Wisconsin Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, Remote Witnessing (2026)

Under Wisconsin law, any person of sound mind who is 18 or older may make a will (Wis. Stat. 853.01). The will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or for the testator under the conditions in the statute), and signed by at least two witnesses, each within a reasonable time after seeing the testator sign or acknowledge the signature or the will in the witness's conscious presence (Wis. Stat. 853.03). No notary is required. Living trusts are governed by the Wisconsin Trust Code, chapter 701 of the statutes.

Two things set Wisconsin apart among the wills and trusts laws by state. Since March 23, 2024, a will can be witnessed over a live two-way video link, but only through a supervised procedure with a Wisconsin-licensed attorney. And Wisconsin's divorce rule reaches well beyond the will, into trusts, beneficiary designations and gifts to the former spouse's relatives.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Wisconsin statutes on making, signing, proving, changing and revoking wills (Wis. Stat. chapters 853 and 856), the rules for transfers at death that apply to wills and other instruments (chapter 854), the deferred marital property election (chapter 861), and revocable living trusts (chapter 701, the Wisconsin Trust Code). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Wisconsin probate), small-estate procedures (see the Wisconsin small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Wisconsin power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Wisconsin advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Wisconsin?

Section 853.01 sets capacity: "Any person of sound mind 18 years of age or older may make and revoke a will."

Section 853.03 sets the form:

"Every will in order to be validly executed must be in writing and executed with all of the following formalities: (1) It must be signed by the testator, by the testator with the assistance of another person with the testator's consent or in the testator's name by another person at the testator's direction and in the testator's conscious presence." (Wis. Stat. 853.03)

The witness rule follows in 853.03(2)(am). The will "must be signed by at least 2 witnesses who signed within a reasonable time after" any of three events, each "in the conscious presence of the witness":

1. The signing of the will by or for the testator;
2. The testator's "implicit or explicit acknowledgement of the testator's signature on the will"; or
3. The testator's "implicit or explicit acknowledgement of the will."

Under 853.03(2)(bm), "The 2 witnesses required under par. (am) may observe the signing or acknowledgement under par. (am) 1. to 3. at different times." Section 853.03 does not require a notary.

Who can witness

Under 853.07(1), "Any person who, at the time of execution of the will, would be competent to testify as a witness in court to the facts relating to execution may act as a witness to the will."

A witness who takes a gift does not void the will. Under 853.07(2), "a will is not invalidated because it is signed by an interested witness," but gifts to the witness or the witness's spouse "are invalid to the extent that the aggregate value of those provisions exceeds what the witness or spouse would have received had the testator died intestate." That cut-back does not apply if the will is also signed by two disinterested witnesses, or if "There is sufficient evidence that the testator intended the full transfer to take effect" (853.07(2)(c)). Being named personal representative or trustee, with usual compensation, is not a personal and beneficial interest (853.07(3)(a)).

Wills signed in another state or country

Under 853.05(1), a will is validly executed if it is in writing and either complies with 853.03 or was executed in accordance with the law, at the time of execution or at the time of death, of the place where it was executed or where the testator "resided, was domiciled or was a national." Such a will "has the same effect as if executed in this state in compliance with s. 853.03" (853.05(2)).

The Wisconsin basic will

Wisconsin has a statutory fill-in will, the "Wisconsin basic will" (Wis. Stat. 853.55). Under 853.51(1), the only method of executing it is for the testator to complete the blanks, boxes and lines substantially in accordance with the instructions and sign it, and for the witnesses to "comply with s. 853.03 (2)." This page does not reproduce the form.

Witnessing a will by video: the 2024 remote procedure

Since March 23, 2024, when 2023 Wisconsin Act 130 took effect, "conscious presence" in 853.03(2) can include "the simultaneous remote appearance by 2-way, real-time audiovisual communication technology," but only "if all of the following conditions are satisfied" (853.03(2)(c)). It is a supervised procedure, not an informal video call. The conditions are:

