion of your estate, and not your healthcare provider or an employee of your healthcare provider. Rebecca handles execution in her office with qualified witnesses. **Advance directive vs healthcare POA, how they work together** The healthcare POA (Wis. Stat. ch. 155) names the person who makes decisions. The advance directive (Wis. Stat. ch. 154) describes what you want those decisions to be in a specific category of cases, terminal illness or persistent vegetative state. Most Wisconsin clients sign both. The POA gives broad authority to an agent; the advance directive gives that agent, and any treating physician, specific written guidance in the scenarios the statute covers. If you want broader end-of-life instructions than Wis. Stat. ch. 154 addresses, Rebecca builds them into the healthcare POA document itself, which can include any guidance you want to leave for your agent. **The conversation behind the document** Signing an advance directive is not hard. Thinking through what you want is. Rebecca walks clients through the realistic scenarios: ICU care after a serious accident, a late-stage dementia diagnosis, a stroke leaving you unable to communicate, end-stage renal failure. In each, what would you want your care team to prioritize? What would you want them to stop? There are no wrong answers. Some clients want every intervention pursued to the last possible day; others want a clearer path to comfort care. The goal is to write down an answer while you are well enough to give one. **What the directive does not do** An advance directive does not authorize anyone to make routine medical decisions for you. That is the healthcare POA's job. It does not make you a DNR patient automatically; Wisconsin's out-of-hospital DNR order (under Wis. Stat. ch. 154 subch. II) is a separate document typically signed with a physician. And it does not address non-medical end-of-life matters like funeral planning or burial preferences. Those can go in a separate statement or in the will itself. **Does Wisconsin recognize a "living will" signed in another state?** Sometimes, but do not count on it. Wisconsin's declaration-to-physicians law (Wis. Stat. ch. 154) is form-specific, and an out-of-state living will may not match what a Wisconsin hospital expects. If you recently moved to Wisconsin with an advance directive in hand, Rebecca will review it and usually recommends re-executing a Wisconsin form so your wishes are followed without delay. Your healthcare power of attorney travels more easily than your living will, which is another reason to have both. **Who should I give a copy to?** Your healthcare agent, your primary care physician, and any specialist treating you for a chronic condition. Some Wisconsin hospitals allow advance directives to be uploaded into your medical record. Rebecca provides clients with a laminated wallet card noting where the original is stored and who to contact. **Can I change my advance directive later?** Yes, at any time while you have capacity. Wis. Stat. § 154.05 gives four methods: destroying the document (or having someone destroy it in your presence at your direction), a signed and dated written revocation, executing a new declaration, or a verbal revocation. The verbal route has a catch worth knowing: it takes effect only once you, or someone acting for you, actually notify your attending health care professional. Rebecca recommends a fresh signing with new witnesses rather than marking up the old document, and sending the new one to your providers so the old version is not the one in your chart. **Does the hospital have to follow my advance directive?** In almost all cases, yes. Individual healthcare providers may object on moral or religious grounds and may transfer you to another provider under Wis. Stat. § 154.07, but they cannot simply override a valid directive. Rebecca drafts directives that are clear, execution-compliant, and unlikely to face refusal in a Wisconsin hospital setting. **Should I also have a POLST or DNR?** Possibly, depending on your health status. POLST (Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) and out-of-hospital DNR orders are physician-signed medical orders, distinct from advance directives. They are used when illness has progressed to the point that a written physician order is appropriate. Rebecca raises this with older clients and those managing serious illness, and refers to the treating physician for execution. ### Probate & Trust Administration Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/probate-trust-administration/ Guiding personal representatives and trustees through Wisconsin probate and trust administration with practical, compassionate counsel. When someone passes away, the family is usually facing a short list of hard logistical questions in the middle of grief. Attorney Mason handles Wisconsin probate and trust administration so those decisions about accounts, real estate, creditors, and distributions have a clear path forward. **What probate looks like in Wisconsin** Probate is the court-supervised process of liquidating assets, paying a decedent's debts, and transferring what remains to the people who should inherit. In Wisconsin, it happens in the Circuit Court for the county where the person lived or owned property. Attorney Mason handles probate in Racine and Kenosha counties, each with its own court rhythms. Wisconsin offers three paths depending on the estate: the summary procedures for small estates, including transfer by affidavit at $50,000 or less (Wis. Stat. ch. 867), informal administration for most straightforward estates (Wis. Stat. ch. 865), and formal administration when the court needs to supervise more closely (Wis. Stat. chs. 856 to 863). Which path applies depends on asset value, the presence of a valid will, family dynamics, and whether any creditor, heir, or beneficiary is contesting. Attorney Mason guides the personal representative through each stage: the initial filing, the hearing to appoint the personal representative (when needed), publication and mailing the notice to creditors, preparing and filing the inventory and final account, obtaining receipts from creditors and beneficiaries, obtaining the closing certificate from the Department of Revenue, and filing the documents to close the estate. Attorney Mason is typically able to handle most court appearances on her own so the family does not have to personally appear. **Trust administration** If the decedent had a revocable living trust, administration happens privately, without a Circuit Court proceeding. But "without court" does not mean "without rules." Wisconsin's Trust Code (Wis. Stat. ch. 701) sets deadlines for notice to beneficiaries, requires accountings in most cases, and imposes fiduciary duties on the successor trustee. An attorney is not typically necessary in a Trust administration. Attorney Mason frequently provides a short consultation for successor trustees after the death of the Trust Grantor(s). Where problems arise, Attorney Mason can represent the Trustee throughout the process. **Common pitfalls Rebecca sees** Paying claims out of order. Wisconsin's priority of claims under Wis. Stat. § 859.25 is strict: administration expenses, then funeral and burial, then the family's statutory allowances, then last-illness expenses, then government debts and taxes, then everything else. A personal representative who pays a lower-priority claim before a higher one can be personally liable for the difference. Missing the creditor notice. Publication is mandatory, and the claim deadline the court or probate registrar sets under Wis. Stat. § 859.01 runs from that order, so a late publication delays the entire administration. Funding mistakes on trusts. A trust only controls assets titled to it. Real estate deeded to the decedent individually, a brokerage account that was never retitled, or a 401(k) with an outdated beneficiary designation: these all fall outside the trust and may trigger probate. Distributing too early. A personal representative who distributes before the claim period closes and before taxes are paid can be personally liable for any shortfall. **Do we have to go through probate if there is a will?** Yes. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that a will avoids probate. It does not. The Will is admitted to the Probate Court and the judge needs to appoint the personal representative before he or she has authority to act on behalf of the estate. The court oversees the entire probate process, which typically lasts about a year. The exceptions are small estates that qualify for transfer by affidavit under Wis. Stat. § 867.03, and estates where every asset is either jointly held with right of survivorship, has a beneficiary designation, or was funded into a trust during the decedent's lifetime. **How much does Wisconsin probate cost?** Court filing fees are set by statute and are a percentage of the assets subject to probate. Attorney fees are charged by the hour and vary by complexity. Most simple probates will cost between $2,000 and $3,000 in publication fees, court costs, and attorney fees in Racine and Kenosha. When contested matters arise, the fees can exceed $20,000. All fees are paid out of estate assets. **Who can serve as personal representative in Wisconsin?** The judge will appoint the individual named in the Will as personal representative unless he or she is unable or unwilling to serve. If there is no will, priority is given to the surviving spouse, then to heirs, and then creditors. A personal representative who lives out of state can serve but must consent to Wisconsin jurisdiction and, under Wis. Stat. § 856.23, appoint a Wisconsin resident agent. Rebecca routinely represents out-of-state personal representatives handling a Wisconsin estate from afar. #### Wisconsin Probate: How It Works Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/probate-trust-administration/wisconsin-probate-overview/ Wisconsin probate is the court-supervised process that pays a decedent's debts and transfers their remaining property to the people entitled to inherit. For most families, it is a series of filings rather than a courtroom drama. But each step has rules and deadlines that matter. **Opening the estate** Probate begins with a petition filed in the Circuit Court of the county where the decedent lived at death. The petitioner, usually the person named as personal representative in the will, or a statutory priority heir if there is no will, files Form PR-1801 along with the original will (if any), a certified death certificate, and a list of interested persons. Informal probate, authorized under Wis. Stat. ch. 865, is the default path for most Wisconsin estates. The Register in Probate processes the filings administratively; no judge is required for routine work. Formal administration, run under Wisconsin's general probate chapters (Wis. Stat. chs. 856 to 863), is used when the will is unclear, someone contests, or the court needs supervised authority over specific transactions. Chapter 867 is a third track entirely: the summary procedures reserved for small estates. **The inventory and the creditor notice** Within six months of appointment, the personal representative files an inventory of the decedent's probate assets: real estate, financial accounts in the decedent's sole name, vehicles, personal property, business interests. Jointly held property, beneficiary-designated accounts, and trust assets are outside probate and outside the inventory. At the same time, the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a Wisconsin newspaper of general circulation in the county. Under Wis. Stat. § 859.01 the court, or the probate registrar in an