How much does probate cost in Wisconsin?
5 Aug 2026
Wisconsin publishes the representative’s rate — 2% of the accountable inventory, less mortgages and liens, plus net principal gains. It charges the court fee as a percentage too: 0.2% of the net estate.
The 2% is a default rather than a ceiling: the decedent can agree a different rate in writing, and so can the people who take the majority interest in the estate. The attorney has no schedule at all — just and reasonable compensation, weighed against five listed factors, one of which says outright that the size of the estate may not be the controlling factor. Where the representative or their firm also acts as the estate’s lawyer, the court allows one fee or the other unless the will grants both. A will asking that the representative serve without bond does not bind the court.
Wis. Stat. §857.05(2) — Wisconsin Statutes, published by the Wisconsin Legislature · Verified 5 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Wisconsin is one of the states that prints a rate for the representative, and it charges the court fee on a percentage too — so both work to the dollar. They run on slightly different bases.
| Personal representative — inventory value less mortgages and liens, plus net principal gains | 2% |
| Unusual difficulty or extraordinary services | court may add |
| Rate agreed in writing with the decedent, or with the majority interest | as agreed |
| Court fee — net value $10,000 or less | $20.00 |
| Court fee — net value above $10,000 | 0.2% of that value |
| Attorney | just and reasonable — no schedule |
Worked through: an accountable inventory of $500,000.00 produces a representative’s commission of $10,000.00 at the statutory rate, and a net estate of $500,000.00 produces a court fee of $1,000.00. At $100,000.00 the figures are $2,000.00 and $200.00.
$20.00 today; rises to $36.00 on 1 November 2026. The flat small-estate band also widens from $10,000 to $18,500 on that date. We will re-read the section and re-stamp this page when the change lands rather than printing a projected figure now.
The court fee is not paid when the file is opened. It is paid when the inventory or other document setting out the value is filed, so the amount is known before it is due.
The schedule is what the law presumes reasonable, not what every estate pays — many settle below it, and the court can allow less.
The representative’s 2% runs on the inventory value of property the representative is accountable for, less mortgages and liens, plus net principal gains. The court fee runs on the value of property subject to administration, less encumbrances, liens or charges — and the register may not base it on property that is not subject to administration at all.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Wisconsin fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeCounsel working for the estate | Just and reasonable — no scheduleJoined by law: Wisconsin treats the attorney’s and the representative’s pay as one pot — the court allows one or the other unless the will grants both. Wisconsin does not set probate attorney fees by formula. Any attorney working for a deceased person’s estate is entitled to just and reasonable compensation, and that is all the statute fixes. Where the person died without a will, or the will says nothing about attorney fees, the court decides what is reasonable using five listed factors: the time and labour required; the experience and knowledge of the attorney; the complexity and novelty of the problems involved; the extent of the responsibilities assumed and the results obtained; and the sufficiency of assets properly available to pay for the services — except that the value of the estate may not be the controlling factor. Anyone with an interest in the estate, including the personal representative, an heir or a beneficiary, can ask the court to review the fee. | The court, on five statutory factors | Wis. Stat. §851.40 Applies to any proceeding under chs. 851 to 879, including informal administration | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | 2%, unless another rate is agreedJoined by law: Wisconsin treats the attorney’s and the representative’s pay as one pot — the court allows one or the other unless the will grants both. Wisconsin publishes the rate: 2 percent, charged on the inventory value of the property the representative is accountable for, minus mortgages and liens, plus any net principal gains during the estate proceedings. The 2 percent is a default, not a ceiling — the decedent can agree a different rate in writing with the representative, and so can the people who take the majority interest in the estate. The court can add more for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services, and can cut or refuse the fee where the representative is derelict in duty. Every allowance is subject to court approval. Where the representative, or any law firm the representative is associated with, also acts as attorney for the estate, the court may allow either commissions or attorney fees — but shall allow both if the will authorises both payments. | Statute — a default rate, adjustable by agreement or the court | Wis. Stat. §857.05(2) | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feePetition commencing the proceeding | 0.2% of the net estate, or $20.00 on a small oneWisconsin charges a percentage, not a flat filing fee. The register in probate collects 0.2 percent of the value of the property subject to administration, after encumbrances, liens and charges are taken off. On a $500,000 net estate that is $1,000.00. Small estates pay a flat fee instead: $20.00 where the net value is $10,000 or less. $20.00 today; rises to $36.00 on 1 November 2026, when the flat band also widens to cover estates up to $18,500. The fee is not paid when the file is opened — it is paid when the inventory or other document setting out the value is filed, so the amount is known before it is due. The register may not base the fee on the value of property that is not subject to administration. The same paragraph applies to inventories filed in testamentary trusts, and in survivorship proceedings the value is the value of property passing to the survivors. | Statute, statewide, on a percentage of net value | Wis. Stat. §814.66(1)(a)1 Changed by 2025 Wis. Act 179 with effect from 1 Nov 2026 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice of the claim deadline | Not fixed by statuteNot fixed by statute — the newspaper sets its own rate. The statute sets the timing rather than the price. The notice tells creditors the deadline for filing claims, it may be given together with the notice that letters are being granted, and the first insertion has to appear within 15 days of the court’s order setting the claim deadline. How many insertions Wisconsin requires, and over how long, is set by a separate section we have not read, so this page does not state it. Publication is not the only notice: the representative also has to give direct written notice to the Department of Health Services, and in some cases to the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Corrections and the county clerk, and separately to any creditor the representative knows about or should know about. Those duties sit alongside publication rather than replacing it. | The newspaper | Wis. Stat. §859.07 §879.05(4) and the ch. 985 notice schedule were not read | 5 Aug 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | Required before letters, unless the court orders otherwise
|
The court’s discretion | Wis. Stat. §856.25 | 5 Aug 2026 |
Two figures on this page change on 1 November 2026. The flat court fee moves from $20.00 to $36.00 and the band it covers widens from $10,000 to $18,500, under 2025 Wis. Act 179. Several other §814.66 charges change on the same day. The section is on our calendar to be re-read that week.
