Q: My parents died six months apart the will was revised but not signed when my mother died, why is probate required?
My father died in March due to an auto accident. My mother died in September due to another auto accident. My mother had received the will revision but didn't sign it before her passing. The home had been in both parents name and both had their own wills, which were identical. Why are we required to have her estate go into probate when nothing in the will language has changed and nobody is contesting the will. Now we've had to hire an attorney at $300+/hr to get this settled when the estate total is only $85K. Something just doesn't seem right!
A: The law in Wisconsin requires a probate to be opened in a person's estate is worth more than $50,000.00. Based on your facts, your mother owned a home when she died and had assets totaling $85,000 that need to be distributed. The only way to distribute those assets (regardless if her Will was signed) is through the probate process.
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