Free Wisconsin forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
In Wisconsin, a will is signed before 2Wis. Stat. § 853.03Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyWis. Stat. § 853.03Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Wisconsin requires 2Wis. Stat. § 155.30Verified Jul 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredWis. Stat. § 155.30Verified Jul 15, 2026View source.
Wisconsin treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultWis. Stat. § 244.05Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementWis. Stat. § 244.05Verified Sep 20, 2026View source.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Wisconsin: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
In Wisconsin, four years at a public university cost about $73,752NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesWis. Stat. § 72.36 (Sunset; 2013 Wis. Act 20) — the ch. 72 estate tax "does not apply to deaths occurring after December 31, 2012, unless the federal estate tax law is modified to provide a federal estate tax credit for state death taxes." Ch. 72 remains on the books as a dormant federal-credit (pickup) tax that computes to $0, not a repealed one. Wisconsin has no inheritance tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 1992 and no gift tax for gifts made on or after January 1, 1992 (WI DOR, Estates, Trusts, and Fiduciaries common questions).Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Wisconsin runs $3,320Estimate: 10 hours at $332, Clio's Wisconsin Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,980Estimate: 15 hours at $332, Clio's Wisconsin Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $981Estimate: 3 hours at $327, Clio's Wisconsin Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,962Estimate: 6 hours at $327, Clio's Wisconsin Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
Without a will in Wisconsin, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateWis. Stat. § 852.01Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesWis. Stat. § 852.01(1)(b)Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
36 guardianship firms in Wisconsin, by county and firm type.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
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36 firms
FirmSheboygan, WI
Serves Sheboygan from North 8th Street, in practice since 1898 under a succession of firm names. Its estate planning, probate and trusts team handles probate and trust administration after a death, probate avoidance, guardianships, and Medicaid planning including irrevocable Medicaid trusts and estate recovery.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmManitowoc, WI
Manitowoc law firm on North 8th Street whose attorneys are Manitowoc natives, serving Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Sheboygan, and Fond du Lac. Advises personal representatives on intestate administration, summary administration and formal probate of larger estates, and counsels out-of-state executors handling Wisconsin estates, alongside Medicaid eligibility and guardianship.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipMedicaid Planning
FirmBaraboo, WI
Serves Baraboo, Reedsburg, and Sauk County from offices on Third Avenue in Baraboo and North Walnut Street in Reedsburg, in practice since 1889. Handles formal and informal probate, small estate transfers by affidavit, trust administration and termination, and guardianships for adults and minors. Attorneys Robert Ginther and Laura Colt lead the estate planning and probate work.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more
FirmRiver Falls, WI
A Pierce County firm headquartered on Main Street in River Falls. Advises personal representatives through formal and informal probate, from inventory and valuation to paying debts and taxes and distributing the estate, and handles guardianships of adults and of disabled children turning eighteen. Probate work is led by attorneys Leo Beskar and Max Neuhaus.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianship
FirmKenosha, WI
Serves Kenosha from 52nd Street, a firm that traces its origins to a practice James Cavanagh started in 1877. Gives legal and tax advice to personal representatives and family members and moves court-supervised probate through to distribution under the will or to heirs by statute. Attorneys Neil F. Guttormsen and Erik H. Guttormsen handle the probate and estate planning work.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianship
Solo PracticeKenosha, WI
Serves Kenosha and Racine counties from Green Bay Road in Kenosha, reaching Pleasant Prairie and Twin Lakes. Attorney Angela Frozena helps personal representatives and successor trustees administer probate estates and trusts, files fiduciary income and estate tax returns, and handles ancillary Wisconsin probate for out-of-state owners. She previously worked as a trust officer and tax associate.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more
FirmBeaver Dam, WI
Serves Dodge County from Park Avenue in Beaver Dam and North Main Street in Mayville, in practice since 1902. Guides families through probate, trust administration, and other post-death procedures, and handles guardianships and elder law including Title 19. Offers appointments at home, living facilities, and hospitals throughout Dodge County.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 2 more
FirmBeaver Dam, WI
Serves Dodge County and the surrounding communities from Front Street in Beaver Dam. Attorney Dawn Gergen has probated estates from very small estates to ones over a million dollars, notes when assets can transfer without a court-supervised probate, and handles guardianships. Attorney Bill Gergen's estate planning draws on having litigated other attorneys' drafting errors.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianship
Solo PracticeSheboygan, WI
Practices from Michigan Avenue in Sheboygan, where the firm was established in 1925. Helps executors and families through probate and estate administration (court filings, debts and taxes, distribution) and handles guardianships, conservatorships, Medicaid and long-term care planning, and estate tax planning. Offers a complimentary initial consultation.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax Planningand 4 more
FirmManitowoc, WI
Serves the Lakeshore from offices in Manitowoc, its base since the firm began in 2009, and Sheboygan. Handles probate and trust administration, from informal administration filings and inventories to creditor claims, estate tax returns and estate bank accounts, plus guardianship filings and Title XIX planning. Also does business and farm succession planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more
FirmFond du Lac, WI
Serves clients throughout Wisconsin from Camelot Drive in Fond du Lac, with a second office in Beaver Dam, in practice for more than 28 years. Opens and settles probate estates for personal representatives, including wills the firm did not draft, and takes on will and trust contests over signing formalities, capacity and undue influence. Also files court-ordered guardianships.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigationand 2 more
FirmMequon, WI
Serves Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, and Waukesha counties from Mequon, with a Sheboygan office by appointment. Handles probate, trust administration fiduciary litigation when an estate or trust ends up in court, and guardianships, including challenges to a guardian. The firm concentrates on elder and special needs law; the first meeting is billed hourly.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 6 more
Solo PracticeFort Atkinson, WI
Attorney Vincent Hein practices from South Main Street in downtown Fort Atkinson, in Jefferson County, with a second office in Richland Center. He handles probate and estate and trust administration, and litigates probate and trust disputes and will contests, alongside Medicaid, long-term care and special needs trust planning. He serves on the board of the Wisconsin Chapter of NAELA.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 7 more
Solo PracticeThorp, WI
Solo practice in Thorp serving Clark and Taylor counties. Attorney Johanna R. Kirk probates estates, mostly on a flat fee, and has handled estates in litigation between family members or creditors, represented beneficiaries against personal representatives, and handles guardianships of elderly or disabled adults. She practiced in Superior from 2006 to 2024 before moving the office to Thorp.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 3 more
FirmDurand, WI
Two-attorney firm in Durand, Pepin County, with attorneys Jon D. Seifert and Steven Schultz. Handles probate, guardianships and trusts, and estate planning with an emphasis on Medical Assistance planning, alongside real estate work through its affiliated title company, Western Wisconsin Title Services.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipMedicaid Planningand 2 more
FirmFort Atkinson, WI
Offices in Fort Atkinson and Jefferson, in Jefferson County, among a dozen across southern Wisconsin. Its probate practice files and serves probate documents, handles intestacy proceedings, coordinates personal representatives, trustees and beneficiaries, and mediates and litigates disputes, alongside guardianship and conservatorship. Nathan Russell founded the firm in 2009.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more