What Does Estate Planning Cost in Wisconsin?
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.
Estate planning costs in Wisconsin depend on the provider. An online service runs $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription. An attorney in Wisconsin charges around $332Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Wisconsin: Trusts rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for trust work, which puts an attorney-prepared trust at $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 for an individual plan.
A marriage, a divorce or a new child means updating the plan. Some providers require a whole new plan; others amend the existing one. An attorney amendment in Wisconsin typically costs $1,328Estimate: 4 hours at $332, Clio's Wisconsin Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,656Estimate: 8 hours at $332, Clio's Wisconsin Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a major change.
An online service costs less up front ($0 to $549) than an attorney in Wisconsin (around $332Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Wisconsin: Trusts rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for trust work). The lifetime figure turns on the subscription ($49 to $199 a year with most online services), the amendment charges, and how often life events require an update.
A trust costs more up front than a will and saves the probate the will route pays. In Wisconsin, an attorney-prepared trust typically costs $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 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. Assets passing under a will go through probate, which adds about $22,090Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate for the heirs. The Wisconsin trust cost calculator carries the breakdown.
Probate in Wisconsin costs about $22,090Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate, counting attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and publication. An estate held in a funded trust bypasses probate and that cost entirely. The Wisconsin probate calculator estimates the fees for a given estate.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Wisconsin
Free forms for planning your estate in Wisconsin: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
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.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
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.
Financial Power of Attorney
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.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Wisconsin, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryWis. Stat. 705.15Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathWis. Stat. 705.15Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Living Will
In Wisconsin, the living will is the Declaration to Health Care Professionals (Wisconsin Living Will)Wis. Stat. ch. 154, subch. II (§§ 154.02-154.15), with definitions in § 154.01Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Wisconsin
Free tools for planning your estate in Wisconsin: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
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.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Wisconsin automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceWis. Stat. § 854.15Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Wisconsin costs an estimated $22,090Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.8%Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.9%Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
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.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living 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 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Wisconsin runs $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 $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $22,090Wis. Stat. § 851.40(1) (just and reasonable compensation for services under chs. 851-879, incl. ch. 865 informal administration; no statutory percentage for attorneys — estate value may not be the controlling factor)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Wisconsin, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingWis. Stat. § 48.9795(2)(c)1 (parent nomination of guardian of the PERSON, by will or other written instrument; "the court shall appoint the person nominated ... unless ... not in the child's best interests"); § 54.15(6) (parent will nomination of guardian of the ESTATE, via § 48.9795(2)(b)1); § 853.03 (will execution)Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Wis. Stat. § 990.01(20)Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
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Wisconsin Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Wisconsin probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.