Wisconsin: Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements

Requirements one by one

Wisconsin uses reasonable periods, not fixed day counts

Wis. Stat. § 701.0813(2)(b) requires acceptance notice within a reasonable period
after the trustee accepts. It states the acceptance and gives the trustee's name,
address, and telephone number.

Paragraph (2)(c) uses a separate reasonable period after the trustee learns that an
irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable,
whether by the settlor's death or otherwise. The statute does not convert either
reasonable period into 30, 60, 90, or 120 days.

The recipient class includes statutory stand-ins

Wis. Stat. § 701.0110(1)–(3) gives qualified-beneficiary rights to an identified
charitable organization that is a current or presumptive remainder beneficiary, to an
animal or noncharitable-purpose trust enforcer, and in the stated charitable-trust
circumstance to the Wisconsin attorney general.

The irrevocability notice has six content groups

The notice states the trust's existence and identifies the settlor or settlors. It
also gives the name, address, and telephone number of every directing party and trust
protector.

The remaining items are rights: to request either interest-related trust portions or
the complete instrument, to request administration information, and to receive the
statutory trustee's report. Trustee contact information belongs expressly to the
separate acceptance notice, not the paragraph (2)(c) content list.

General delivery rules remain functional

Wis. Stat. § 701.0109(1) requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances
and likely to result in receipt. Examples include first-class mail, personal delivery,
delivery to the last known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic
message. Under § 701.0109(3), notice may be waived, and a person whose identity or
location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable need not receive it. No
publication fallback is stated.

The trust can change or eliminate the information rights

Wis. Stat. § 701.0105(1) makes trust terms the general control, and its mandatory-rule
list does not include § 701.0813. Section 701.0813(7) is even more direct: the trust
instrument may expand, restrict, eliminate, or otherwise vary a beneficiary's
information rights for any period, including the beneficiary's lifetime.

When rights are restricted or eliminated, no representative is serving, and the trust
provides no appointment route, the trustee may appoint a representative for the
beneficiary or class.

What trips people up

• There is no numerical deadline. “Reasonable period” is the statutory measure.
• Directing-party and trust-protector contacts are required. The current
  irrevocability notice expressly lists each one's name, address, and telephone number.
• The qualified-beneficiary definition has two parts. Wisconsin includes current
  beneficiaries and presumptive remainder beneficiaries.
• No sworn service package is prescribed. The notice needs no perjury declaration,
  signature, notarization, certified mail, email consent, or proof-of-service form.

Common questions

Must the trustee provide the complete trust instrument?

Not always. Upon a qualified beneficiary's request, § 701.0813(2)(a) lets the trustee
provide either the portions relating to that beneficiary's interest or the complete
instrument. A settlor who requests a copy receives the instrument, although subsection
(6) says the trustee has no general duty to provide the settlor administration
information.

Who automatically receives annual reports?

Under § 701.0813(3), current beneficiaries receive them. Presumptive remainder
beneficiaries receive them when they request them. A report to a beneficiary of a
specific dollar amount or specific property may be limited to information concerning
that gift.

Can a qualified beneficiary waive information?

Yes. Section 701.0813(4) permits waiver of reports or other information and
prospective withdrawal. Neither it nor § 701.0109(3) requires a written waiver.

Which older events are excluded?

The acceptance, irrevocability, and report provisions do not apply to a trustee
accepting before July 1, 2014, an irrevocable trust created before that date, or a
revocable trust becoming irrevocable before that date.

Statutes and sources

• Wis. Stat. §§ 701.0103(21), 701.0105, 701.0109, and 701.0110 — recipient
  definition, trust-term control, delivery and waiver, and special qualified-
  beneficiary rights. Official certified Chapter 701
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Wis. Stat. § 701.0813(1)-(7) — reasonable-period notices, contents, request
  rights, reports, waiver, legacy dates, settlor information, and trust-term variation.
  Official Wisconsin Statutes
  (accessed 2026-07-31).