informal administration, sets the claim deadline by order, at a date not less than three nor more than four months from the date of that order. Creditors who do not file by the deadline on the order are barred. Because the exact date is set case by case rather than fixed by statute, Rebecca calendars it from the order itself rather than assuming a full four months. This is one of the core protections Wisconsin probate provides, a finite period after which the estate can safely distribute without fear of unknown claims emerging. **Paying claims, paying taxes, distributing** After the claim window closes, the personal representative reviews each claim filed. Valid claims are paid in the classes and order set by Wis. Stat. § 859.25: costs and expenses of administration, then reasonable funeral and burial expenses, then the statutory allowances for the decedent's family, then the reasonable and necessary expenses of the last illness, then debts and taxes owed to the United States, Wisconsin, or a local government, and finally all other claims. Paying claims out of order can create personal liability for the personal representative, which is why Rebecca guides every client through this step carefully. Wisconsin has no state estate tax (repealed in 2008), but federal estate tax may apply to very large estates. The decedent's final personal income tax return (Form 1040) is also filed, and if the estate earned income during administration, interest, dividends, rental income, a fiduciary tax return (Form 1041) is filed as well. Once debts and taxes are paid and any reserve is established, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets according to the will, or according to Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. §§ 852.01–852.05) if there is no will. **Closing the estate** Final step: the personal representative files a final account, gets the beneficiaries' receipts confirming they received what they were entitled to, and files a statement closing the estate. The Circuit Court issues a discharge order, the personal representative's authority ends, and the probate file is closed. Most Wisconsin informal probates close within four to eight months of opening. Formal probates take longer, nine months to two years, especially when there are contests, complex assets, or out-of-state property requiring ancillary proceedings. **How long after someone dies does probate have to be opened?** Wisconsin does not set a strict deadline, but practical pressure builds fast. Financial institutions freeze accounts until they see Letters from the personal representative, and mortgage companies, insurance carriers, and the decedent's employer all need someone with authority to act. Most families open probate within 30 to 60 days. Waiting longer than a year can also lead to claims being harder to investigate and documents being misplaced. **Can we probate a Wisconsin estate from out of state?** Yes. Rebecca represents out-of-state personal representatives handling Wisconsin probates regularly. The personal representative typically makes one trip to Wisconsin early in the process (for the swearing-in and initial filings) and handles the rest remotely, with Rebecca appearing in court as needed. Some Wisconsin counties now accept remote appearances for routine hearings. **What if there is no will?** The estate passes by intestate succession. Wis. Stat. §§ 852.01 through 852.05 dictate who inherits. A surviving spouse's share depends on whether the decedent had children from outside the marriage; children and grandchildren take in a statutory pattern when there is no spouse. If no statutory heir exists, the estate ultimately escheats to the state, but that is very rare. Wisconsin's statute reaches fairly far out in the family tree before escheat. **Do all assets go through probate?** No. Assets held jointly with right of survivorship, accounts with named beneficiaries (retirement, life insurance, POD/TOD), and assets titled to a revocable trust all pass outside probate. A well-planned Wisconsin estate can minimize or eliminate the probate estate entirely, which is often the goal of estate planning in the first place. **What does Wisconsin probate cost?** Court filing fees are a few hundred dollars. Publication fees, appraiser fees, and bond premiums (when required) are case-specific. Attorney fees are set by written engagement. Rebecca uses flat fees for routine probates where possible, and hourly for contested or complex matters, always with a written estimate up front. #### Informal vs Formal Probate in Wisconsin Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/probate-trust-administration/informal-vs-formal-probate/ Wisconsin offers two paths through probate: informal and formal. The difference is not about difficulty. It is about how much direct court supervision the estate needs. **Informal probate under Chapter 865** Informal probate is the default. It is handled administratively by the Register in Probate, not by a judge, and most routine filings are processed without a hearing. The personal representative is appointed, files the inventory and creditor notice, pays claims, files the final account, and closes the estate, all on paper, all on timelines set by statute and local rule. Most Wisconsin estates, roughly three out of four, move through informal probate from start to finish. The path is available when there is a valid will, no contest, no serious dispute over assets, and a personal representative able to handle the filings on schedule. **Formal administration under the general probate chapters** Formal administration brings the Circuit Court judge into the case. It runs under Wis. Stat. chs. 856 to 863, the chapters that govern opening an estate, the personal representative's powers and duties, claims, accounts, and closing. It is required when the validity of the will is contested, when the personal representative needs court authorization for a specific act (selling real estate in certain circumstances, approving attorney fees, resolving disputed claims), or when the Register in Probate declines to process a filing informally and requires judicial review. Formal probate is also the right path when the family itself asks for closer court supervision, for example, when beneficiaries do not fully trust the personal representative and want a judge reviewing each major step. In that scenario, formal probate is a feature, not a bug. **What triggers a shift from informal to formal** A will contest filed by an heir or beneficiary. A dispute over the identity of the personal representative. A request for supervised administration from any interested person. The discovery of assets or creditors that materially change the estate's shape. Or a filing that the Register in Probate flags as requiring judicial review. Once a case shifts to formal, it generally stays formal through closing. Rebecca has both defended wills in formal probate contests and petitioned to move a case from informal to formal when the circumstances required more court oversight. **Costs and timelines, how they compare** Informal probates generally close within four to eight months and cost less: fewer hearings, fewer filings, fewer attorney hours. Formal probates can run nine months to two years and cost more, sometimes substantially more, because hearings, discovery, and motions add attorney time. When a family has a choice, informal is almost always the better path. When there is a genuine dispute, formal is worth what it costs. It produces a result the court has reviewed and the losing party cannot easily reopen. **Who decides whether an estate goes informal or formal?** The petitioner chooses initially, and most petitions request informal probate. The Register in Probate may require formal administration if the filings raise issues that need a judge's attention. Any interested person, heir, beneficiary, creditor, can also petition to move the case to formal. Once the court sets formal administration, it stays there. **Does formal probate mean something went wrong?** Not necessarily. Some estates go formal from the start because the family wants closer court supervision, because the will itself requires it, or because specific assets (certain real estate transactions, complex business interests) need court authorization. Formal is not a stain; it is a choice of procedural track. **Can we switch back from formal to informal?** Rarely. Once a Wisconsin probate is set for formal administration, it generally remains formal through closing. There are procedural ways to narrow the scope of supervision during the case, but the case itself stays on the formal docket. **Do I need a lawyer for informal probate?** Wisconsin does not require counsel, but strongly favors it in practice. Informal probate has statutory deadlines, creditor-priority rules, and tax filings that are easy to miss and expensive to unwind. Rebecca represents personal representatives through informal probate because small mistakes can create personal liability for the personal representative, the kind of problem attorneys prevent rather than fix after the fact. **What about contested informal probates?** A contested informal probate converts to formal the moment the contest is filed. Rebecca has handled both sides: representing the petitioning personal representative defending the will, and representing an heir contesting a will on grounds of undue influence or improper execution. #### Transfer by Affidavit (§ 867.03) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/probate-trust-administration/transfer-by-affidavit/ For small Wisconsin estates, § 867.03 offers a shortcut around formal probate: the transfer by affidavit. Used correctly, it collects financial accounts and personal property in weeks, not months, without a court proceeding. **When transfer by affidavit applies** Transfer by affidavit is available when the decedent's net probate estate, excluding liens, encumbrances, and mortgages, does not exceed $50,000. "Probate estate" is the key phrase: jointly held property, beneficiary-designated accounts, and trust assets are all outside the calculation. That makes the transfer-by-affidavit path viable for more estates than families often realize. A Wisconsin homeowner whose home is held jointly with a spouse, whose retirement accounts name a spouse as beneficiary, and who has a single checking account in their sole name with a $10,000 balance can frequently be wound up by affidavit, no probate opened at all. **How the affidavit works** Thirty days after death, the person entitled to receive the decedent's property (a spouse, heir, or beneficiary) executes a sworn affidavit describing the decedent, the property being transferred, and the claimant's authority to receive it. The affidavit is presented to the institution holding the property, a bank, credit union, brokerage, or title company, which must release the property to the claimant. No Circuit Court filing is required. No personal representative is appointed. No creditor notice is published. The institution relying on the affidavit is protected by statute as long as it acts in good faith. **What transfer by affidavit does not reach** Real estate. Transfer of title to Wisconsin real property generally cannot happen by affidavit. It requires a probate proceeding or a transfer-on-death deed (if one was recorded during the decedent's lifetime). For estates with real estate above the $50,000 threshold, formal probate is the path. Estates with significant unknown creditors. The affidavit process has no creditor-notice mechanism. A claimant who collects by affidavit can still face creditor claims later. And Wisconsin's nonclaim statute does not fully run. When known creditors exist, probate's four-month creditor cutoff is often worth the additional process. Estates where heirs disagree. The affidavit path assumes agreement among those entitled to receive property. When heirs disagree about who gets what or who has authority to sign, probate is the forum that resolves it. **Common pitfalls Rebecca sees** Filing the affidavit too early. The statute requires a 30-day wait after death; a bank that accepts an affidavit on day 20 has not protected itself and may demand the funds back. Overstating the estate. The $50,000 cap is strict. An estate that appears to be $48,000 but turns out to have an unrecorded asset is ineligible, and retroactive probate becomes necessary. Using the affidavit when the family needs the discipline of probate. The four-month creditor bar is genuinely valuable when a decedent had any business interests or recent hospital stays. Rebecca walks through the trade-off. **Who can sign a Wisconsin transfer affidavit?