Wisconsin executors file a sequence of standardized court forms — the PR-series — to open an estate, inventory its assets, account for spending, and close the case. The Wisconsin executor of estate forms are published on the Wisconsin Court System’s website under the probate category and can be filed on paper at the county courthouse or electronically through the state’s e-filing portal.1Wisconsin Court System. Circuit Court Forms – Probate Most informal estates run about twelve months from opening to closing. What follows walks the forms in the order you’ll actually encounter them, with the deadlines, fees, and traps that most often slow executors down.
First, Confirm Full Probate Is Necessary
Not every estate needs the PR forms. Wisconsin has two shortcuts worth ruling out before you start filing:
- Transfer by affidavit, if the total probate property is worth $50,000 or less. An heir or the person named as personal representative presents an affidavit directly to the bank, brokerage, or employer holding the asset — no court filing. Jointly owned accounts, assets with beneficiary designations, and trust property don’t count toward the cap. A personal representative who isn’t also an heir generally can’t take real property this way.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 867.03 – Transfer by Affidavit
- Summary settlement, if the net estate is $50,000 or less and the decedent left a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or if the estate’s value doesn’t exceed the total of administration costs, allowances, and priority claims.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 867.01 – Summary Settlement
Everything below assumes informal administration, the standard path for estates that don’t fit either shortcut. Under informal administration, a probate registrar rather than a judge reviews your paperwork and issues letters without a hearing.
Filing the Will and Opening the Estate
Anyone holding the decedent’s original will must deliver it to the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived within 30 days of learning about the death.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 856.05 – Filing of Will That clock runs regardless of whether you intend to serve as personal representative. A photocopy will not do; you have to bring the original to the Register in Probate.
To open the estate formally, file the Application for Informal Administration, Form PR-1801.5Wisconsin Court System. Guide to Informal Estate Administration in Wisconsin It asks for the decedent’s full legal name, date of death, last address, Social Security number, and the names and addresses of every interested person. Under Wisconsin law, interested persons include heirs, beneficiaries named in the will, trustees of any trust created by the will, and the person nominated as personal representative.6Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 851.21 – Persons Interested Check every name and address against the death certificate and the will itself. Mismatches are one of the fastest ways to get a filing bounced back.
Proof of Heirship (PR-1806)
Form PR-1806 maps out the decedent’s family tree.5Wisconsin Court System. Guide to Informal Estate Administration in Wisconsin You list everyone who would inherit under Wisconsin’s intestacy laws — surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings — even if a will directs the property elsewhere. The court uses this to identify who receives notice and who has standing to contest. Sort out any question about a relative’s status (an adopted child, a half-sibling) before you file. An incomplete heirship form can stall the whole case.
Signature Bond (PR-1809A)
Most personal representatives must file a bond guaranteeing that estate assets will be handled properly. Form PR-1809A is the Signature Bond, where you and a surety (an adult Wisconsin resident who vouches for your financial responsibility) pledge a dollar amount set by the court.7Wisconsin Court System. Signature Bond in Estate or Trust Proceedings A will can waive the bond, but the waiver doesn’t hold in two situations: if you live outside Wisconsin, or if you’re handling the estate pro se without an attorney. In both cases, a surety bond is generally required regardless of what the will says.
Notifying Creditors and Interested Persons
Wisconsin requires two kinds of notice. The Notice to Creditors, Form PR-1804, is the published announcement that the estate is open and claims should be filed.5Wisconsin Court System. Guide to Informal Estate Administration in Wisconsin The first publication must appear within 15 days of the court’s order setting the claims deadline.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 859.07 – Notice to Creditors That deadline itself falls three to four months after the order.9Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 859.01 – Time for Filing Claims The Register in Probate can tell you which local newspapers qualify.
Beyond the published notice, mail or deliver individual notice to every known creditor and to all interested persons entitled to it.10Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 865.05 – Notice: Method and Time of Giving A creditor you knew about but never notified directly can file a late claim after the published deadline passes, so don’t skip the personal mailings.
Domiciliary Letters (PR-1810)
Once the registrar reviews and accepts your opening paperwork, the court issues Domiciliary Letters, Form PR-1810.11Wisconsin Court System. Domiciliary Letters These are your legal proof of authority. Banks, brokerages, title companies, and government agencies will ask to see them before letting you touch anything. Order several certified copies at once; most institutions want an original rather than a photocopy.