1. A supervising attorney. "The signing is supervised by an attorney in good standing licensed by this state." The supervising attorney may serve as one of the remote witnesses.
2. Everyone in Wisconsin. The testator and each remote witness attest to being physically located in Wisconsin during the communication.
3. Identification. The testator and each remote witness identify themselves, and if they are not personally known to each other and to the supervising attorney, they display photo identification.
4. A visual sweep. The testator identifies anyone else present and, if possible, makes "a visual sweep of the testator's physical surroundings."
5. Declarations on camera. The testator displays the will, confirms the total number of pages and the page on which the signature will go, and declares that the testator is 18 or older, that the document is the testator's will, and that it is being executed as a free and voluntary act.
6. Signing in view. The will is signed by the testator (or by a person 18 or older assisting the testator or signing in the testator's name at the testator's direction and in the testator's physical presence) in a way that lets each remote witness and the supervising attorney see it.
7. Real-time technology. The technology must allow the participants to see, hear and communicate in real time, with assistive technology or learned skills substituted for a person with a hearing, sight or speech impairment.
8. A statement in the will. "The will indicates that it is being executed pursuant to this section."

The paper still has to travel. Under 853.03(2)(c)10, the signed original goes to the supervising attorney and then to each remote witness to sign in turn, or the witnesses sign a faxed or electronically transmitted copy and send it to the attorney, or everyone signs identical copies and sends them to the attorney; each transfer is by personal delivery, U.S. mail or commercial courier "within a reasonable time." Where copies or counterparts are used, the signed papers together constitute one original unless the attorney compiles them into a single document.

The supervising attorney then completes an affidavit of compliance with the details listed in 853.03(2)(c)11, including the testator's and witnesses' names and addresses, the in-state addresses where each was located, whether the participants were known to each other or what photo identification was used, the testator's declarations, the technology used, how the will was forwarded, and the attorney's state bar number. The affidavit is attached to the will, and "An affidavit of compliance executed in compliance with this section shall constitute a self-proving affidavit executed in compliance with s. 853.04 (2)" (853.03(2)(c)13).

The same act added remote notarization for estate planning documents. Under Wis. Stat. 140.147(3), a remotely located individual signing an estate planning document may appear before a notary by two-way, real-time audiovisual communication if the signing is supervised by a Wisconsin-licensed attorney (who may serve as the notary) and both the signer and the notary attest to being physically located in Wisconsin.

Does a Wisconsin will need to be notarized? The self-proved will

No. Notarization comes in only through the optional self-proving affidavit in section 853.04, which can be done two ways:

• One step. "A will may be simultaneously executed, attested and made self-proved by the affidavit of the testator and witnesses," made before an officer authorized to administer oaths and evidenced by the officer's certificate under official seal (853.04(1)).
• Two steps. "An attested will may be made self-proved at any time after its execution by the affidavit of the testator and witnesses," before such an officer (853.04(2)).

The statute sets out the affidavit forms; this page does not reproduce them. The effect is in section 856.16: unless there is proof of fraud or forgery in connection with the affidavit, "The will is conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with s. 853.03," other execution requirements are rebuttably presumed, and a signature on the affidavit counts as a signature on the will if needed to prove due execution. Admission of a will to probate "is not dependent on the existence of a valid affidavit" (856.16(2)).

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Wisconsin?

Not when signed under Wisconsin's own rule. Section 853.03 requires at least two witnesses for every will, and chapter 853 contains no exception for a will written in the testator's hand. A handwritten will that two witnesses sign as section 853.03 requires is valid like any other.

The out-of-state rule in 853.05 is the one route for an unwitnessed handwritten will: if it is in writing and was executed in accordance with the law of the place where it was signed, or of the place where the testator resided, was domiciled or was a national at signing or at death, it is validly executed in Wisconsin.

A related rule covers a list of personal items. Under 853.32(2)(a), a reference in a will to another document listing tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of in the will disposes of that property "if the other document describes the property and the distributees with reasonable certainty and is signed and dated by the decedent." The court may enforce such a document that is not dated if it meets the other requirements.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid?

No. Section 853.03 requires every will to be "in writing," and chapter 853 contains no provision for an oral will.

Electronic wills

Chapter 853 contains no provision for an electronic will that is signed and kept only in electronic form. The 2024 procedure described above is remote witnessing of a will signed on paper: section 853.03(2)(c)10 requires the signed original, or signed copies, to be delivered or mailed to the supervising attorney.