** Any heir entitled to a share of the decedent's estate, any beneficiary named in the decedent's will, or a guardian of an heir or beneficiary. The person signing swears under oath that the statements are true, and can be held personally liable if they misstate facts or pay creditors out of priority. **Can we use transfer by affidavit if there is a will?** Yes. The existence of a will does not prevent the affidavit process. The will is attached to the affidavit so the receiving institution knows who the beneficiaries are. What matters is the size of the probate estate, not whether a will exists. **What if an heir later objects?** The claimant who received property by affidavit remains accountable to heirs and creditors for its proper distribution. If a dispute arises, an interested person can still petition the Circuit Court to open a formal probate, and the previously collected property must be accounted for. The affidavit is a shortcut, not a shield. **How long does transfer by affidavit take?** 30 days after death, at minimum, before the affidavit can be executed. After that, most Wisconsin banks and brokerages process the transfer within a week or two of receiving the affidavit. The whole wind-up, from death to funds in the heir's hands, is usually 45 to 75 days, substantially faster than any probate path. **Does transfer by affidavit need an attorney?** Legally, no. In practice, most families who successfully use the affidavit process have at least consulted an attorney once: to confirm the estate qualifies, to identify any creditor risk, and to prepare a clean, correct affidavit. Rebecca offers a short fixed-fee engagement for affidavit drafting when that is all the family needs. #### Trust Administration in Wisconsin Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/probate-trust-administration/trust-administration/ Trust administration is the quieter cousin of probate. No court supervision, no public filings, but, under Wisconsin's Trust Code, a full set of fiduciary duties the successor trustee must meet. Rebecca represents trustees through every step of the administration. **What happens the day a settlor passes** The revocable trust becomes irrevocable. The successor trustee named in the document steps into the trustee role. Banks and brokerages that held trust accounts need to see a certification of trust and the settlor's death certificate before they will recognize the successor trustee's authority. Rebecca prepares those documents and sends them out as one of the first steps. Some things that would happen in probate do not happen here: no petition is filed with the Circuit Court, no personal representative is sworn in, and no public notice to creditors is published. Administration is private. But privacy does not mean unregulated. Wis. Stat. ch. 701 sets clear rules the trustee must follow. **Notice to beneficiaries under § 701.0813** Within a reasonable time after the trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the identity of the settlor, and their right to request a copy of the trust instrument. This is a statutory duty. A trustee who conceals the trust from beneficiaries is exposed to removal and personal liability. Rebecca prepares the Wis. Stat. § 701.0813 notice and sends it to every qualified beneficiary by certified mail, keeping return receipts as part of the administration file. Most notices go out within 60 days of the settlor's death. **The administration work itself** Collect and value the trust assets as of the date of death. Obtain a federal EIN for the now-irrevocable trust. Open a trust checking account for administration expenses. Pay the settlor's final bills from trust funds (coordinating with any probate estate that may exist separately for non-trust assets). File the settlor's final personal income tax return (Form 1040) and the trust's initial fiduciary return (Form 1041). Address any Wisconsin income tax obligations. For each distribution to a beneficiary, the trustee documents the amount, the receiving party, and the purpose. For in-kind distributions (real estate, business interests, personal property), a formal transfer and receipt is prepared. Rebecca drafts each of these so the trust's paper trail is complete and the trustee is protected. **Accounting and closing** Wisconsin trustees must provide beneficiaries with a periodic accounting. Most routine administrations include one final accounting before distribution, and ongoing trusts (for minor beneficiaries, for a surviving spouse's lifetime) require annual accountings. A final accounting plus a receipt and release from each beneficiary generally closes the administrative work. Ongoing trusts remain open until their terms call for termination, which can be decades in the future. Rebecca stays on call for those ongoing relationships when the client wants continuity. **Do I need court approval to administer a Wisconsin trust?** Usually no. Most Wisconsin trust administrations happen entirely outside of court. The trustee invokes court oversight only when a dispute arises, a construction question needs a judge's ruling, or the trust calls for a specific court-supervised step. Wis. Stat. ch. 701 provides mechanisms for court involvement when needed, but they are the exception. **How long does a Wisconsin trust administration take?** Simple administrations, one beneficiary, liquid assets, no tax complications, can close within three to four months. Typical family-trust administrations run six to twelve months, driven by tax return timing and final account preparation. Ongoing trusts (special needs, lifetime trusts for a surviving spouse, minors' trusts) stay open for years. **What does a trustee get paid?** Wisconsin allows reasonable compensation under Wis. Stat. § 701.0708. What that means in practice depends on the complexity and the size of the trust. Family-member trustees often waive compensation. Professional trustees (banks, trust companies) charge fee schedules. Rebecca advises trustees on what is reasonable for their administration and documents the compensation in the trust's records. **Can a beneficiary sue the trustee?** Yes, if the trustee has failed to meet the duties Wis. Stat. ch. 701 imposes: loyalty, impartiality, prudent investment, information and accounting. Most trustee disputes Rebecca sees come from perceived opacity: beneficiaries who feel they are not being told what is happening. Clear communication and timely accountings prevent the vast majority of trust litigation. **What if the trust was never funded?** A common problem. Assets that were never retitled to the trust during the settlor's lifetime are not controlled by the trust. They pass under the settlor's pour-over will (if one exists), which means a probate is needed to get them into the trust after death. Rebecca handles these hybrid cases, opening a probate for the unfunded assets and administering the trust for the funded ones, with a single integrated plan. ### Guardianship Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/guardianship/ Adult guardianships and guardianships of minors under Wisconsin law, with an eye on the least-restrictive option and a focus on preserving personal autonomy. When a person in Wisconsin reaches age 18, the law presumes they are able to manage their own financial affairs and medical care, and that presumption does not change merely because a person has a disability. Guardianship is the legal tool Wisconsin uses when a person is deemed incompetent and needs someone appointed by the court to make decisions on their behalf. Attorney Mason handles guardianship petitions, hearings, and annual reports in Racine and Kenosha counties. **When a guardianship comes up** Guardians can be appointed for minors, for adults, and for individuals found to be spendthrifts. Attorney Mason is most commonly involved when a child turns 18 and is not competent to manage their affairs due to significant functional or communication limitations, or when an adult has lost the capacity to manage their own affairs due to a degenerative brain disorder or a traumatic brain injury. **What is a Wisconsin guardianship?** A guardianship is a Circuit Court order appointing a person (the guardian) to make specified decisions for another person (the ward). Wisconsin recognizes two basic kinds: guardian of the person (healthcare, placement, personal decisions) and guardian of the estate (finances, property). One person can serve in both roles, or the roles can be shared by multiple people. There are also temporary guardians for emergency situations, and standby guardians who can act in the guardian's absence or inability. A guardianship may be full, with all powers transferred to the guardian, or limited, with the specific powers transferred to the guardian listed in the court documents. **Least-restrictive alternatives: Wisconsin's first question** Every citizen has the constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These principles do not allow any court to remove an individual's rights if something less intrusive would work. Validly executed Power of Attorney documents can avoid the need for a guardianship altogether. **Wisconsin's guardianship process** Guardianship is not automatic. Even when a child is turning 18 and the parents are clearly the right people to step in, Wisconsin requires a petition to the court, medical evidence, notice to interested persons, a hearing, and a formal order before any authority exists. Attorney Mason drafts the petition, coordinates with the physician or psychologist whose exam supports the guardianship, files and serves court papers on interested parties, and appears at the hearing. Most guardianships are completed within 60 to 90 days of filing. **After appointment: the guardian's ongoing duties** Being appointed is the start, not the finish. A Wisconsin guardian of the person files an annual report on the ward's well-being and living situation. A guardian of the estate files an annual accounting, detailing every deposit and disbursement for the calendar year, for the court's review. Large transactions (selling a home, closing an investment account, changing placement) typically require a separate court order. Attorney Mason represents families through those post-appointment obligations: the annual accountings and guardianship modifications when a ward's condition changes. **What is the difference between guardianship of the person and of the estate?** Guardian of the person covers healthcare, placement, and personal decisions. Guardian of the estate covers money, property, benefits, and legal claims. Wisconsin allows you to petition for one, the other, or both. **Who decides whether guardianship is needed?