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Probate Procedures

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WHAT IS PROBATE?

Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring a decedent’s assets. This process is necessary for several reasons:

To ensure that all interested persons are given proper notice;
To ensure that all debts, taxes, and expenses of decedent are paid; and
To ensure all remaining assets are distributed according to the Last Will and Testament of the decedent or to the heirs as determined by Wisconsin Law.

If the decedent left a Last Will and Testament, the original must be filed within 30 days, even if no probate procedure is necessary.

If a probate procedure is necessary, the original Will can be filed with those documents. It is important to note that if a person is nominated in a decedent’s Will as personal representative, they do not have the authority to act until the appropriate documents have been filed and Domiciliary Letters have been issued to them by the probate court.