No harmless-error rule

Chapter 853 contains no harmless-error or dispensing-power section of the kind some states use to save a will that was not signed correctly. The statutory relief is the self-proving affidavit, whose effect under 856.16 is a conclusive presumption of compliance with section 853.03.

Changing or revoking a Wisconsin will

Methods of revocation

Section 853.11 lists the methods, and 853.11(4) closes the list: "A will is revoked only as provided in this section."

• By a later will. A will is revoked in whole or part "by a subsequent will that is executed in compliance with s. 853.03 or 853.05 and that revokes the prior will or a part thereof expressly or by inconsistency" (853.11(1)(a)). A later will that completely disposes of the estate is presumed to replace the earlier one, and a later will that does not is presumed to supplement it; either presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence (853.11(1)(bm)).
• By physical act. A will is revoked in whole or part "by burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying the will, or part, with the intent to revoke, by the testator or by some person in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction" (853.11(1m)).

Divorce: wills, trusts and beneficiary designations

Wisconsin's divorce rule is in chapter 854 and applies to "governing instruments," which section 854.01(2) defines to include "a will; a deed; a trust instrument; an insurance or annuity policy; a contract; a pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan," a marital property agreement, certain beneficiary designations and other instruments that transfer property at death. Section 853.11(3) sends will transfers to a former spouse to section 854.15.

Under 854.15, the rule applies "only to governing instruments that were executed by the decedent before the occurrence of a divorce, annulment or similar event," which includes termination of a domestic partnership (854.15(1)(b), (2)). Except as provided in its exceptions, the event:

• "Revokes any revocable disposition of property made by the decedent to the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse in a governing instrument";
• Revokes any disposition created by law to the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse;
• Revokes any revocable provision giving the former spouse or a relative a power of appointment, and the decedent's revocable nomination of either to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity; and
• Severs joint tenancies with right of survivorship and survivorship marital property between the decedent and former spouse into tenancies in common (854.15(3)).

A "relative of the former spouse" is someone related to the former spouse by blood, adoption or marriage who, after the divorce, is not related to the decedent by blood, adoption or marriage (854.15(1)(d)). Revoked provisions take effect as if the former spouse and relatives disclaimed them, or, for a fiduciary nomination, as if they died immediately before the divorce (854.15(4)).

The rule does not apply if the express terms of the governing instrument, a court order, or a property-division contract between the decedent and the former spouse provide otherwise; if the divorce is nullified; or if the two remarried or entered into a new domestic partnership before the decedent's death (854.15(5)(am)). It also yields to the contrary intent of the person who executed the instrument, which may be shown by extrinsic evidence (854.15(5)(bm)).

Federal law limits this rule for some plans. For employer benefit plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce, as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Marriage after the will

Under 853.12(1), subject to the exceptions in 853.12(3), "if the testator married the surviving spouse or recorded a domestic partnership under ch. 770 with the surviving domestic partner after the testator executed his or her will, the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner is entitled to a share of the probate estate."

Limits on what a Wisconsin will can do

Marital property and the deferred marital property election. Under 854.17, the classification of a married decedent's property and its ownership and division at death "are determined under ch. 766 and s. 861.01," Wisconsin's marital property law. In addition, under 861.02(1), "The surviving spouse has the right to elect an amount equal to no more than 50 percent of the augmented deferred marital property estate." The petition must be filed within 6 months after the decedent's death, except as the time may be extended under 861.08(3) (861.08(1)).

Children born or adopted after the will. Under 853.25(1)(a), a child born or adopted after the will who is not provided for "is entitled to a share of the estate" unless the omission appears from the will or other evidence to have been intentional, or the testator provided for the child outside the will in lieu of a provision in it. If the testator had no child living when the will was executed, the omitted child receives the share he or she would have received under the intestacy chapter, unless the will left all or substantially all of the estate to the child's other parent, who survives and takes under the will (853.25(1)(b)).

No-contest clauses. Under 854.19, "A provision in a governing instrument that prescribes a penalty against an interested person for contesting the governing instrument or instituting other proceedings relating to the governing instrument may not be enforced if the court determines that the interested person had probable cause for instituting the proceedings." Because a governing instrument includes a will and a trust instrument, the rule reaches both.