With letters in hand, you can collect and inventory estate property, manage and insure it, pay debts and taxes, contest invalid claims, and eventually distribute what’s left.12Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 857.03 – Powers and Duties of Personal Representative You succeed to the decedent’s ownership interest in all probate property, which gives you authority to sell real estate or liquidate investments when the estate requires it.
Inventory (PR-1811)
Form PR-1811, the Inventory, is the court’s snapshot of everything the decedent owned on the date of death.13Wisconsin Court System. Inventory (Informal Administration and Formal Administration) File it within six months of your appointment as personal representative.14Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 858 – Probate Inventory This is the most labor-intensive form because it requires you to track down and value every probate asset.
Real estate needs a legal description from the deed, not just the street address. Bank and savings accounts are listed at their date-of-death balances, and securities at their date-of-death market values.15Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 865.11 – Inventory Vehicles, furniture, jewelry, and other personal property are reported at fair market value — what a reasonable buyer would pay on the open market that day, not what the decedent originally paid. Note any encumbrances, liens, or charges against each item.
The summary section totals the gross value of all property subject to administration. That number sets your filing fee and becomes the baseline against which the final accounting is measured. If you discover more assets later, you can amend the inventory, but thoroughness on the first pass saves work.
Estate Account (PR-1814)
Form PR-1814, the Estate Account, tracks every dollar in and out of the estate from the date of death through the accounting period.16Wisconsin Court System. PR-1814 Estate Account The receipts side has schedules for dividends, interest, capital gains, and other income. The disbursements side has schedules for funeral expenses, debts of the decedent, allowed claims, taxes paid, administration expenses, and distributions to beneficiaries.
The account is the math that explains how you got from the inventory’s starting value to whatever remains for distribution. Receipts plus the inventory value, minus disbursements, should equal assets on hand at the end. If those numbers don’t reconcile, the registrar sends it back. Keep organized records from day one: bank statements, receipts for every payment, brokerage confirmations. Reconstructing a year of transactions at the finish line is where most personal representatives stumble.
Filing Fees and E-Filing
Wisconsin’s probate filing fee scales with the size of the estate under Statute 814.66. If the net value of property subject to administration (after subtracting encumbrances) is $10,000 or less, the fee is a flat $20. Above $10,000, the fee is 0.2 percent of the net value.17Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 814.66 – Fees of Register in Probate An estate with $500,000 in net assets, for instance, owes $1,000. The fee is collected when you file the inventory or another document establishing the estate’s value, not when you first open the case.
You can file probate documents electronically at efiling.wicourts.gov.18Zendesk. Circuit Court eFiling – eFiling a New Probate Case The system walks you through adding parties (starting with the decedent, including date of birth and date of death), uploading documents, and paying fees through US Bank’s ePayment site. Electronic filers pay a $35 per-case, per-party convenience fee on top of the standard filing fee.19Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Circuit Court Fee, Forfeiture, Fine and Surcharge Tables To file on paper, bring everything to the Register in Probate’s office at the county courthouse in the county where the decedent lived.
Closing the Estate (PR-1815 and PR-1816)
Two forms finish the case. Collect a signed Estate Receipt (Form PR-1815) from each beneficiary or claimant who received a distribution, confirming what they got and whether the distribution was full or partial.1Wisconsin Court System. Circuit Court Forms – Probate Then file the Personal Representative’s Statement to Close Estate (Form PR-1816), your sworn declaration that all debts, taxes, and distributions have been handled and the estate is ready to close.
Aim to wrap everything up within twelve months of opening. Wisconsin law lets courts intervene if an estate stays open beyond eighteen months without good reason. Once the closing statement is accepted, your authority as personal representative ends.
Tax Filings the Executor Still Owes
Wisconsin imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, so state death taxes are not a factor.20Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Estates, Trusts, and Fiduciaries On the federal side, estates above the basic exclusion amount must file IRS Form 706. For 2026, the exclusion is scheduled to revert to its pre-2018 level of roughly $5 million (adjusted for inflation), a drop from recent years.21Internal Revenue Service. Estate and Gift Tax FAQs Check the IRS site for the current inflation-adjusted figure, since it may shift with legislative action.
Regardless of estate size, most estates need a final individual income tax return (federal and Wisconsin) for the decedent covering January 1 through the date of death. If the estate earns income during administration — interest, rent, dividends — you may also need a fiduciary income tax return (IRS Form 1041 and Wisconsin Form 2). Get an Employer Identification Number for the estate from the IRS soon after receiving your domiciliary letters, because banks and brokerages need it to report estate income.