My wife’s father’s estate (5 yrs) not distributed: my wife just died

[Coattails]

Wisconsin
My Wife’s father died in 2020, his estate / will splits his properties 3-ways to the three siblings, (60 acres with 3 houses) one is the executor & lives on the property.
- now My wife just died
- my wife’s father’s will has been in probate and could have been distributed in 2022, for 5-years Executor (bro) has been doing nothing to complete the distribution of assets, there are no formal disputes the case was to be done, but now judge gave the Executor to 6/30/25 to finish. Now (the executor) is trying to fire the estate attorney.
I asked the siblings for the land coordinates (I will be selling the 20 acres & house (my wife’s portion),
They had offered to buy me out at $1,500 an acre (LOL)….I said no because the land is worth 20X that.

The two siblings are now avoiding my inquiries, one is the executor, he lives on a 33 acre parcel includes a house. (There are 3 houses & 60 acres).
I am trying to get copy of the will - they won’t give me one…..it is filed with the county and was reviewed during probate. I did manage to get a copy of the Court file on line and that is how I know case is extended to 6/30/25.
I have not found an atty or a real estate broker that will help me in that part of the State.
I have come to the conclusion that the two brothers want to push me out, as well as the community. They do not want me to sell the land.
Should I contact the estate’s lawyer? Should I write to the probate registrar or judge?
This is so much to deal with and my wife, who we owned our small business and she did ALL the business office side and I am lost in all this…..don’t know what to d

 

[not2cleverRed]

My condolences on your loss.

Did your wife have a will?

 

[Coattails]

No, but I’m told this is maritial property, the state is a “Community Property” state, and we were married for 35 years. There is no condition in the will that says the property returns to the family when she dies.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Inheritance is individual property, even in a community property state such as Wisconsin. While there are many ways in which such individual property can become marital property, because there has been so little of your late father-in-law's estate moved you can not really make this argument.

Since she died without a will intestate succession law will determine how her estate is divided. You have not mentioned children. If you have stepchildren (children that are legally hers, but not yours), they are entitled to 1/2 of her individual property, otherwise as the surviving spouse you are entitled to 100%.

It would be wise to contact the estate lawyer and inform them of your wife's passing, intestate, in case the estate lawyer has not already been informed, and that all communications about her share of her family's inheritance should at this point go to you (and her legal child(ren) outside your marriage, if any exist).

 

[Taxing Matters]

My condolonces on the passing of your wife.

I suggest your first step should be to contact a probate attorney near you to help you with your wife's estate. The way it works in this kind of situation is your wife's estate will be entitled to her share of her father's estate. It will be treated as though she owned the property on the day she died as she had the beneficial ownership of it at the time her father died. As a result the property needs to go through her probate estate first before it may be transfererred to you. In every community property state, inherited property is separate property rather than community property unless the spouse inheriting it has done something that converts it to community property. If treated as as separate property you will be entitled to your share of her estate that is set out in the intestate succession statute.

Not only is that the proper way to handle the property, having it go through your wife's estate helps you in two ways. First, it makes a for a clean chain of title for the property which avoids problems you'd otherwise have when it comes to selling it or transferring it. Second, the property and interests in property your wife had at the time of her death get a step up in federal (and likely state, too) income tax basis to the fair market value (FMV) of the property on the day she died. This has the effect of wiping all the capital gain in the property that may have accrued since her father died. If the property has appreciated significantly in that time the basis step will save you the income tax on the gain that would have been realized had your wife sold it just prior to her death. Depending on what other assets your wife's estate has, it may be worth consulting a tax attorney or other tax professional familiar with the tax rules that apply to properties that go through probate to make sure everything is done correctly to get the best tax outcome.

 

[zddoodah]

Should I contact the estate’s lawyer?

Yes, but the better course of action would be to retain the services of an attorney to represent you/your wife's estate and have your attorney contact the executor's attorney.

Should I write to the probate registrar or judge?

No. The best thing that will happen if you do that is that your correspondence will be placed in the case file without action. If you feel that something should be presented to the judge, you need to make a motion or file other appropriate paperwork.

This is so much to deal with and my wife, who we owned our small business and she did ALL the business office side and I am lost in all this…..don’t know what to d

All the more reason to retain legal counsel. The intersection of two estates like this is not a good DIY project.

