Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 856 — OPENING ESTATES
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 856.29 (2026)

Appointment of testamentary trustee

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856.29856.29 Appointment of testamentary trustee. If the will of the decedent provides for a testamentary trust, the court shall appoint the trustee upon admission of the will to probate at the same time that letters are granted to the personal representative, unless the court otherwise directs. The trustee so appointed shall continue to be interested in the estate, and beneficiaries in the testamentary trust shall cease to be interested in the estate except under s. 851.21 (3). Letters of trust shall not be required to evidence the authority of a testamentary trustee and a certification of trust under s. 701.1013 shall be sufficient evidence of such authority. This section shall apply to wills admitted to informal probate and letters issued in informal administrations.
856.29 HistoryHistory: 1973 c. 39; 2023 a. 127.
856.29 AnnotationUnder s. 856.23 and former s. 856.29, 1989 stats., if a trust document allows beneficiaries to select a successor trustee but does not specifically allow appointment without court approval, the instrument should be read to permit nomination of a trustee subject to court approval. First Wisconsin National Bank of Oshkosh v. Circuit Court, 167 Wis. 2d 196, 482 N.W.2d 118 (Ct. App. 1992).
856.29 AnnotationA trustee has a duty to the trust beneficiaries to ensure that the personal representative transfers all property to which the trust is entitled. Even when the same person acts as trustee and personal representative the trustee has a duty to enforce claims the trust has against the personal representative. Old Republic Surety Co. v. Erlien, 190 Wis. 2d 400, 527 N.W.2d 389 (Ct. App. 1994).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1992–1994 · leading case: Old Repub. Sur. Co. v. Erlien, 527 N.W.2d 389 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994).
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Old Repub. Sur. Co. v. Erlien, 527 N.W.2d 389 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 4× “" Section 856.29, STATS., states: 856.29 Letters issued to trustee of testamentary trust.”
First Wisconsin Nat'l Bank of Oshkosh v. Circuit Court for Fond du Lac Cnty., 482 N.W.2d 118 (Wis. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “, provides that a person is not entitled to receive letters if the court deems the person "unsuitable for good cause shown." This contemplates an exercise of discretion by the court.”
In Matter of Trust Est. of Rice, 523 N.W.2d 168 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “Section 856.29, Stats. In this case, Rice was named in the will as both personal representative and trustee, and was appointed to both positions upon admission of the will to probate.”
Matter of Smith Fam. Trust, 482 N.W.2d 118 (Wis. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “, provides that a person is not entitled to receive letters if the court deems the person "unsuitable for good cause shown.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.