On March 21, Governor Evers signed 2023 Senate Bill 759 (the Trust Code Trailer Bill) - click here to view the bill. The enacted bill became new law as 2023 Act 127 and is effective March 23, 2024. The enactment is the culmination of more than eight years of effort by a joint State Bar and Wisconsin Bankers Association study committee.  

While the Trust Code Trailer Bill started as an effort to correct and clarify technical issues associated with the 2014 restatement of the Wisconsin Trust Code, the final Bill addressed other issues affecting trust and estate administration, including:

1. Substantial expansion of the concept of representation in subchapter III of chapter 701.
2. Adoption of a detailed procedure to handle payment of claims for debts of a deceased settlor of a revocable trust.
3. Repeal of s. 701.0418 and adoption of the Uniform Trust Decanting Act as subchapter XIII.
4. Restatement of chapter 702 and adoption of the Uniform Powers of Appointment Act.
5. Technical corrections to Wisconsin’s law on digital property and the Wisconsin probate code.

In addition to the Trust Code Trailer Bill, the recent legislative session also saw approval of a bill that would authorize Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPT) in Wisconsin. The DAPT bill, Senate Bill 667, passed both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate with a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025, but enactment is uncertain due to a possible veto by Governor Evers. If not enacted this legislative session, we believe that legislation authorizing DAPTs and adopting the Uniform Directed Trust Act is ripe for enactment in 2025.

Prairie Trust is committed to continuing to promote trust administration in Wisconsin. Through our involvement with the Wisconsin Bankers Association, we are unique in our ability to work with the State Bar to update and modernize the Wisconsin trust and estate laws. While trust administration for tax purposes has declined due to the increased estate tax exemption amount ($13.61 million in 2024), corporate trustees continue to offer a preferred trustee solution for estate settlement of revocable trusts (where there is no qualified family member), special needs trusts for individuals with disabilities, and for irrevocable trusts (where an individual beneficiary is not qualified to serve as trustee). Prairie Trust has personal trust administrators who specialize in estate settlements, special needs trusts, and irrevocable trust administration (with or without investment management).  

Over the next several weeks, I will be working on a training outline to explain the Trust Code Trailer Bill. I have presentations to the Wisconsin Bankers Association scheduled in May and to the State Bar in June. If you have any questions about the new law or suggestions for further improvements to Wisconsin’s trust and estate laws, please contact me. Otherwise, we appreciate all referrals for our services and would be happy to discuss any opportunity that might help you and your clients. If you have an opportunity to discuss, please contact our Director of Fiduciary Sales, Terry Doyle, at (262) 953-2435 or tdoyle@prairietrust.com.