** The Circuit Court, based on medical evidence from a licensed physician or psychologist, and testimony at a hearing. The proposed ward has the right to counsel (an appointed adversary counsel, paid by the county if the ward cannot afford one), the right to appear, and the right to contest the petition. Guardianship is never imposed just because a family says it is needed. **How long does a Wisconsin guardianship take?** When the ward does not oppose the guardianship and all interested parties agree, a guardianship can typically be completed within 90 days of the petition being filed. **Can a guardianship be undone?** Yes. A guardianship can be modified or terminated at any time if the ward's capacity improves, if a less-restrictive alternative becomes workable, or if the guardian is not performing. **What does it cost to establish a guardianship in Wisconsin?** Attorney fees for a guardianship are billed hourly and depend on whether the matter is contested. Uncontested guardianships are typically $1,000 to $2,000. #### Guardianship of a Minor Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/guardianship/guardianship-of-a-minor/ When a minor child needs a court-appointed guardian, because a parent has died, is incapacitated, or is unable to provide care, Wisconsin has a well-defined process. Rebecca handles these petitions in Racine and Kenosha counties. **When guardianship of a minor is needed** A minor guardianship is appropriate when the child's legal parent or parents are unable to exercise parental rights, most often after the death of a sole surviving parent, a parent's serious incapacity, or in situations where the parents are unavailable and a family member is already functionally raising the child. Guardianship is different from adoption. A guardianship does not terminate parental rights; it creates authority in a non-parent to make decisions for the child. A parent whose circumstances later improve can petition to resume custody. Adoption, by contrast, is permanent and severs the legal relationship between the child and the biological parent. **What the court looks at** The child's best interests, always. Wisconsin courts weigh the petitioner's relationship to the child, the petitioner's capacity to provide stable care, any preference expressed by a child old enough to have one, the wishes of any living legal parent, and any nomination made in a deceased parent's will. A will nomination is not binding on the court, but it carries significant weight, especially when the nominated guardian is already involved in the child's life and the nomination is recent. Rebecca uses well-drafted will nominations to strengthen minor guardianship petitions whenever possible. **Guardian of the person vs guardian of the estate** Just like adult guardianships, Wisconsin distinguishes between guardianship of the person (where the child lives, school, medical care) and guardianship of the estate (handling money and property that belongs to the child, often from a deceased parent's life insurance or estate). A minor guardianship of the estate is particularly important when the child inherits money before they turn 18. Without a guardian of the estate (or a properly drafted trust), the inheritance typically has to be held by the court until the child reaches majority, with the court itself supervising requests for support. A well-planned estate can eliminate the need for a guardianship of the estate by putting the inheritance into a testamentary trust instead. **Timeline and process** Rebecca typically files, serves, and moves a minor guardianship to hearing within 45 to 90 days. Notice must go to both legal parents (if living), the child (if 14 or older), and other statutorily defined interested persons. A guardian ad litem is appointed to represent the child's interests. The petitioner appears at the hearing and, if appropriate, so does the child. The guardianship continues until the child reaches 18 unless the court terminates it earlier. Annual reporting, a statement on the child's welfare and, for a guardian of the estate, a full accounting, is required each year the guardianship remains in effect. **Our daughter's parents have both died. How fast can we be appointed?** An emergency or temporary guardianship can be in place within days when a child is left without a living parent and the petitioner is an immediate caretaker. A standard (permanent) minor guardianship takes 45 to 90 days depending on the county. Rebecca files both when speed is critical. The temporary order covers the gap while the standard petition proceeds. **Do both parents have to consent?** If both parents are living and have legal rights, yes. Their consent or their inability to consent (incapacity, unavailability, termination of rights) needs to be addressed in the petition. If one parent is deceased and the surviving parent does not consent, the court has to weigh the objections. Rebecca walks through the dynamic at the first meeting. **Will this make the child our legal child?** No. Guardianship creates legal authority to act for the child but does not change the legal parentage. The child's birth certificate does not change. Inheritance from biological grandparents continues through the biological parent's line. If permanent legal parentage is the goal, adoption is the path, which is a separate proceeding under different statutes. **What if the child is already in our care informally?** Very common. Grandparents and aunts/uncles often begin raising a child informally and only seek formal guardianship when schools, hospitals, or government agencies require documented authority. Wisconsin courts recognize existing care relationships and often move quickly to formalize what is already working, especially when supported by the parent(s) or a will nomination. **How much does a minor guardianship cost?** Attorney fees depend on whether the petition is uncontested (usually flat-fee) or contested (usually hourly). Filing fees, service fees, and guardian ad litem fees add a few hundred dollars. Rebecca provides a written estimate after the first meeting and discusses fee waivers where they may be available. #### Guardianship of an Adult Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/guardianship/guardianship-of-an-adult/ Adult guardianship is Wisconsin's legal mechanism for a loved one who has lost the capacity to make their own decisions, because of dementia, severe mental illness, an intellectual disability, or a traumatic injury. It is sometimes necessary; it is always regulated by the court under Chapter 54. **The standard Wisconsin applies** Adult guardianship requires clear and convincing evidence that the person (the "proposed ward") has an incapacity because of an impairment such that they cannot effectively receive and evaluate information or make and communicate decisions. That is a higher standard than casual incapacity. Forgetfulness, poor judgment, or stubbornness do not meet it. Actual medical evidence from a physician or psychologist is required. Wisconsin also asks whether a less-restrictive alternative would work: a financial power of attorney already in place, a healthcare POA, a representative payee arrangement for Social Security, supported decision-making agreements. Only if those alternatives are insufficient does the court impose a guardianship. **What the process looks like** Rebecca files the petition in Circuit Court in the county where the proposed ward lives, attaching a physician's or psychologist's statement supporting the petition. The court appoints an adversary counsel to represent the proposed ward (paid by the county if the ward cannot afford counsel), a guardian ad litem to advise the court independently, and sets a hearing. The proposed ward has the right to appear, to contest the petition, to request a jury trial on the question of incapacity, and to cross-examine witnesses. For most guardianships Rebecca handles, where the family is aligned and the ward's incapacity is uncontested, the hearing is short. For contested matters, it can be a full evidentiary hearing. **Guardian of the person vs guardian of the estate** These are separate authorities and they can be separate people. Guardian of the person covers placement, healthcare, and personal decisions. Guardian of the estate covers money, property, and benefits. A family can petition for one, the other, or both, and the court can grant a narrower scope than requested if a full guardianship is not warranted. Many Wisconsin families petition for guardian of the estate only when a financial POA is no longer working, because the ward is revoking it on a bad day, because a bank does not accept it, or because the ward signed a new POA to someone the family distrusts. Guardianship of the estate resolves those issues through a court order that cannot be informally revoked. **After appointment** The guardian takes on ongoing duties. A guardian of the person files an annual report on the ward's condition, placement, and well-being. A guardian of the estate files an annual accounting, detailed and scrutinized, showing every deposit, every disbursement, and every investment. Large transactions (selling a home, changing placement, setting up long-term care arrangements) may require a separate court order. Rebecca represents families through these ongoing obligations, handling the annual filings and any modifications (expanding or narrowing the guardianship as the ward's condition changes). **Does my parent have to agree to the guardianship?** No. A guardianship can be imposed over the ward's objection if the court finds incapacity by clear and convincing evidence. But the ward's position matters: they have a right to counsel, a right to a hearing, and a right to a jury trial on the question of capacity. Rebecca advises families that contested guardianships are emotionally and financially costly, and talks through whether less-restrictive alternatives can get the family most of what they need. **Can I just use my dad's power of attorney instead?** Often yes. And that is the point. A financial POA signed before incapacity can eliminate the need for a guardianship of the estate entirely. If your father signed a durable POA years ago that is still in force, that is usually the right tool. Rebecca reviews the POA and the current situation to confirm it will do what the family needs. **Who can serve as a guardian?** Any adult who is qualified and not disqualified under Wisconsin law. Spouses and adult children are the most common guardians. A corporate guardian (a professional agency) can serve when family is unavailable or unable. Conflicts of interest, a criminal record involving dishonesty, and active financial misconduct are among the things that can disqualify a proposed guardian. **How long does the guardianship last?** As long as the incapacity lasts. Guardianships can be modified or terminated at any time: by the ward's petition if capacity is restored, by the guardian's petition if circumstances change, or by the court's own motion after review. Many guardianships last for the remainder of the ward's life, especially for progressive conditions like Alzheimer's disease. **What does a Wisconsin adult guardianship cost?