In Wisconsin, estates valued at $50,000small estate: § 867.03Verified Sep 9, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Transfer by Affidavitsmall estate: § 867.03Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. Real property passes through the affidavit only under the conditions the statute setssmall estate: § 867.03Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. An estate over the limit does not qualify, and no affidavit is prepared for it.

Wisconsin's recorded instrument, Affidavit of record in the chain of title, rests on the general recording statute for affidavits of facts affecting title to land. What a recorded affidavit does, in the statute's words: After a conveyance, affidavit or other instrument expressly stating a fact (including heirship) has been of record in the chain of title for 5 years, a purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice takes free of any adverse claim that depends on a contrary fact not appearing of recordWis. Stat. § 706.09(1), (1)(i)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. The effect attaches once the affidavit has been of record for 5 yearsWis. Stat. § 706.09(1)(i), (2)(c)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. It is evidence of the facts it states, not a deed; it does not itself transfer title, and a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.

In the office of the register of deeds of each county in which land affected thereby may lieWis. Stat. § 706.05(1)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. The office records it as it records deeds, in the county where the land lies, and charges its recording fee per page.

It depends on what the person owned and how it was titled. Property with a named beneficiary, joint property with survivorship, and property in a trust pass outside probate. What remains goes through probate unless it is under the state's small estate limit, in which case a small estate affidavit collects it. The Probate Decision Tool applies your state's rules.