Small estate checker for Wisconsin
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Transfer by Affidavit ($50,000 gross and under, Wis. Stat. 867.03)
Summary settlement of small estates (Wis. Stat. 867.01)
Also in Wisconsin (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Summary assignment of small estates (Wis. Stat. 867.02)
What counts toward the limit in Wisconsin
For the Transfer by Affidavit, add up the gross value of all the person's property subject to administration in Wisconsin on the date of death. Do not subtract debts or mortgages. Include property that would be paid to the estate through a beneficiary designation. Leave out property that passes on its own, such as jointly owned property and benefits paid to a named beneficiary.
Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03
In this state the total is counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Jointly owned accounts pass to the surviving owner, and payable-on-death accounts go to the named beneficiary; they are left out. |
Cars and other vehicles | Not clear | A surviving spouse or domestic partner can transfer up to five vehicles through the DMV with form MV2300. Ask the register in probate whether a vehicle's value is added to the $50,000 total. Law: WisDOT form MV2300; Wis. Stat. 342.17(4)(b) |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats and other titled property in the person's name alone count at gross value. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
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 |
Real estate in another state | Left out | Only property subject to administration in Wisconsin is counted. Law: Transfer by Affidavit form, item 3 |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the register in probate how unpaid wages are treated. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the register in probate how military pay owed to the person is treated. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Life insurance and IRA, pension or 401(k) money paid to a named beneficiary other than the estate goes directly to that beneficiary and is left out. |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Money that would be paid to the estate through a beneficiary designation, or where no beneficiary was named, counts. |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | Ask the register in probate how property held in a trust is treated. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property titled in joint ownership passes automatically to the surviving owner and is left out. |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Not clear | Wisconsin is a marital property state. Ask the register in probate how the person's share of marital property and property passing to the spouse is counted. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone count, unless they pass to a named beneficiary. |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Furniture, jewelry, tools and other belongings count at gross value. Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03 |
Source: Official page
Transfer by Affidavit ($50,000 gross and under, Wis. Stat. 867.03)
A sworn form you give to a bank or other holder to collect the person's property, or record with the register of deeds to transfer real estate, without opening a probate case. The person who signs it must pay the person's debts and pass on the rest.
- Limit
Up to $50,000 Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
The total gross value of the person's Wisconsin property subject to administration cannot be more than $50,000. Debts and mortgages are not subtracted.
- What counts
The total gross value of the person's property subject to administration in Wisconsin on the date of death. All such property must be listed. Property that passes outside probate (joint ownership, named beneficiaries) is not included.
- Waiting period
No waiting period applies for heirs. If you sign as the person named personal representative in the will, the holder must wait 30 days after receiving the affidavit. To transfer real estate, you must give the heirs a copy and notice at least 30 days before recording, unless they waive it.
- Who can use it
An heir; the trustee of a revocable trust the person created; the person's guardian at death; or, for property other than real estate only, the person named in the will as personal representative.
- Court or where to file
Given to the bank or other holder. For real estate, recorded with the register of deeds in each county where the land is.
- Notary
Signed under oath before a notary public or court officer.
- Papers to attach
- List of all property to be transferred, with values (account names and types; legal description and parcel number for real estate)
- Affidavit of Heirship, if real estate is transferred
- Affidavit of Service or Waiver of Notice, if real estate is transferred
- Proof of certified mail delivery to the DHS Estate Recovery Program, if the person or spouse received Medicaid or other listed benefits
- Wisconsin Electronic Real Estate Transfer Return receipt, for real estate
- Steps
- Add up the gross value of all property subject to administration in Wisconsin.
- Fill in the State Bar of Wisconsin Transfer by Affidavit form and sign it under oath.
- If the person or spouse received Medicaid or other listed benefits, send a copy by certified mail to the DHS Estate Recovery Program first.
- For real estate, give the heirs a copy and 30 days' notice (or get waivers), then record it with the register of deeds.
- Give the affidavit to each holder of other property.
- Pay the debts in the order set by law, then distribute the rest.
- Fee
There is no court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with a court. The register of deeds charges a recording fee for real estate.
- Debts and responsibility
By accepting the property, you take on a duty to use it to pay the person's obligations in the order set by Wis. Stat. 859.25, and to give any balance to the people named in the will or other governing instrument, or to the heirs.
- What the bank or holder must do
If the affiant is the person named personal representative in the will, the holder may not transfer the property until 30 days after receiving the affidavit; if another affidavit for the same person arrives in that time, the holder may not transfer without a court order.
Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03
Source: Official page
Summary settlement of small estates (Wis. Stat. 867.01)
A short probate procedure in circuit court for small estates that does not require a lawyer. It is available for estates of $50,000 or less when the person left a spouse, domestic partner or minor children, or when the estate is no more than certain costs, allowances and claims.
- Limit
Up to $50,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Available for estates of $50,000 or less if the person had a surviving spouse, domestic partner or minor children. It is also available, regardless of family, when the estate is no more than certain costs, expenses, allowances and claims.
- What counts
The value of the estate: gross assets minus debts for which estate property is security.
- Waiting period
The court sets the timing.
- Who can use it
An interested person, such as the spouse, domestic partner or an heir.
- Court or where to file
The circuit court (register in probate) in the county where the person lived.
- Papers to attach
- Death certificate
- List of the property and its value
- Will, if any
- Steps
- Contact the register in probate in the county where the person lived.
- File the petition and supporting papers.
- The court assigns the property to the people entitled to it.
- Fee
Set by statute; ask the register in probate.
Law: Wis. Stat. 867.01
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Wisconsin
Jointly owned accounts pass to the surviving owner, and accounts with a named beneficiary go to that beneficiary. For an account in the person's name alone, an heir, trustee or guardian (or the person named personal representative in the will) can give the bank a Transfer by Affidavit if the Wisconsin probate property is $50,000 gross or less. If the person or spouse received Medicaid or other listed benefits, a copy must first go to the DHS Estate Recovery Program by certified mail.
Law: Wis. Stat. 867.03
Source: Official page
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.
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