 

[Coattails]

Inheritance is individual property, even in a community property state such as Wisconsin. While there are many ways in which such individual property can become marital property, because there has been so little of your late father-in-law's estate moved you can not really make this argument.

Since she died without a will intestate succession law will determine how her estate is divided. You have not mentioned children. If you have stepchildren (children that are legally hers, but not yours), they are entitled to 1/2 of her individual property, otherwise as the surviving spouse you are entitled to 100%.

It would be wise to contact the estate lawyer and inform them of your wife's passing, intestate, in case the estate lawyer has not already been informed, and that all communications about her share of her family's inheritance should at this point go to you (and her legal child(ren) outside your marriage, if any exist).

you are correct in the first case because paramount in the 1st case is the father DIED FIRST then the heir (my wife estate simply inherits, “whatever”
Wisconsin community property statutes are definitive, not vague in the least in regards to WHO DIES FIRST….

In regards to the second
We had no kids,
My wife’s estate (no will) goes directly to me, because of WI statutes.

See WI Stats. £ 861.33 and £ 861.41

 

[not2cleverRed]

In regards to the second
We had no kids,
My wife’s estate (no will) goes directly to me, because of WI statutes.

See WI Stats. £ 861.33 and £ 861.41

Please reread. I never said anything about kids that you had together. See WI Statute 852.01 (1)(a)2.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/852

WI Statutes 861.33 and 861.41 have NOTHING to do with intestate succession.

You first have to establish yourself as heir to your late wife's estate before you go after her share of her father's estate. (Layman's understanding/terms.) @Taxing Matters has explained this very nicely.

You need a lawyer. I get that you are overwhelmed, but the first step is to get a lawyer where you are.

 

[zddoodah]

you are correct in the first case because paramount in the 1st case is the father DIED FIRST then the heir (my wife estate simply inherits, “whatever”
Wisconsin community property statutes are definitive, not vague in the least in regards to WHO DIES FIRST….

In regards to the second
We had no kids,
My wife’s estate (no will) goes directly to me, because of WI statutes.

See WI Stats. £ 861.33 and £ 861.41

This is quite a non sequitur.

No one said the statutes were vague.

Since your wife died without a will, you inherit the entire estate, unless she had kids who are not also your kids. Your statement that "[w]e had no kids" isn't relevant.

Also, the two statutes you cited are not relevant. The "Basic rules for intestate succession" are found in § 852.01 and the rest of ch. 852.

 

[Taxing Matters]

See WI Stats. £ 861.33 and £ 861.41

The £ symbol is refers to the UK pound, the UK equivalent of the $. The symbol used in the law to refer to sections of a constitution, statutes, regulations, etc is §. You use the option + 6 keys (at the same time) to produce the § symbol in Mac OS and Alt + 0133 in Windows OS. The other common symbol used in legal citation in the U.S. is the symbol for paragraph, ¶. The key combination for that in Mac OS is option + 7 and in Windows OS it is Alt + 0167. I know it's a small thing but I'm pointing it out because, apart from legal professionals and scholars, few people know what these symbols mean or how to put them into a document. My hope is that people reading this in the future will find it useful to know these little tidbits of information.

 

[quincy]

The £ symbol is refers to the UK pound, the UK equivalent of the $. The symbol used in the law to refer to sections of a constitution, statutes, regulations, etc is §. You use the option + 6 keys (at the same time) to produce the § symbol in Mac OS and Alt + 0133 in Windows OS.The other common symbol used in legal citation in the U.S. is the symbol for paragraph, ¶. The key combination for that in Mac OS is option + 7 and in Windows OS it is Alt + 0167. I know it's a small thing but I'm pointing it out because, apart from legal professionals and scholars, few people know what these symbols mean or how to put them into a document. My hope is that people reading this in the future will find it useful to know these little tidbits of information.

On an iPhone, the § symbol is found by pressing on the & key.

It can be fun to explore the various keys on a cellphone to see what all is hiding behind the regularly used keys. For some examples, the number 0 also has the symbol for degree °, and ? hides ¿, and $ is the key to press for ₽, ¥, €, ¢, ₩ and the £ sign. The letter key C also has Ç, Ć, Č, and Ċ, and the letter E has Ë and 8 other variations. Many more discoveries you can make when you are bored.