Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

Any potential "heir at law" of someone who has died is allowed to sue in Probate Court for administration of her or her estate. The person who files can also ask the court to appointment them as legal representative of the estate. After a substantial amount of paper pushing and notices which must go out to other potential heirs and creditors, you can eventually achieve a legal status which will allow you access and control over all property of the decedent (legal term for your deceased relative). Parties who are in possession of a will are also required by law to file it with the probate court, subject to potential jail time if they don't. Therefore, if nobody comes forward within a reasonable amount of time, you can administer the estate under the rules of intestate succession without a will, dividing the estate between relatives depending upon degrees of kinship. You should retain an experienced litigation lawyer who does probate work for a case of this type. My comments here are intended to apply to similar situations commonly faced by many, but not particularly to your case, and are offered for public education only. You should therefore consult with your own lawyer or consider retaining one. Since I am not yet your attorney, I will not be taking any action on your case unless you retain me. Disclosure of confidential information in a public web forum is not recommended and is always subject to possible use against you later, in court. You are welcome to contact me with further questions at my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090, or e-mail me at [email protected]. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. See over fifteen hundred of my past answers to legal questions arranged by topic at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.