A Wisconsin case once cut a 4 percent attorney contract, and that is not a statutory percentage. It is case law annotated on the statute page. Wisconsin publishes no attorney rate, and anyone quoting you one is quoting a decision about one estate.
How the Wisconsin sources are linked. The Legislature serves a whole chapter at one address and an individual section at another, both clean and without ampersands, so every source above opens the exact section we read. The published statutes were current through 2026 Wis. Act 247 and in effect on 5 August 2026.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Filing an objection to probate of a will, filing a claim against the estate, certificates issued, receiving a will for safekeeping and deposits with the register are each charged separately under the same fee section. Several of those charges change on 1 November 2026 and are not stated here until they are re-read.
- Unusual difficulty or extraordinary services — the court may allow the representative further sums beyond the 2 percent, as it determines reasonable.
- Dereliction of duty cuts the other way: the court may reduce or refuse the representative’s compensation altogether.
- A real cost that is not a fee: notice by certified mail to the Department of Health Services is required before an affidavit transfer where the decedent or the decedent’s spouse received Medicaid or certain long-term care or community support benefits.
- You may not have to pay at all on the affidavit route — it needs no court proceeding, so no filing fee arises.
- Where a representative is also inheriting, that distributee share may stand as surety to the extent of any reduction in the bond.
- Where the representative or their law firm also acts as the estate’s attorney, the court allows commissions or attorney fees — not both — unless the will authorises both payments.
Wis. Stat. §814.66; §857.05(2) and (3); §856.25; §867.03(1m) — Wisconsin Statutes · Verified 5 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Wisconsin
- The 2 percent is a starting point, not a cap
- Wisconsin sets the rate and then lets it move in three directions. A written agreement between the decedent and the representative can set another rate; so can an agreement with the people who take the majority interest in the estate. The court can add more for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services. And it can cut or refuse the fee where the representative is derelict in duty. Every allowance is subject to court approval.
- The schedule is a presumption, not a bill
- The schedule is what the law presumes reasonable, not what every estate pays — many settle below it, and the court can allow less.
- One fee or the other where the executor is also the lawyer
- Where the representative, or any law firm the representative is associated with, also acts as attorney for the estate, the court may allow either commissions or attorney fees — but shall allow both where the will authorises both payments. If you intend a professional to wear both hats, the will has to say so.
- The size of the estate may not decide the legal bill
- Where the estate is intestate or the will is silent on attorney fees, the court weighs five factors, and the fifth says outright that the value of the estate may not be the controlling factor. Wisconsin is unusually direct about this. Anyone interested in the estate can ask the court to review the fee.
- A will cannot waive the bond
- Wisconsin is the only state in this database whose statute expressly says a direction or request in a will that the representative serve without bond is not binding on the court. Elsewhere such a clause usually settles the question. Here it is a request, and the court decides.
- The court fee is known before it is due
- It is paid when the inventory or other document setting out the net value is filed, not when the case is commenced. You will know the exact amount before you have to pay it, and it is charged only on property actually subject to administration.
- Two thresholds at $50,000, on opposite bases
- The affidavit route measures $50,000 gross, before debts. The court-assignment route measures $50,000 net of debts that estate property secures. The same estate can qualify for one and not the other, and the difference is usually a mortgage.
Wisconsin has more than one route at $50,000 — and they measure it differently
Wisconsin has multiple simplified routes; the dollar test above covers the transfer by affidavit at $50,000.00 gross; a second route, summary assignment, uses the same figure measured net of debts that estate property secures. A third route, summary settlement, sets its own threshold and was not read for this page, so nothing here says how many routes Wisconsin has in total.
- Transfer by affidavit — $50,000 gross. Where the property subject to administration in Wisconsin is worth $50,000 or less in gross value, an heir, the trustee of the decedent’s revocable trust, the person named in the will as personal representative, or the person who was the decedent’s guardian at death can collect the money and property by handing the holder a signed affidavit. No court proceeding is needed at all.