Beneficiaries who die first. Under 854.03(1), a beneficiary who is not shown to have survived the event by at least 120 hours is treated as having predeceased it. Under 854.06, a revocable gift to a grandparent, the issue of a grandparent or a stepchild of the decedent who does not survive passes to that person's surviving issue per stirpes, subject to the rest of that section.

A beneficiary who kills the decedent. Under 854.14(2), the unlawful and intentional killing of the decedent revokes provisions in any governing instrument that transfer property to the killer, give the killer a power of appointment or nominate the killer as a fiduciary, and severs survivorship interests.

How intestate shares are calculated is covered on the Wisconsin probate page.

Storing and delivering a Wisconsin will

During life, "Unless provided otherwise by county ordinance, any testator may deposit his or her will with the register in probate of the court of the county where he or she resides" (853.09(1)). A deposited will may be withdrawn only by the testator personally or by a person authorized "by a writing signed by the testator and 2 witnesses other than the person authorized" (853.09(3)).

After death, a person other than the named personal representative who has custody of a will must, within 30 days after learning of the death, file it in the proper court or deliver it to the named personal representative, who has 30 days to file it after knowing of the nomination and the death (856.05(1)). A person who, with intent to injure or defraud an interested person, suppresses or secretes a will "shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year or both" (856.05(3)).

Revocable living trusts in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Trust Code

Chapter 701 "may be cited as the Wisconsin Trust Code" (701.0101). The chapter was created by 2013 Wisconsin Act 92, and several of its sections were amended by 2023 Wisconsin Act 127.

Creating a trust

Under 701.0402(1), a trust is created only if the settlor has capacity, the settlor "indicates an intention to create the trust," the trust has a definite beneficiary (or is a charitable, animal-care or permitted noncharitable purpose trust), the trustee has duties to perform, and "The same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary, and there are no remainder beneficiaries other than the person's estate." The capacity required "is the same as the capacity to make a will" (701.0402(4)).

The creation section states no witness or notary requirement. A written instrument is not always needed: "Except as required by a statute other than this chapter, a trust does not need to be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence" (701.0407). Under 701.0601, the capacity to create, amend, revoke or add property to a revocable trust is the same as that required to make a will.

Revocable by presumption, for newer instruments

Section 701.0602(1) states: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, there is a rebuttable presumption that the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2014."

Two features stand out. The rule is a rebuttable presumption rather than a fixed default, and it reaches only trusts under instruments executed on or after July 1, 2014. The code defines "revocable" to mean the settlor can revoke without the consent of the trustee or an adverse party, "regardless of whether the settlor is incapacitated" (701.0103).

Under 701.0602(3), a settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust by substantial compliance with a method in the trust, or, if the trust provides no method, by:

• "A later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise have passed according to the terms of the trust"; or
• "Any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent."

An agent under a power of attorney may exercise the settlor's powers to revoke or amend "only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the power of attorney," and a guardian of the estate or a conservator only "with the approval of the court supervising the guardianship or conservatorship" (701.0602(5), (6)).

For a trust created or funded by more than one settlor, the marital or community property portion may be revoked by either spouse alone but amended only by both, each settlor may revoke or amend the portion of other property attributable to his or her own contribution, and the trustee must promptly notify the other settlors of a revocation or amendment by fewer than all (701.0602(2)).

Creditors

Under 701.0505(1)(a)1, whether or not the trust has a spendthrift provision, "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors."

Certification of trust

Under 701.1013(1), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust," stating that the trust exists and the date the instrument was executed, the settlor, the current trustee and address, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who holds a power to revoke it, cotrustee signing authority, and "The manner in which title to trust property may be taken."

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

When a formerly revocable trust becomes irrevocable, by the settlor's death or otherwise, the trustee must, "Within a reasonable period of time" after learning of it, notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, the contact details of each directing party and trust protector, and their rights to request documents, information and a trustee's report (701.0813(2)(c)). The statute sets no fixed number of days. That notice duty does not apply "to a trustee who accepts a trusteeship before July 1, 2014, to an irrevocable trust created before July 1, 2014, or to a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable before July 1, 2014" (701.0813(5)).

