A will that holds up.

What a Wisconsin will has to get right

Wisconsin sets specific requirements for a valid will. You must be at least 18 and of sound mind, the will must be in writing, and it must be signed in front of two witnesses who also sign. Miss a step and a court may treat your estate as if the will never existed.

• Handwritten wills are not valid in Wisconsin. Unlike some states, an unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) will generally fails here.
• Witnesses matter. If a beneficiary signs as a witness, their inheritance can be at risk.
• A self-proving affidavit signed before a notary means your witnesses never have to be tracked down decades later during probate.

Every will we draft is executed in a supervised signing meeting, so it is fully valid the day you walk out.

The marital property problem online forms miss

Wisconsin is a marital property state. Most of what married couples acquire during the marriage is owned 50/50, no matter whose name is on the account or the deed. Your will only controls your half, plus your individual property.

Generic templates are written for the other 49 states. In Wisconsin they routinely give away property the person doesn’t fully own, or miss planning tools that only exist here, like marital property agreements. We draft around the law you actually live under.

What a will does, and what it doesn’t

A will names who inherits, who manages your estate, and who raises your minor children. But understand what it does not do: a will does not avoid probate. It is a set of instructions for the probate court, which means a will-only plan still puts your family in front of a judge, on the public record, months after you’re gone. And it does nothing at all if you become incapacitated while alive.

That is why, for most families we meet, a standalone will is the floor, not the plan. Nearly every plan we build is trust-based, with the will serving as a backstop that catches anything left outside the trust, rather than carrying the whole load.

In your free consultation we’ll tell you plainly what your situation actually calls for. Flat fee either way, quoted before you commit.