Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

Yes, judges are required by law to rule against any "wishes" of the dead other than those set forth in a will which has been admitted to probate. All states, including WI, have laws based upon the ancient common law the "dead man's statute," which restricts that no "wishes" of a dead person can be testified to except for those set forth in a valid will. This is similar to the "statute of frauds" in real estate transactions, disallowing outside evidence regarding intent in real estate transactions unless it appears in a notarized document bearing the legal description of the property. Back in ancient England, so much of this outside evidence "magically appeared" once serious amounts of money came to be at stake, that it threatened to grind court business to a halt. In order to assure efficient closure of estates, judges had little choice but to impose such rules in larger cases. These rules, in one form or another, persist throughout the United States today and serve an essential purpose in the administration of justice. Please remember that I am not yet your attorney and will not be taking any action on your case, but you are still welcome to contact me during business hours at my in Racine if you still have more questions. Also, please see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com, or, to read 15 years of my prior answers to consumer legal questions arranged by topic, please go to http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Answers may contain attorney advertising materials.