Probate Court provides a cost-effective and efficient process to transfer ownership of assets from one generation to the next. The Wisconsin Legislature has properly insisted that the process is efficient and that most of the assets be available for the benefit of the persons designated in the Will.

We begin with a copy of the death certificate and the Will. From that information we prepare an Application or Petition to the Court to appoint the person chosen by the decedent to be come the "personal representative" (or "executor" as it used to be called) to administer the assets of the estate. Next the court will issue the "Letters Testamentary" which are the operational documents which allow the Personal Representative to act on behalf of the estate.

Once the administration of the estate is confirmed, the next step is to collect the assets of the estate whether they are in the form of bank accounts, stocks or other securities, real estate or other assets.
After the collection phase, the assets are distributed to the beneficiaries of the Will, the spouse, and family members and the creditors who may be entitled to payment.

The estate may be administered informally or formally which has to do with the degree of the intensity of supervision which the probate court has over the estate. The proceedings may be supervised or unsupervised which determines how frequently we must go to the probate court for necessary approvals.

Written Notices are given to beneficiaries and creditors of the decedent as well as providers of services for the last illness, funeral and burial of the decedent. Notice must also be published in a legal newspaper in the county where the decedent died. The earliest that the estate can be closed is four months after the notice by publication can be made, although often partial distributions can be made to beneficiaries in the meantime.

Within four to six months after the publication, the bills can be paid, the bequests distributed, the real estate conveyed and stocks or other securities can be transferred. If there are any taxes to be paid, that is the time those can be taken care of. It is necessary to file an estate tax return even if no taxes are owed.

Unless there is some unique problem, an estate can generally be close within six to nine months of the death of the decedent.

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