Wisconsin Estate Planning & Lake Home Trusts

For many families, the lake house is the place everyone comes back to. Keeping it in the family takes planning: who will own it, who pays for it, how decisions get made, and what happens if one heir wants out. Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona helps families in Lake Geneva and across Walworth County plan for the property and the people who share it.

Planning for a lake home

• Trusts. A revocable trust can hold the property, name who manages it after you, and set out how it passes to the next generation, often without a court-supervised probate.
• Shared-ownership rules. A trust or LLC agreement can cover scheduling, upkeep, a maintenance fund, and what happens when one owner wants to sell their share.
• Property in two states. Owning real estate in a state where you don’t live can mean a second probate in that state. Planning ahead can avoid it.
• Taxes. Illinois has its own estate tax, and Wisconsin currently does not. Where you live and how property is titled both matter.

Wisconsin-specific issues

• Community property. Wisconsin is a community property state, which affects how married couples own assets and how those assets pass.
• Probate. Estates of Walworth County residents, and Wisconsin real estate in Walworth County owned by non-residents, are handled through the Walworth County Circuit Court in Elkhorn.
• Powers of attorney and health care directives for financial and medical decisions if you can’t make them yourself.

Because GKWW also has offices in Chicago and Naperville, we can coordinate plans for families whose homes, accounts and heirs are on both sides of the state line. See also our firm-wide Estate Planning practice. Our Lake Geneva office is at 500 Commercial Court, Suite 300. Meet our Wisconsin team. This page is general information, not legal advice. Every family and property is different; contact us to talk about your situation.