- That figure is gross, so debts are not taken off first — one of the few small-estate figures anywhere measured before debts.
- Whoever signs takes on a duty: the property must be applied to the decedent’s obligations in the order the law sets, and the balance passed to whoever the will or the intestacy rules say.
- Where real property is involved a certified copy of the affidavit is recorded with the register of deeds in each county where the property lies. A person named in the will as personal representative may not use the affidavit for real property unless an affidavit is provided showing no evidence of an interest in it.
- Summary assignment — $50,000 net. Where the estate, less the debts for which estate property is security, does not exceed $50,000 and it cannot be summarily settled, the court assigns the property to those entitled without appointing a personal representative. The court may require a bond of the petitioner before making the order, and creditors are listed in the petition.
- An administration already commenced can be terminated under the assignment route at any time it is found to meet the requirements.
- A creditor who was not assigned property can recover against those who were — but no action may be brought more than three months after the assignment order was mailed or delivered. That is the shortest post-distribution bar in this database.
Notice to the Department of Health Services is a real trap. Before an affidavit transfer, certified-mail notice must go to the Department where the decedent or the decedent’s spouse received Medicaid or certain long-term care or community support benefits.
Wis. Stat. §867.03(1g) and (1m) — Wisconsin Statutes · Verified 5 Aug 2026
Wis. Stat. §867.02 — same publisher · history ends 2019 a. 9 · Verified 9 Aug 2026
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Wisconsin probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Wisconsin?
Two percent of the inventory value of the property the representative is accountable for, less mortgages and liens, plus net principal gains during the proceedings. On an accountable inventory of five hundred thousand dollars that is ten thousand dollars. The rate is a default rather than a ceiling: a written agreement with the decedent, or with the people taking the majority interest in the estate, can set another. The court can allow more for unusual difficulty or extraordinary services, and can cut or refuse the fee for dereliction of duty.
Does Wisconsin set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. Any attorney working for the estate is entitled to just and reasonable compensation. Where the estate is intestate or the will is silent on attorney fees, the court weighs five factors: time and labour, the attorney’s experience and knowledge, the complexity and novelty of the problems, the responsibilities assumed and results obtained, and the assets available to pay — with the express rule that the value of the estate may not be the controlling factor. Anyone interested in the estate can ask the court to review the fee.
What does it cost to file for probate in Wisconsin?
Two tenths of one percent of the value of the property subject to administration after encumbrances, liens and charges are deducted. On a five hundred thousand dollar net estate that is one thousand dollars. Estates of ten thousand dollars or less pay a flat twenty dollars instead, and from the first of November 2026 that flat fee becomes thirty-six dollars covering estates up to eighteen thousand five hundred. The fee is paid when the inventory is filed, not when the case is opened.
Does an executor need a bond in Wisconsin?
A bond must be given before letters issue unless the court orders that the representative be appointed without one, and the court can require a bond later even if it did not require one at the start. A will asking that the representative serve without bond does not bind the court — Wisconsin says so expressly. Where more than one representative is appointed the judge may require no bond, a bond from each, a joint bond, or a bond from one.
Does Wisconsin have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, at fifty thousand dollars gross, with no court proceeding at all: an heir, the trustee of the revocable trust, the person named as personal representative or the decedent’s former guardian collects the property by handing the holder a signed affidavit. A separate court route, summary assignment, uses the same fifty thousand measured after deducting debts secured on estate property, and assigns the estate without appointing a personal representative. Certified-mail notice to the Department of Health Services is required first where Medicaid or long-term care benefits were received.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The Wisconsin Legislature publishes the statutes with a clean address for each chapter and section. The text read was current through 2026 Wis. Act 247 and in effect on 5 August 2026.
- Attorney fee and the five factors — Wis. Stat. §851.40 docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · the 4 percent annotation on the publisher’s page is case law, not a statutory rate, and is not printed as one · §865.16(1m) was not read
- Personal representative’s 2 percent, and the one-fee-or-the-other rule — Wis. Stat. §857.05(2) and (3) docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · basis is accountable inventory less mortgages and liens plus net principal gains, not gross estate value
- Court fee — Wis. Stat. §814.66(1)(a)1 docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · statutes current through 2026 Wis. Act 247 · hard re-check 1 Nov 2026 when 2025 Wis. Act 179 changes this paragraph and several others on the same page
- Publication timing — Wis. Stat. §859.07 docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · §879.05(4) and the ch. 985 class-3 notice schedule were not read, so no insertion count or period is stated
- Bond, and the will-waiver rule — Wis. Stat. §856.25 docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · ch. 878, which fixes the bond amount, was not read
- Transfer by affidavit — Wis. Stat. §867.03(1g) and (1m) docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · gross value basis · the same figure is load-bearing in §814.66(1)(b), so the two move together
- Summary assignment — Wis. Stat. §867.02 docs.legis.wisconsin.govVerified 9 Aug 2026 · history ends 2019 a. 9 · §867.01, summary settlement, sets a further threshold and was not read
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Wisconsin. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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