** Uncontested guardianships Rebecca handles on a flat-fee basis. Contested guardianships are hourly and can run substantially higher. The added cost reflects the hearings, depositions, and evidentiary work contested cases require. County fees for adversary counsel and guardian ad litem add a few hundred to just over a thousand dollars depending on the county. #### Emergency & Temporary Guardianship Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/our-practice/guardianship/emergency-guardianship/ Some guardianship situations cannot wait for the 45-to-90-day standard timeline. Wisconsin's § 54.50 allows emergency and temporary guardianships when imminent harm would result from waiting. Rebecca has filed and argued these on one- to three-day turnarounds when the facts warranted it. **When an emergency guardianship is justified** Wisconsin courts do not grant emergency guardianships lightly. The petitioner must show imminent harm, not eventual harm, not inconvenience, but concrete risk that will materialize in days or weeks if a guardian is not appointed. Typical fact patterns: a stroke patient facing hospital discharge to an unsafe home without capacity to plan the placement; a parent whose bank accounts are being drained by a caregiver in real time; a dementia patient who has wandered twice and whose family needs placement authority immediately. The court weighs urgency against the proposed ward's rights. An emergency guardianship is, by definition, an expedited process that compresses or skips some of the procedural protections a standard guardianship provides. Wisconsin courts balance that carefully. They will grant emergency relief when the facts truly require it, and they will deny it when the urgency is overstated. **Temporary vs emergency. They are different** Temporary guardianship under Wis. Stat. § 54.50 is a time-limited appointment (up to 60 days, extendable) that provides coverage while a standard guardianship petition is pending. The proposed temporary guardian is appointed at an expedited hearing on notice, typically within a week of filing. Emergency guardianship, sometimes called ex parte guardianship, is even faster: the court can appoint a guardian without a hearing, based on an affidavit showing imminent harm, for a very short period (typically 72 hours), followed by a hearing with full notice. Rebecca uses this path sparingly and only when a life-safety issue is in play. **What you need to file** An affidavit establishing the facts of the emergency, signed by someone with direct knowledge. A physician's or psychologist's statement supporting the need for a guardian. A proposed order tailored to the emergency, typically narrower in scope than a full guardianship, authorizing only the specific acts needed to address the immediate harm. Rebecca builds each of these in hours, not days, when the situation demands it. Notice to the proposed ward and family is compressed but not eliminated. The proposed ward gets notice of the expedited hearing, has the right to appear, and has the right to counsel. Even in an emergency, Wisconsin takes the ward's voice seriously. **What happens after the emergency order** Emergency orders are short-lived by design. The emergency appointment covers the immediate crisis; the family then files or prosecutes a full guardianship petition that proceeds on the standard track. If the full petition is denied, the emergency authority ends; if it is granted, the standard guardianship order replaces the emergency one. Rebecca guides families through both stages: the sprint of the emergency filing, and the more measured work of the standard petition that follows. The goal is to resolve the immediate safety issue without over-reaching, and to give the family a sustainable long-term solution. **How fast can you file an emergency guardianship?** Rebecca has filed emergency petitions within 24 to 48 hours of the first client meeting when the facts supported it: a hospital bed-hold running out, active financial exploitation, a missing dementia patient recently located. The limiting factor is usually the physician's statement and a clear affidavit, not court scheduling. **Does the proposed ward have a right to contest?** Yes. Even on an expedited track, the proposed ward has the right to notice of the hearing, the right to counsel, and the right to be heard. Emergency orders entered without notice are limited in duration (typically 72 hours) precisely because full due process has been compressed. The hearing that follows provides the ward their opportunity to be heard. **What if the family is not unanimous?** Courts often grant emergency guardianships even when family members disagree about who should serve. The safety issue typically takes priority, and the question of who serves as guardian long-term can be resolved at the standard hearing. Rebecca has represented both petitioners and objecting family members in these scenarios. **Is there an alternative to an emergency guardianship?** Sometimes. If a durable financial POA is in place, emergency action to protect assets may be possible without a court order. If a healthcare POA is in place, placement decisions may not require guardianship. Rebecca looks for the lightest tool that solves the problem, and reserves emergency guardianship for situations where nothing lighter will work. **What does an emergency guardianship cost?** Emergency filings are hourly by nature. The compressed timeline requires intensive attorney work and court appearances on a tight schedule. Rebecca provides a written estimate at the first meeting and updates the client as the scope of work becomes clear. ## Areas served The index is https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/. ### Racine, WI (Racine County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/racine/ Rebecca Mason Law has called downtown Racine home since 2012. From an office on Main Street, one block from the county courthouse, Rebecca helps Racine families put a clear plan in place: a will, the powers of attorney that matter most when life gets complicated, and, where it fits, a trust that keeps things private and out of court. This is her city, and these are her neighbors. **A plan built for the way Racine families live** Racine is a city of long-held homes and families who tend to stay. From the grand old houses of the Southside Historic District along South Main Street to the neighborhoods that run down toward North Beach and the lake, the home is often the center of the estate. A good plan says plainly who inherits it, who can step in to pay the bills if you no longer can, and who speaks for you in a hospital room. Rebecca builds the whole plan, not a single form, so the pieces work together. **One block from the courthouse, and it shows** There is a quiet advantage to working with an estate planning attorney whose office sits a block from the Racine County Courthouse. Rebecca knows the local register in probate and the way things actually move here, and she drafts plans with that firsthand knowledge in mind. When a plan is written well, most Racine families never see the inside of that courthouse at all, which is usually the point. **The documents most people here need** For most Racine families the foundation is a will, a durable financial power of attorney, and a healthcare power of attorney, often with an advance directive alongside them. A revocable living trust is worth considering when you want to spare your family probate, keep your affairs private, or set up how children or grandchildren receive what you leave. Rebecca will tell you honestly which of these you need and which you do not. **The same person, first call to signing** Rebecca is a solo attorney by choice. The person you meet at the first consultation is the person who drafts your documents and sits with you at the signing table. For a decision as personal as who will raise your children or carry out your wishes, that continuity matters. **Where is your office in Racine?** Rebecca Mason Law is at 245 Main Street, Suite 201, in downtown Racine, one block from the Racine County Courthouse. Most first conversations are short; you can call (262) 632-2899 or use the contact form, and Rebecca typically responds within one business day. **Can we get everything signed in one visit to your Racine office?** Usually the signing itself is a single appointment. Before that, there is a working meeting to gather your goals and a draft for you to review at home. At the signing, Rebecca provides the witnesses and notary so your documents are executed correctly the first time, which is exactly where many homemade plans go wrong. **What happens to my Racine home if I die without a will?** It passes under Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 852), not under your wishes. Depending on your family, that can send shares of the home to people you did not intend, and it often means opening a probate. A will, or a trust, lets you decide instead of the statute. **I have a modest home and some savings. Do I really need an estate plan?** Yes. Estate planning is not about how much you own; it is about who decides and who inherits when you cannot speak for yourself. If you die without a plan, Wisconsin law decides who receives your property and a court may have to appoint someone to manage your affairs. A simple plan puts those decisions back in your hands. **Local resources** - City of Racine (https://www.cityofracine.org/): Official city government, property, and local services for Racine residents. - Racine County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/adrc/consumer/racine.htm): Free, unbiased help for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers. - Racine County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Racine): Court, probate, and self-help legal resources specific to Racine County. - Wisconsin advance directive forms (DHS) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/advdirectives/index.htm): The state's official healthcare power of attorney and living-will forms. ### Mount Pleasant, WI (Racine County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/mount-pleasant/ Few places in Racine County have grown as fast as Mount Pleasant. Between steady new development and the large technology campus taking shape along the interstate, the village keeps drawing new neighbors. If you have recently put down roots here, an estate plan is how you protect your home, and the people who live in it, for whatever comes next. **Estate planning for a growing family** Families putting down roots in Mount Pleasant often come to Rebecca for their very first estate plan. The questions are the ones parents lose sleep over: who would raise our children if we were gone, who would manage the money we leave for them, and who would make decisions for us in an emergency. A will lets you name the guardian you want for your minor children rather than leaving it to a court, and it can hold an inheritance in trust until a child is old enough to handle it. **Your home is often your biggest asset** For most Mount Pleasant families the home is the single largest asset, and how it is titled decides how easily it passes to the people you love. Rebecca reviews how your home and accounts are owned and shows you how a will, beneficiary designations, and sometimes a revocable trust fit together, so your family is not caught in probate over the house. **A plan that keeps up with a changing life** Growth is the story of Mount Pleasant, and a good estate plan is built to grow with you. Rebecca encourages families to revisit the plan every few years and after any big change: a new baby, a second home, a move, or a marriage. For existing clients there is no charge to check in when life shifts and see whether the plan still fits. **We just had our first child. What should we put in place?** At a minimum, a will that names a guardian for your child and a plan for how any inheritance is managed until they are grown, plus financial and healthcare powers of attorney for each parent. Rebecca walks new parents through these in a single planning meeting and keeps the language plain so you understand exactly what you are signing. **We recently moved to Mount Pleasant. Is our old out-of-state will still good?