Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin
wills & probate
If a will names an individual to be an executor of the estate and/or will, does that individual have the right to access checking accounts after the death of the person who made the will? And if there is an individual named in the will as executor of the state, does he/she have to put everything into probate?
If a person knows there is a will but another family member has it and is not sharing the information, do I have the right to call attorneys around town to find out if they made up the will? And if so, do I have a right to a copy or at least see it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: wills & probate
A named executor has no authority until the will is admitted to probate after the executor petitions to be appointed. After appointed by the court, then the executor has authority to handle all property in the decedent's sole name and all of this property will be handled through the probate process.
Whoever has the original is required by statute to file it. Once filed, it is public record for anyone to view. You can try to call around to attorneys but that probably won't be a very efficient way to find the Will.
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