Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

a. Pourover wills for each spouse.
b. Joint trust.
c. Marital property agreement.
d. Power of attorney forms.
e. Beneficiary designation forms for retirement assets and life insurance
contracts.
6. Since the adoption of the Marital Property Act, Wisconsin has been more
reluctant to take the lead in enacting new uniform laws.
D. Wisconsin death taxes – there are none.
1. Wisconsin used to impose an inheritance tax on amounts received by a
beneficiary.
2. The Wisconsin inheritance tax was phased out beginning in 1987 because of
the change in federal law enacted under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which
created the state death tax credit for federal estate tax purposes.
3. Beginning in 1992, Wisconsin only imposed a pick-up estate tax based on the
federal state death tax credit.
4. When the federal estate tax credit was phased out and replaced with a
deduction under EGTRRA in 2001, Wisconsin enacted a stand-alone estate
tax with a $675,000 exemption.
5. The Wisconsin estate tax sunset on January 1, 2008 and no state death tax
currently applies.
E. Uniform laws.
1. Prudent investor act - §881.01.
a. ULC promulgated the prudent investor act in 1994. It governs how trusts
should be invested.
b. Wisconsin became the 48 th state to enact the prudent investor act in 2003.
2. Uniform principal and income act - §701.20.
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