Gabe Albrecht

Real Estate Transitions Advisory

The words on your paperwork, in plain English.

If you're the personal representative, somebody handed you a stack of forms with words on them that nobody stopped to explain.

Here's what they mean. This is the Dane County vocabulary, written for the person doing the job rather than the person who went to law school.

Your attorney decides what applies to your estate and nothing here is legal advice. But you shouldn't have to guess at what a word means before you can ask a good question about it.

The people

Who everyone is

Decedent
The court's word for the person who passed. You'll see it on every form and every notice. It's a cold word for someone who was a parent, or a husband, or a friend, and it doesn't get warmer with use. It's just the word the paperwork uses. It isn't how anybody thinks about them.
Personal representative
You, probably, if you're reading this. The person the court puts in charge of the estate. Other states say executor. Wisconsin says personal representative, and the job is the same: gather what they owned, pay what they owed, and get the rest to the people it belongs to.
Special administrator
Someone appointed to handle a specific piece of the estate, often before a personal representative is in place. The authority is narrower than the title sounds. A special administrator can generally do what the court's order says and not much beyond it, and selling real estate frequently takes express permission from the court. If your letters say special administration, read the order before you list anything.
Heir
Someone who inherits because the law says so, when there's no will directing otherwise.
Beneficiary
Someone who inherits because the will says so.
Interested person
Court shorthand for everyone entitled to notice. Heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, sometimes others. When you're wondering who has to be told about something, this is the group.
Guardian ad litem
An attorney the court appoints to speak for someone who can't speak for themselves, usually a minor or an adult who can't manage their own affairs. One showing up on your case is not a sign that something has gone wrong.
Register in Probate
The Dane County office that runs probate paperwork. The Probate Registrar can tell you which form you need and how the procedure works. What they can't do is tell you what you should do, which is a different question and belongs to your attorney.

What kind of case you're in

Not every estate takes the same road

Informal administration
The common path, and the one most Wisconsin estates take. It runs through the Register in Probate instead of in front of a judge, and there are usually no hearings unless something comes up.
Formal administration
The court supervised version, in front of a circuit court judge. Dane County's own probate guide says formal administration requires an attorney to represent the estate. It's used when the will calls for it, or when the people involved disagree.
Special administration
A limited appointment for a limited job. See special administrator above, and read your order.
Summary settlement and summary assignment
Shortcut procedures for smaller estates. They exist so a modest estate doesn't have to carry the cost and the calendar of a full administration.
Transfer by affidavit
The smallest path there is. When the property subject to administration in Wisconsin comes to $50,000 or less in gross value, it can often be collected with a sworn affidavit instead of a probate case. That's Wisconsin Statute 867.03, and it's worth knowing about before you open a file you may not need.
Testate
There's a will.
Intestate
There isn't. The estate still gets settled. The law just supplies the distribution instead of the will doing it.

The paperwork

What each form is actually for

Letters, or Domiciliary Letters
This is the one that confuses everybody, because letters isn't a letter. It's the one page document proving the court put you in charge, and title companies, banks and buyers all want to see it. Until letters issue there's no personal representative yet, only an applicant, and an applicant can't sign a listing contract, accept an offer, or convey title.
Notice to Creditors
The published notice telling anyone the estate owes money that they have a window to say so.
Notice of Estate Administration Deadlines
The form that carries your actual dates. When somebody asks me what their timeline is, this is the piece of paper I want to see.
Inventory
The list of what the estate owns and what each item was worth on the date of death. The real estate goes on here, and putting a number on it is why a lot of people end up calling me.
Bond, or surety bond
Insurance the court sometimes requires, protecting the estate in case the personal representative gets something wrong. It's set against the estate's personal property, so it's a routine cost and not an accusation.
Final account
The closing math. What came in, what went out, what's left, and where it went.
Order to show cause
The court asking on the record why something hasn't happened yet. It reads harsher than it usually is. Most of the time it's a deadline that slipped and a form that fixes it.
Termination of Decedent's Interest
The form used to clear their name off real estate that passes outside probate, like survivorship marital property or a joint tenancy. Not every house needs a probate case to change hands.

The deadlines

The dates the court cares about

Claims deadline
The last day a creditor can file a claim against the estate. Wisconsin sets it not less than three and not more than four months from the date of the order, under Statute 859.01. Your exact date is on your notice, not on this page.
Inventory deadline
Wisconsin gives the personal representative a reasonable time, and no later than six months after appointment, unless the court has ordered otherwise. That's Statute 858.01.
Extension
More time, granted on request. It's common enough that needing one isn't a failure.

The full sequence, and where the house fits into it, is on the probate timeline page.

About the house

The words that show up when real estate is involved

Date of death value
What the property was worth on the day they passed, not what it's worth today. That's the number the inventory is asking for, and on a house that's gone up since, the two are not close.
Appraisal
A formal valuation, done by a licensed appraiser.
Broker's opinion of value
What I can put together for you, usually within a few days. It is not an appraisal, and anything I hand you says so on its face. For plenty of estates it's enough for the inventory. Your attorney will tell you if yours is one that needs the appraisal instead.
Sold as is
Sold in its current condition, with no repairs promised. It's common in estates and it does not have to mean selling cheap.

If a word isn't here

Call me and I'll tell you what it means.

If I don't know, I'll say so and point you at who does. There's no charge and no catch, and you don't have to be selling anything to ask.