If you die without a will in Wisconsin, state law decides who inherits the assets that pass through your estate. Your spouse and descendants generally come first, but their shares depend on your family relationships and how you own your property.
You may assume your spouse will receive everything or that a longtime partner will be provided for. Wisconsin’s default rules can produce a different outcome. At Borakove Osman LLC, we help you understand what those rules mean for your family and put a plan in place that reflects your wishes.
What Does “Dying Intestate” Mean?
Dying intestate means dying without a valid will. Wisconsin’s intestate succession laws identify which relatives inherit and how your remaining estate is divided.
These rules apply to assets that do not transfer through another arrangement, such as a beneficiary designation or trust. A last will and testament lets you choose who receives those assets instead of relying on the state’s default rules.
Before heirs receive their shares, your estate must address enforceable debts and administration expenses. The amount available to inherit may therefore be less than the value of everything you owned.
Who Inherits Without a Will in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin generally distributes an intestate estate in this order:
- Spouse, with no descendants or only shared descendants: Your surviving spouse generally inherits your entire intestate estate.
- Spouse and at least one descendant from another relationship: Your spouse generally inherits half of your nonmarital property, subject to statutory exceptions. All your descendants, including those you share with your spouse, inherit the remainder of your intestate estate.
- Descendants, without a spouse: Your children inherit. Descendants of a deceased child generally take that child’s share.
- No spouse or descendants: Your parents inherit next, followed by siblings and descendants of deceased siblings.
- No closer relatives: The law looks to grandparents and their descendants. The estate passes to Wisconsin only when no qualifying heirs exist.
Qualifying registered domestic partners also have inheritance rights. Simply living together does not establish those rights.
How Does Wisconsin’s Marital Property Law Affect Inheritance?
Wisconsin is a marital property state. Each spouse generally owns half of marital property, even if only one spouse’s name appears on an account.
Your surviving spouse keeps their own share. If you have at least one descendant from another relationship, your share of marital property subject to intestacy generally passes to your descendants rather than your spouse. Property with survivorship rights generally transfers directly to the surviving owner instead.
We review how your property is classified and owned to explain which assets would pass through your estate and who would receive them.
Which Assets Pass Outside Intestate Succession?
Some assets generally transfer independently of intestate succession, including:
- Life insurance and retirement accounts with valid beneficiary designations.
- Payable-on-death accounts and transfer-on-death assets.
- Jointly owned property with survivorship rights.
- Assets properly held in a trust.
Joint ownership does not always include survivorship rights. If a beneficiary has died and no alternate is named, an account’s terms may determine whether the asset enters your estate.
When Can Intestacy Create Problems for Your Family?
An unmarried partner generally does not inherit automatically unless a qualifying registered domestic partnership exists. Stepchildren generally do not inherit from you unless you adopted them.
For blended families, intestacy can leave a surviving spouse and children sharing interests in property. They may disagree about selling a home or buying out another heir.
The rules also cannot account for your wish to leave more to a child with greater financial needs or make a charitable gift.
Your family may need to go through probate to settle the estate. Without a will, you lose the opportunity to nominate your preferred personal representative.
What Happens to Your Minor Children?
If no surviving parent can care for your children and guardianship is needed, a court decides who will serve. A will allows you to nominate someone, subject to the surviving parent’s rights and court approval.
A minor’s inheritance may also require a court-appointed guardian to manage the money. For families with minor children, a revocable living trust lets you choose someone to manage their inheritance and specify when they receive it. You can also arrange for the money to remain in trust after they turn 18.
Put Your Wishes in Writing Before State Law Decides
Wisconsin’s default inheritance rules may leave out someone you love or divide your property in ways you never intended. A clear estate plan gives your family instructions that reflect your wishes.
At Borakove Osman LLC, we help you understand your options and make informed decisions about your family’s future. Schedule a consultation to discuss who you want to provide for and put your plan in place.