** A will validly executed in another state is generally recognized in Wisconsin, so it is not automatically void. But it is worth a review: names, fiduciaries, and the way assets are titled often need updating after a move, and Wisconsin's marital property rules (Wis. Stat. ch. 766) may change how your plan works here. Rebecca reviews out-of-state documents and tells you whether a refresh is warranted. **How often should a young family update its estate plan?** Every three to five years is a good rhythm, and sooner after any major change: a new child, a home purchase, a marriage or divorce, or a significant change in assets. In a fast-growing community, plans go stale faster than people expect. For existing clients, Rebecca does not charge to check in when something changes. **Do we need a trust, or is a will enough?** For many young Mount Pleasant families a well-drafted will with powers of attorney is enough to start. A revocable living trust becomes worth the added cost when you want to avoid probate on the home, keep things private, or set longer-term terms for children. Rebecca will tell you plainly when a trust earns its keep and when it does not. **Local resources** - Village of Mount Pleasant (https://www.mtpleasantwi.gov/): Official village government, property records, and local services. - Racine County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/adrc/consumer/racine.htm): A no-cost first call for questions about aging, disability, and long-term care. - How probate works in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Court System) (https://www.wicourts.gov/services/public/selfhelp/probate.htm): The state courts' plain-language overview of the probate process. - Racine County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Racine): Court and self-help legal resources for Racine County families. ### Caledonia, WI (Racine County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/caledonia/ Caledonia runs from the bluffs above Lake Michigan at Cliffside Park inland along the Root River, a village that has kept its rural character: horse farms, open acreage, and the older settlements of Franksville and Husher alongside newer subdivisions. Planning here is often about land, how to keep a home or a family parcel in the family, and how to pass it on without dragging your children through court. **Keeping land in the family** When property has been in a family for decades, the goal is usually to hand it down cleanly, not to see it tied up or sold to settle an estate. Rebecca helps Caledonia families title real estate so it passes the way they intend, whether that means a revocable living trust that avoids probate entirely or careful deed and beneficiary planning. Land that is planned for is land that stays in the family. **Farms, acreage, and waterfront need a closer look** A horse farm, a stretch of acreage, or a home along the lakeshore is rarely a simple asset. Value can be significant, ownership is sometimes shared among relatives, and probate on real estate is public and slow. A trust keeps the transfer private and out of court, and it lets you leave clear instructions when more than one child has a stake in the same piece of ground. **Plans that hold up across generations** Multigenerational families are common in Caledonia, and so are the questions that come with them: providing for a surviving spouse while still protecting what the children will one day receive, or leaving something to grandchildren in a way that lasts. Rebecca drafts plans that look past the next step to the one after it, so your wishes carry through the years. **We own our home and some land in Caledonia. How do we avoid probate on it?** The most common tools are a revocable living trust, which holds the real estate so it passes outside of court, and, in some cases, a transfer-on-death deed. Which one fits depends on your family and your goals. Rebecca reviews how the property is titled today and prepares the deeds and documents needed to make the transfer happen the way you want. **Can a transfer-on-death deed keep our Caledonia home out of probate?** Often, yes. A transfer-on-death deed recorded during your lifetime can pass Wisconsin real estate directly to the person you name, without probate, while leaving you full control of the property while you are alive. It is a useful tool for a single parcel, though families with more moving parts are often better served by a trust. Rebecca will walk through which approach fits your land. **We own property jointly with a family member. What happens when one of us dies?** It depends on how the joint ownership is titled. Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship generally passes automatically to the surviving owner, outside your will. That can be convenient, but it can also unintentionally cut out other heirs or create tax and control problems. Rebecca reviews the deeds so the titling actually matches your intentions. **How does Wisconsin's marital property law affect our land?** Wisconsin is a marital property state (Wis. Stat. ch. 766), which generally means property acquired during a marriage is presumed to belong to both spouses regardless of whose name is on the title. That has real consequences for how land passes and how it is taxed. Rebecca builds those rules into your plan, which is especially important for blended families and long-held property. **Local resources** - Village of Caledonia (https://www.caledonia-wi.gov/): Official village government, land and property information, and local services. - Racine County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/adrc/consumer/racine.htm): Free guidance on aging, disability, and long-term care for Racine County families. - Wisconsin Statutes (Wisconsin Legislature) (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes): Read the Wisconsin law on wills, trusts, marital property, and probate directly. - Racine County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Racine): Court and self-help legal resources for Racine County. ### Wind Point, WI (Racine County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/wind-point/ Wind Point is a small village on a point of land just north of Racine, known for the Wind Point Lighthouse, one of the oldest and tallest active lighthouses on the Great Lakes, and for nearby Wingspread, the Prairie-style house Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the Johnson family. It is an established, close-held community where homes are treasured and meant to stay in the family. Estate planning here tends to be about preservation: protecting a special home, keeping your affairs private, and making sure a cherished place passes to the next generation intact. **Preserving a home that means something** For many Wind Point families the home is more than an asset; it is the place the family gathers. Rebecca helps clients plan so that home passes smoothly to the people they choose, without a public probate proceeding and without forcing heirs to sell in order to divide it. A revocable living trust is often the right tool, holding the property and carrying clear instructions for what happens next. **Privacy that a will alone cannot give** Probate is a public court process; the inventory of what you owned and who received it becomes part of the record. Families who value their privacy, and many in Wind Point do, often choose a trust precisely because trust administration stays private. Your wishes are carried out quietly, among the people they concern, rather than filed for anyone to read. **Blended families and second homes** A treasured property can become a source of tension when a second marriage or a vacation home is involved. Rebecca drafts plans that provide for a surviving spouse while still protecting what children from a first marriage will ultimately receive, and that spell out how a shared family home is to be used and eventually passed on. Clear terms today prevent hard feelings later. **Why would I use a trust instead of just a will?** A will still goes through probate, which is public and can take the better part of a year. A funded revocable living trust lets your home and other assets pass privately and promptly, without court supervision, and it lets you set longer-term terms for how and when your heirs receive what you leave. For a treasured lakeshore home, those advantages often matter a great deal. **Will a trust really keep our affairs private?** Yes, in a way a will cannot. When a will is probated, the inventory of assets and the list of who inherits become part of the public court record. A properly funded revocable living trust is administered privately, so the details of what you owned and who received it stay among your family and your trustee rather than on file for anyone to read. **How do we make sure a vacation or second home passes the way we want?** A second home adds a layer, especially if it is in another state, because real estate can require probate in the state where it sits. Holding the property in a trust usually avoids that and lets you spell out how the home is shared, used, and eventually passed on. Rebecca coordinates the deeds and the trust so a cherished second home does not become a source of conflict. **Can you help coordinate planning for a higher-value estate?** Yes. Rebecca prepares the core plan, the wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and coordinates with your financial advisor or accountant where tax or investment questions come into play. The goal is a plan where every professional in your life is working from the same page. **Local resources** - Village of Wind Point (https://windpoint.org/): Official village government and local services for Wind Point residents. - Racine County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/adrc/consumer/racine.htm): Free help for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. - Wisconsin advance directive forms (DHS) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/advdirectives/index.htm): Official Wisconsin healthcare power of attorney and living-will documents. - Racine County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Racine): Court, probate, and self-help legal resources for Racine County. ### Kenosha, WI (Kenosha County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/kenosha/ Kenosha is a lakefront city with deep roots: the harbor and HarborPark, the restored electric streetcars that loop the lakefront, the museums, and the homes of the Library Park and Third Avenue historic districts. It also sits near the Illinois line, so many families here have ties across the border. Rebecca helps Kenosha families build Wisconsin estate plans that account for the way their lives actually reach across two states. **Estate planning with the state line close by** Life near the border rarely stops at the border. With Illinois close by, it is common for Kenosha families to own property across the line, or to name an adult child who lives in Illinois as an agent or trustee. Rebecca prepares Wisconsin-side estate plans built with those realities in mind, and coordinates with your Illinois counsel where Illinois property or law comes into play, so nothing falls through the crack between two states. **Homes in the historic districts** The homes of the Library Park and Third Avenue historic districts have often stayed in the same family for generations. Passing one down cleanly takes more than a signature; it takes a plan that says clearly who receives the home and how, and that keeps the transfer out of a public probate proceeding where possible. Rebecca drafts with that permanence in mind. **The core plan every Kenosha adult should have** Whatever the family situation, the foundation is the same: a will, a durable financial power of attorney, and a healthcare power of attorney, with an advance directive alongside. Wisconsin does not give your spouse or children automatic authority over your medical or financial decisions if you become incapacitated, so these documents are what keep your family from having to go to court to help you. **We live in Kenosha but own property, or have family, in Illinois. Can you help?