Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

Re: will

No. To have a legal will in Wisconsin you must have it witnessed by two disinterested parties attesting to your capacity to make the will.

Re: will

No. To have a legal will in Wisconsin you must have it witnessed by two disinterested parties attesting to your capacity to make the will.

Re: will

No. To have a legal will in Wisconsin you must have it witnessed by two disinterested parties attesting to your capacity to make the will.

Re: will

No. Wisconsin law requires:

853.03 Execution of wills. 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.

(2) (am) It must be signed by at least 2 witnesses who signed within a reasonable time after any of the following:

1. The signing of the will as provided under sub. (1), in the conscious presence of the witness.

2. The testator�s implicit or explicit acknowledgement of the testator�s signature on the will, in the conscious presence of the witness.

3. The testator�s implicit or explicit acknowledgement of the will, in the conscious presence of the witness.

(bm) The 2 witnesses required under par. (am) may observe the signing or acknowledgement under par. (am) 1. to 3. at different times.

There are 2 simple will forms in the statutes One with a trust and one without), that you can get at a library, or on-line at http://www.hdsa-wi.org/Wisconsin_Basic_Will.pdf and

http://www.hdsa-wi.org/Wisconsin_Basic_Will_with_Trust.pdf

If you use one of these forms you MUST follow the instructions in Wisconsin Statute 853.51 "Execution of Will" which states as follows: (1) The only method of executing a Wisconsin basic will or basic will with trust is for all of the following

to occur:

(a) The testator shall do all of the following:

1. Complete the blanks, boxes and lines substantially in accordance with the instructions.

2. Sign the will.

(bc) The witnesses shall comply with s. 853.03 (2).

(2m) Any failure to comply with the instructions in a Wisconsin basic will or basic will with trust, other than the requirements for the testator�s and witnesses� signatures, does not affect the validity.

I very much encourage you, however, to have an attorney draft your will rather than drafting your own will. Even if you DO draft your own will, you should still consult with an attorney first. You could do more harm than good if you do not have a complete understanding of how your property will be disposed of by will or by other means such as joint tenancy real estate, POD accounts beneficiary designations and the like that are NOT determined by what you do in a will.