867.02 Summary assignment of small estates subject to claims of creditors.
(1) Availability. The court shall summarily assign the estate of a deceased person without the appointment of a personal representative if the estate, less the amount of the debts for which any property in the estate is security, does not exceed $50,000 in value and the estate cannot be summarily settled under s. 867.01. An estate, administration of which has been commenced under ch. 856, or a summary settlement commenced under s. 867.01 may be terminated under this section at any time that it is found to meet the requirements of this section.
(2) Procedure.
(ac) Who may petition. Any person who has standing to petition for administration of the estate under s. 856.07 has standing to petition for summary assignment.
(am) Petition contents. The petition shall contain the following information, except that the petitioner may omit from the petition the information in subds. 3. and 4. and include it in an affidavit filed with the court prior to the signing of the order assigning the estate:
1. A statement that the estate does not exceed $50,000 in value and cannot be summarily settled under s. 867.01.
2. A statement as to whether, after the exercise of reasonable diligence, the petitioner has been able to locate the will of the decedent.
3. A detailed statement of all property subject to administration, including any encumbrance, lien, or other charge upon each item.
4. The names and post-office addresses of all creditors of the decedent or the decedent's estate of whom the petitioner has knowledge and the amount claimed by each.
5. The names and post-office addresses of all persons interested, so far as known to petitioner or ascertainable by the petitioner with reasonable diligence. The petition shall indicate those who are minors or otherwise under disability and the names and post-office addresses of their guardians.
6. Whether the decedent or the decedent's spouse received services provided as a benefit under a long-term care program, as defined in s. 49.496 (1) (bk), medical assistance under subch. IV of ch. 49, long-term community support services funded under s. 46.27 (7), 2017 stats., or aid under s. 49.68, 49.683, 49.685, or 49.785.
(b) Will. The will of the decedent shall be filed with the petition.
(c) Bond. Before making any order, the court may require a bond of the petitioner in an amount the court deems sufficient, conditioned to indemnify any person who may be aggrieved by the order. Before assigning property, the court may require assignees to give bond for the satisfaction of their liability to creditors or persons interested in the estate.
(d) Notice. The court may hear the matter, including the proof of the will, without notice to interested persons or order notice to be given under s. 879.03. As soon as practicable after filing the petition with the court, the petitioner shall give notice by certified mail to the department of health services. After the filing of the petition with the court, the petitioner shall publish notice to creditors as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, in a newspaper published in the county.
(f) Special administrator may be appointed. If the court deems it necessary, it may at any time during the proceeding appoint a special administrator to aid in the proceeding.
(g) Order. If the court is satisfied that the estate may be settled by this section, after filing of the petition and proof of the will and after 30 days have elapsed since publication under par. (d), it shall decide all claims and assign the property to the creditors and persons interested who are entitled to it. The assignment shall be subject to the unknown rights of creditors or persons interested in the estate as limited in sub. (4). The court shall order any person indebted to or holding money or other property of the decedent to pay the indebtedness or deliver the property to the persons found to be entitled to receive it. It shall order the transfer of interests in real estate, stocks or bonds registered in the name of the decedent, the title of a licensed motor vehicle or any other form of property. If the decedent immediately prior to death had an estate for life or an interest as a joint tenant in any property in regard to which a certificate of termination under s. 867.04 has not been issued, the order shall set forth the termination of the life estate or the right of survivorship of any joint tenant. Every tract of real property in which an interest is assigned or terminated or which is security for a debt in which an interest is assigned or terminated shall be specifically described.
(h) Recording required. Whenever the order relates to an interest in real property or to a debt which is secured by an interest in real property, a certified copy or duplicate original of the order shall be recorded by the petitioner in the office of the register of deeds in each county in this state in which the real property is located.
(i) Mailing or delivery required. The petitioner shall mail or deliver a copy of the order to all persons interested in the estate whose post-office address is known to the petitioner or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained.
(3) Release of liability of transferor. Upon the payment, delivery, transfer or issuance in accordance with the order of the court, the persons making the payment, delivery, transfer or issuance are released to the same extent as if the same had been made to a personal representative of the estate of the decedent.
(4) Rights of creditors and persons interested; statutes of limitation. Creditors and persons interested in the estate who were not assigned the property to which they were entitled from the estate may recover against those assignees, or their respective bondsmen whose assigned shares have been increased by reason of the fact that the creditor or person interested was not assigned the share of the estate to which the creditor or person interested was entitled. No assignee or assignee's bondsman shall be liable for an amount greater than the value of the property which was assigned to the assignee from the estate, the value to be determined as of the time of the assignment. No action for the recovery of any property assigned in the proceeding or for the value of such property shall be brought by any creditor more than 3 months after the publication. No action for the recovery of any property assigned in the proceeding or for the value of such property may be brought by any person interested more than 3 months after a copy of the order assigning the estate was mailed or delivered to the person, or if the person's name or post-office address could not have been ascertained by the exercise of reasonable diligence on the part of the petitioner, then more than 3 months after a copy of the order assigning the estate was mailed or delivered to any person interested.
(5) Proceeding with or without attorney. Any party to a proceeding under this section may commence or appear at such proceeding in his or her own behalf, by an attorney or, if in the military service, by an attorney-in-fact, but not otherwise.
History: 1971 c. 40 s. 93; 1973 c. 90, 243; 1975 c. 331, 421; 1977 c. 449; 1985 a. 278; 1987 a. 27 ss. 2160w, 2170d, 3200 (47); 1989 a. 234; 1991 a. 220; 1993 a. 16, 437, 486; 1995 a. 27 ss. 7195b to 7196, 9126 (19); 1999 a. 9, 94; 2005 a. 216; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a); 2013 a. 20; 2015 a. 55; 2019 a. 9.
The 3-month limitation under sub. (4) does not bar reconsideration of a summary assignment if there was constructive fraud in its procurement. In re Estate of Boots, 73 Wis. 2d 207, 243 N.W.2d 225 (1976).
A “Simple" Probate Should Not Be This Complicated: Principles and Proposals for Revising Wisconsin's Statutes for Probate Summary Procedures. Johnson. 2008 WLR 575.