** Yes. Rebecca prepares your Wisconsin estate plan and structures it to work alongside your Illinois property and any Illinois professionals you work with. She is licensed in Wisconsin, so for Illinois-specific documents she coordinates with Illinois counsel, giving you one coherent plan rather than two that do not talk to each other. **Our adult children live in Illinois. Can they serve as our power of attorney or trustee?** Yes. Wisconsin does not require your agent under a power of attorney, or your successor trustee, to live in the state, so an adult child in Illinois can serve. The practical questions are whether they can handle the role from a distance and how a bank will treat an out-of-state agent. Rebecca drafts the documents to make that as smooth as possible. **We moved to Kenosha from Illinois. Is our Illinois will still valid here?** A will validly executed in Illinois is generally recognized in Wisconsin, so it is not void simply because you moved. Even so, a review is wise: Wisconsin has its own rules on probate, powers of attorney, and marital property (Wis. Stat. ch. 766), and your documents may name people or institutions that no longer fit. Rebecca reviews Illinois documents and updates what needs updating. **Do you meet with Kenosha clients, or do we have to travel to Racine?** Rebecca's office is in downtown Racine, about a fifteen-minute drive up the lakeshore, and much of the planning work can happen by phone or video. Most clients come to the Racine office once, for the signing, where the documents are witnessed and notarized properly. Rebecca will make the process as easy as possible for Kenosha families. **Local resources** - City of Kenosha (https://www.kenosha.org/): Official city government, property, and local services for Kenosha residents. - Kenosha County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.kenoshacountywi.gov/155/Aging-and-Disability-Resource-Center): A no-cost county resource for aging, disability, and long-term care questions. - Kenosha County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Kenosha): Court, probate, and self-help legal resources specific to Kenosha County. - How probate works in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Court System) (https://www.wicourts.gov/services/public/selfhelp/probate.htm): The state courts' plain-language overview of the probate process. ### Pleasant Prairie, WI (Kenosha County) Page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/areas-served/pleasant-prairie/ Pleasant Prairie is a village that was planned with care, from the trails around Lake Andrea in Prairie Springs Park to the RecPlex, billed as the largest municipal recreation center in the country, and the Chiwaukee Prairie that runs right down to the Illinois line. It sits at Wisconsin's southern edge. Whatever stage of life you are in, a good estate plan is about the years ahead: making sure the right people can step in for your health and your finances, and that the life you built is protected. **Planning for the years ahead** Powers of attorney and healthcare documents deserve early attention, whether you are approaching retirement or simply want to be ready. A durable financial power of attorney lets someone you trust manage your affairs if you cannot, and a healthcare power of attorney names the person who speaks with your doctors. Put in place early, these documents can spare your family a court proceeding at the worst possible time. **Peace of mind, in writing** An advance directive lets you set your wishes for end-of-life care in writing, so your family is not left guessing during a crisis. Paired with a healthcare power of attorney, it gives the people you love clear guidance and clear authority. For many Pleasant Prairie families, that clarity is the whole reason they finally sit down to plan. **The state line just to the south** With the Illinois line just to the south, some Pleasant Prairie families have Illinois ties: property, adult children, or years spent living across the border. Rebecca prepares Wisconsin estate plans that take those connections into account and coordinates with Illinois counsel when needed, so your plan holds together no matter which side of the border a question comes from. **What documents matter most as we head into retirement?** Alongside a will or trust, the durable financial power of attorney, the healthcare power of attorney, and the advance directive are the documents that do the heavy lifting in later life. They decide who manages your money and your medical care if you cannot. Rebecca makes sure these are in place and drafted so Wisconsin institutions and hospitals will honor them. **What is the difference between a healthcare power of attorney and a living will?** They work together but do different jobs. A healthcare power of attorney (Wis. Stat. ch. 155) names the person who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot. An advance directive, sometimes called a living will (Wis. Stat. ch. 154), puts your own wishes about end-of-life care in writing. Most Pleasant Prairie clients sign both, so there is both a decision-maker and clear guidance for that person to follow. **If I can no longer manage my finances, who steps in without a power of attorney?** Without a durable financial power of attorney, no one automatically has that authority, not even your spouse. Your family would likely have to petition a court to appoint a guardian of the estate under Wis. Stat. ch. 54, a public process that costs time and money. A power of attorney signed while you have capacity avoids it entirely, which is why Rebecca treats it as one of the most important documents in the plan. **Does an estate plan help with long-term care or Medicaid?** Estate planning and Medicaid planning overlap but are not the same thing. If long-term care is a near-term concern for you or a parent, mention it when you contact the firm. At your consultation Rebecca can provide information on Medicaid eligibility, the five-year look-back, and how it interacts with your plan, and point you toward the right next step. **Local resources** - Village of Pleasant Prairie (https://www.pleasantprairiewi.gov/): Official village government, property, and local services for Pleasant Prairie. - Kenosha County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) (https://www.kenoshacountywi.gov/155/Aging-and-Disability-Resource-Center): Free county help with aging, disability, caregiving, and long-term care. - Kenosha County legal resources (Wisconsin State Law Library) (https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/county.php?c=Kenosha): Court, probate, and self-help legal resources for Kenosha County. - Wisconsin advance directive forms (DHS) (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/advdirectives/index.htm): The state's official healthcare power of attorney and living-will forms. ## Glossary Source page: https://rebeccamasonlaw.com/glossary/ Estate planning has a vocabulary of its own, and Wisconsin adds its own wrinkles. This plain-language glossary explains the terms families run into most often, with references to the Wisconsin statutes where they live. It is general information, not legal advice; for how any of it applies to your family, talk with Rebecca. ### Estate planning basics - **Estate plan**: 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. - **Will (Last Will and Testament)**: 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. - **Testator**: The person who makes a will. - **Codicil**: A short, separately signed amendment to an existing will. It must be executed with the same formalities as the will itself. - **Personal representative**: The person appointed to settle an estate by gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains. Older documents may call this role the executor. - **Beneficiary**: A person or organization you name to receive property, whether under a will, a trust, or a beneficiary designation. - **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. - **Intestate succession**: 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. - **Self-proving affidavit**: 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. ### Trusts - **Trust**: 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). - **Revocable living trust**: 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. - **Irrevocable trust**: A trust that generally cannot be changed once it is created, used for specific goals such as asset protection or tax planning. - **Grantor (settlor)**: The person who creates a trust and places property into it. Also called the settlor or trustor. - **Trustee**: 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. - **Successor trustee**: The person who steps in to manage and distribute a trust when the original trustee dies or can no longer serve. - **Funding a trust**: 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. - **Pour-over will**: A short will used alongside a trust that directs any assets still in your own name at death into the trust. - **Special needs trust**: A trust that provides for a person with a disability without disqualifying them from means-tested benefits such as SSI and Medicaid. ### Powers of attorney and healthcare - **Power of attorney**: A document naming someone, your agent, to act for you. Wisconsin recognizes separate financial and healthcare powers of attorney. - **Durable financial power 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. - **Agent (attorney-in-fact)**: The person you authorize to act for you under a power of attorney. - **Springing 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. - **Healthcare power of attorney**: Names the person who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself (Wis. Stat. ch. 155). - **Advance directive (living will)**: 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. - **Incapacity**: 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. - **Default surrogate**: 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. ### Probate and administration - **Probate**: The court-supervised process of paying a decedent's debts and transferring their remaining property to the people entitled to it. - **Informal probate**: Wisconsin's default, administrative probate path, handled by the register in probate without a judge in routine cases (Wis. Stat. ch. 865). - **Formal probate**: Court-supervised probate used when a will is contested or the estate needs a judge's involvement, run under Wisconsin's general probate chapters (Wis. Stat. chs. 856 to 863) rather than the informal track. - **Transfer by affidavit**: A small-estate shortcut that collects a decedent's property by sworn affidavit, without opening probate, when the property subject to administration in Wisconsin does not exceed $50,000 in gross value (Wis. Stat. § 867.03). - **Letters (domiciliary letters)**: The court document that gives a personal representative authority to act for an estate. Banks and other institutions require it before releasing assets. - **Inventory**: A listing of the decedent's probate assets that the personal representative files with the court during probate. - **Trust administration**: 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). - **Nonprobate transfer**: Property that passes at death outside of probate, such as jointly held accounts, beneficiary-designated assets, and trust property (Wis. Stat. ch. 705). - **POD / TOD account**: 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 marital property and deeds - **Marital property**: 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. - **Marital property agreement**: 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. - **Transfer on death deed**: 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). - **Right of survivorship**: 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. - **Estate recovery**: 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. ### Guardianship and protective placement - **Guardianship**: 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. - **Guardian of the person**: A guardian authorized to make personal, medical, and placement decisions for the ward. - **Guardian of the estate**: 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. - **Ward**: The person for whom a guardian has been appointed. - **Least restrictive alternative**: 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. - **Protective placement**: 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. - **Watts review**: 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. ## Common questions These are the questions the home page answers, in the firm's own words. ### Do I really need an estate plan if I don't have a lot of money? Absolutely. Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. It is for anyone who wants a say in what happens to their loved ones, their property, and their healthcare if something unexpected occurs. Many people assume that because they do not have a large estate, they do not need a Will, Trust, or other estate planning documents. In reality, estate planning is about much more than money. A basic estate plan allows you to: - Decide who will receive your assets, no matter their value. - Name a guardian for your minor children. - Choose who will make financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated. - Appoint someone to make healthcare decisions if you are unable to communicate your wishes. - Avoid confusion, family conflict, and unnecessary court involvement. Without an estate plan, Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 852) determines who inherits your property, and a court decides who is appointed to manage your affairs. Those default rules may not reflect your wishes or your family's unique circumstances. Even if your assets consist of a home, a vehicle, retirement accounts, personal belongings, or a modest bank account, having a plan in place can provide clarity and peace of mind for the people you care about most. At Rebecca Mason Law, we believe estate planning is not about the size of your estate. It is about protecting your family and making sure your voice is heard when it matters most. Whether you are just starting out, raising a family, approaching retirement, or anywhere in between, having a thoughtful estate plan is one of the most important gifts you can leave to your loved ones. The question is not whether you have enough money to justify an estate plan. The better question is whether you want the State of Wisconsin to make these important decisions for you. For most people, the answer is a clear "no." ### Why is it better to plan ahead than to leave these decisions to my family later? Planning ahead is one of the kindest things you can do for the people you love. When you put a plan in place, you make the decisions yourself, in a calm moment, with good information. When you do not, those same decisions fall to your family during one of the hardest times of their lives, and many of them fall to a judge who never met you. Without a plan, Wisconsin's intestate succession statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 852) decides who inherits, not you. If you become unable to manage your finances or your healthcare while you are still living, your family may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian under Wis. Stat. ch. 54. That is a public process that costs time and money and takes away some of your independence. A durable power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney signed today avoid it entirely. The hardest situations we see are usually not about money. They are about families who love each other but disagree, under grief and stress, about what mom or dad "would have wanted." A clear plan answers that question in writing, so your children are reading your wishes instead of arguing over them. It is far easier, kinder, and less expensive to plan ahead than to untangle things after a loss. You do not need to have everything figured out before you start. Most people feel a real sense of relief once the documents are signed and they know their family is protected. ### What is the difference between a will and a revocable living trust? One of the most common questions we hear is, "What is the difference between a Will and a Revocable Living Trust?" While both are important estate planning tools, they serve different purposes and offer different benefits. A Will is a legal document that directs how your assets should be distributed after your death. It also allows you to nominate a guardian for your minor children. However, a Will does not avoid probate. Instead, the Will must be filed with the probate court, and the court oversees the process of gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing property to beneficiaries. A Revocable Living Trust, on the other hand, is a legal entity you create during your lifetime to hold and manage your assets. In most cases, you serve as your own Trustee while you are alive and able to manage your affairs. Because the Trust owns the assets, those assets can pass to your beneficiaries without going through probate when you die. Some of the key advantages of a Revocable Living Trust include: - Avoiding probate for assets properly titled in the Trust. - Providing privacy, since Trust administration is generally not part of the public court record. - Allowing for a smoother transition of asset management if you become incapacitated. - Offering greater flexibility for managing assets for children, beneficiaries with special needs, or beneficiaries who may need additional protection. It is important to understand that a Trust is not a substitute for a complete estate plan. Even individuals with a Revocable Living Trust should have a Will, along with powers of attorney and healthcare documents, to ensure all aspects of their plan work together. So which is right for you? The answer depends on your family, your assets, and your goals. For some individuals, a Will-based plan provides the protection they need. For others, a Revocable Living Trust offers significant advantages by avoiding probate and simplifying the administration process for loved ones. At Rebecca Mason Law, we help clients understand their options and create estate plans tailored to their unique circumstances. The best estate plan is not necessarily the most complicated one. It is the one that accomplishes your goals and provides peace of mind for you and your family. ### What is the estate planning process at Rebecca Mason Law? When you call or email our office, we will work with you to schedule the initial consultation. We typically book 2 to 4 weeks out from your initial contact. We will send you an intake form and ask that you complete it prior to the initial consultation. It is also helpful, but not necessary, for you to bring in documentation for your financial accounts, beneficiary designations already in place, and/or old estate planning documents. Your initial consultation will be with Attorney Mason. It is typically an hour-long meeting where you review the intake form, documents you brought in, if any, and discuss your goals and concerns and brainstorm various possibilities for your plan. You will not be asked to sign anything or pay any money at that initial meeting. Attorney Mason follows up with a letter summarizing the documents you discussed including in your plan. If you decide to move forward, you sign and return the letter as the contract for your estate planning services. The signing date is scheduled for approximately four weeks following that first meeting. You will receive your drafts about one week before the signing date with areas highlighted to draw your attention to specific parts of the documents. It is helpful if you call or email the office ahead of the signing with any significant changes. We schedule a full hour for the signing so that there is time for Attorney Mason to address any questions or concerns prior to signing. We want to make sure that you are comfortable with the documents you are signing and confident in the decisions you have made for your planning. ### Do you serve estate planning clients outside of Racine and Kenosha? Yes. While a majority of our clients are in the Racine and Kenosha areas, we have clients in Oak Creek, Milwaukee, and Madison. Our office is physically located in downtown Racine. If you are in southeastern Wisconsin, it is typically easier if you come to the office to sign your documents. We do have an off-site location we use for signings in Madison. ### Do I have to go through probate in Wisconsin? Whether you have to go through probate in Wisconsin depends on how your assets are owned and whether you have taken steps to avoid the probate process. Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring a deceased person's assets to their beneficiaries, paying debts, and resolving any outstanding legal matters. While probate is sometimes necessary, not every estate must go through a formal probate proceeding. In Wisconsin, assets that pass directly to a beneficiary generally avoid probate. Examples may include: - Life insurance policies with named beneficiaries. - Retirement accounts with designated beneficiaries. - Payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts. - Assets owned by a Revocable Living Trust. - Jointly owned property that passes automatically to a surviving owner. On the other hand, if a person dies owning assets solely in their name without beneficiary designations or other probate-avoidance planning, probate may be required to transfer those assets to the rightful heirs. It is also important to know that Wisconsin offers simplified procedures for certain smaller estates. If the assets subject to administration amount to $50,000 or less, your family may be able to use a Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. § 867.03) rather than a full probate proceeding. Many people choose to create a Revocable Living Trust as part of their estate plan specifically to minimize or avoid probate. However, probate avoidance is not the only consideration when creating an estate plan. Factors such as family dynamics, beneficiary protections, incapacity planning, and long-term goals are also taken into consideration. The best way to determine whether your estate will require probate is to review how your assets are currently titled and how they will pass at your death. At Rebecca Mason Law, we help individuals and families understand their options and develop estate plans designed to make things as simple as possible for their loved ones. A common misconception is that probate is unavoidable. In reality, with proper planning, many Wisconsin families can avoid the probate process. ## Notes for citation - Everything here is general information about Wisconsin law, not legal advice for a particular matter. 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