Formal Wisconsin Estate Administration refers to the process by which a court-appointed personal representative (executor) manages the estate of a deceased person and distributes the assets according to their wishes. The process involves filing the appropriate paperwork with the court, collecting all assets, paying any outstanding debts, and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries. The process can be divided into three separate stages: Probate, Inventory and Distribution. Informal Wisconsin Estate Administration is a simplified version of the formal estate administration process. It is used when there is no will or if the assets are worth less than $50,000. In this case, the court does not appoint a personal representative. Instead, the family or beneficiaries of the deceased person can file an affidavit with the court to transfer the assets to them. In some cases, the court may require a hearing to ensure the assets are distributed according to the wishes of the deceased person. The two types of Wisconsin Estate Administration are thus formal and informal.