The contest deadline is in 701.0604(1). A person must start a proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable immediately before the settlor's death within the earlier of:

• "One year after the settlor's death"; or
• "Four months after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding."

After the settlor's death, the trustee may distribute the trust property under its terms without liability unless the trustee knows of a pending contest, or a potential contestant has notified the trustee and starts a proceeding within 60 days after sending the notification (701.0604(2)).

Pour-over wills

Wisconsin's rule on transfers by will to a trust is in the trust code. Under 701.0419(1), "The order of execution of a trust instrument and a will or other instrument purporting to transfer or appoint property to the trust evidenced by the trust instrument shall be disregarded in determining the validity of the transfer or appointment," and "No reference in any will to a trust shall cause assets in such trust to be included in property administered as part of the testator's estate."

Property given by will, or by a beneficiary designation under an employee benefit plan, life insurance policy, online tool or similar instrument, to a trust "shall be administered in accordance with the terms of the trust as the terms of the trust may have been modified prior to the testator's or designator's death," even if the will or designation was not re-signed after the change, unless the will or instrument expressly provides otherwise (701.0419(2)).

Wisconsin wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• 2023 Wisconsin Act 130 (effective March 23, 2024). Added the remote-witnessing procedure in 853.03(2)(c) and the remote notarization rule for estate planning documents in 140.147.
• 2023 Wisconsin Act 127 (published March 22, 2024). Amended several Wisconsin Trust Code sections, including 701.0602 (revocation or amendment) and 701.0813 (duty to inform). The rules quoted above are the current text.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Wisconsin will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow Wis. Stat. 853.03, and the remote option is available only through the attorney-supervised procedure in 853.03(2)(c). Complex estates, marital property questions, blended families, business interests or tax concerns are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin. The tool is not legal advice.

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Wisconsin probate
• Wisconsin small estate affidavit
• Wisconsin power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Wisconsin law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Wisconsin?

At least two. Each must sign within a reasonable time after seeing the testator sign, or acknowledge the signature or the will, in the witness's conscious presence, and the two may observe at different times (Wis. Stat. 853.03(2)).

Can a will be witnessed over video in Wisconsin?

Yes, since March 23, 2024, but only under every condition in 853.03(2)(c): a supervising Wisconsin-licensed attorney, the testator and witnesses physically in Wisconsin, identification, on-camera declarations, delivery or mailing of the signed original or copies, and an attorney's affidavit of compliance attached to the will.

Does a will have to be notarized in Wisconsin?

No. Section 853.03 does not require a notary. A self-proving affidavit of the testator and witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths (853.04) makes the will conclusively presumed properly executed, absent proof of fraud or forgery (856.16).

Is a handwritten will valid in Wisconsin?

Only if two witnesses sign it as section 853.03 requires, unless it is a written will executed under the law of the place where it was signed or of the testator's residence, domicile or nationality at signing or at death (853.05).

Are oral wills valid in Wisconsin?

No. Section 853.03 requires every will to be in writing.

Does divorce revoke a will in Wisconsin?

Divorce, annulment or a similar event revokes revocable gifts, powers of appointment and fiduciary nominations for the former spouse and the former spouse's relatives in a will made before the event, unless an exception in 854.15(5) applies. The same section reaches trusts and beneficiary designations, and federal law pre-empts it for ERISA plans (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001)); see the divorce section.

Are no-contest clauses enforceable in Wisconsin?

A clause penalizing a contest of a will or trust may not be enforced if the court determines the person had probable cause for bringing the proceeding (Wis. Stat. 854.19).

Is a living trust revocable in Wisconsin?

For a trust created under an instrument executed on or after July 1, 2014, there is a rebuttable presumption that the settlor may revoke or amend it unless its terms expressly say it is irrevocable (701.0602(1)).

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Wisconsin?

Within the earlier of one year after the settlor's death or four months after the trustee sends a copy of the trust instrument and the required notice (Wis. Stat. 701.0604(1)).

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Wisconsin?

Ownership of marital property at death is determined under chapter 766, and a surviving spouse may also elect up to 50% of the augmented deferred marital property estate by petition within 6 months after death unless extended (861.02, 861.08). A spouse married after the will may be entitled to a share under 853.12.