A house or land without probate in Wisconsin
An owner can record a transfer on death (designation of beneficiary) deed before death. After the death, the beneficiary records a Termination of Decedent's Interest with the register of deeds, with a Real Estate Transfer Return receipt that cites the recorded beneficiary deed.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Wisconsin
- Real estate (TOD deed)
Yes · Transfer on death deed (designation of beneficiary deed)
An owner can record a transfer on death (designation of beneficiary) deed before death. After the death, the beneficiary records a Termination of Decedent's Interest with the register of deeds, with a Real Estate Transfer Return receipt that cites the recorded beneficiary deed.
Source: Official page
Does real estate count toward the small estate limit?
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Real estate in Wisconsin | Counts | Wisconsin real estate in the person's name counts at gross value (the mortgage is not subtracted). The affidavit can transfer it. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Main home (primary residence) | Counts | The person's home counts at gross value unless it passes by joint ownership or a transfer on death deed. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Surviving spouse in Wisconsin
A surviving spouse or domestic partner can transfer up to five of the person's vehicles through the DMV with form MV2300, with no title fee, and can use summary settlement for estates of $50,000 or less. Wisconsin is a marital property state: each spouse owns half of the marital property regardless of title, and the inventory must identify it.
Who inherits with no will in Wisconsin
If there is a spouse and all the person's children are also the spouse's children, the spouse gets everything; if there are no children, the spouse also gets everything. If some children are not the spouse's, the spouse gets half of the person's property other than the person's share of marital property (and certain property held with the spouse), and the children share the rest. With no spouse, children share; then parents; then brothers and sisters; then grandparents' families. A domestic partner takes the place of a spouse.
Law: Wis. Stat. 852.01
Source: Official page
Related pages
Free help in Wisconsin
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
- Legal Action of Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Judicare
- State Bar of Wisconsin: Lawyer Referral Service
- Wisconsin Court System: Self-help, Probate
- A Guide to Informal Estate Administration in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Register in Probate Association, rev. November 2025)
- Wisconsin State Law Library: Probate
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372