T&E Solo Pack · Wisconsin · Week Of May 25, 2026

Wisconsin.

Your state's pack. New issue every Monday. Bookmark it. I built this for the Wisconsin T&E solo who knows the probate code and the Marital Property Act cold but still loses an afternoon a week tracking the moving ForwardHealth / estate-recovery pieces.

For licensed attorneys. This pack is general legal information and professional commentary for practicing attorneys — it is not legal advice, does not apply to any specific matter, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Verify every authority against the cited primary source before relying on it with a client. Published by Mike Moss, a Utah-admitted attorney, as an AI-enablement information product; it is not an offer of legal services and is not a representation that the author is admitted to practice in your jurisdiction.

WI
Wisconsin · Badger State
UPC — No (own Chapters 851–882)
Marital (Community) Property — Yes (ch. 766)
LTC — Wisconsin Medicaid / ForwardHealth (DHS)
Estate Recovery — Expanded (probate + nonprobate)
T&E Solo Pack Built for Wisconsin attorneys
The Big Three · Week Of May 25, 2026

Here's what I'd want you to see from last week.

Three developments I think actually matter to a Wisconsin T&E solo. Each has a read that lands on your practice specifically — and each comes with a reachable citation so you can verify it yourself before you use it with a client.

01

Wisconsin runs one of the most aggressive expanded estate-recovery programs in the country.

Recovery reaches the member's estate, the surviving spouse's estate, certain nonprobate property (life estates, living trusts), and liens on the home (Wis. Stat. §§ 49.496, 49.682, 49.849; expansion since 2014).

This is the structural fact a Wisconsin Medicaid plan is built around — a TOD deed or living trust alone does not defeat recovery, and recovery can reach assets at the community spouse's later death. Plan for nonprobate reach, not just probate avoidance.

Wis. Stat. §§ 49.496, 49.682, 49.849 · docs.legis.wisconsin.gov

02

The Marital Property Act (ch. 766) drives both the basis and the recovery math.

Wisconsin is a marital-property (community-property-equivalent) state; the estate-recovery presumption that the community spouse's assets also belonged to the institutionalized spouse is read consistently with Wis. Stat. § 766.31. The TOD deed lives at § 705.15 and requires spousal joinder under the Marital Property Act.

Marital property gives a double step-up at the first death — but the same classification feeds the expanded-recovery presumption. Coordinate the basis benefit, the § 705.15 joinder requirement, and the recovery exposure in one analysis.

Wis. Stat. ch. 766 (§ 766.31); § 705.15 · docs.legis.wisconsin.gov

03

The 2026 federal figures are set — and Wisconsin uses the higher home-equity tier.

Maximum CSRA is $162,660 (minimum $32,532); Wisconsin applies the higher $1,130,000 home-equity limit; MMNA range $2,643.75–$4,066.50.

Two places this lands: community-spouse protection math and high-value-home clients — Wisconsin's higher home-equity tier matters for those clients. Flag the 2028 OBBBA flat $1,000,000 home-equity cap now.

42 U.S.C. § 1396p · CMS 2026 Standards (medicaid.gov)

Week Of May 25, 2026

This week.

This week in Wisconsin for the T&E solo with Wisconsin Medicaid / ForwardHealth clients: what the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, and DHS estate-recovery bulletins put in front of you.

The State Bar of Wisconsin CLE calendar, the RPPT Section, and the DHS / ForwardHealth estate-recovery updates all publish on different schedules. This is that sift, already done, with the link on each item.