Determination and distribution of net income

Wis. Stat. § 701.1110

in effect

In the case of an estate of a decedent or after an income interest in a trust ends, the following rules apply: (1) A fiduciary of an estate or of a terminating income interest shall determine the amount of net income and net principal receipts received from property specifically given to a beneficiary under the rules in ss. 701.1112 to 701.1135 that apply to trustees and the rules in sub. (5). The fiduciary shall distribute the net income and net principal receipts to the beneficiary who is to receive the specific property. (2) A fiduciary shall determine the remaining net income of a decedent’s estate or a terminating income interest under the rules in ss. 701.1112 to 701.1135 that apply to trustees and by: (a) Including in net income all income from property used to discharge liabilities. (b) Paying from income or principal, in the fiduciary’s discretion, fees of attorneys, accountants, and fiduciaries; court costs and other expenses of administration; and interest on death taxes, but the fiduciary may pay those expenses from income of property passing to a trust for which the fiduciary claims an estate tax marital or charitable deduction only to the extent that the payment of those expenses from income will not cause the reduction or loss of the deduction. (c) Paying from principal all other disbursements made or incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent’s estate or the winding up of a terminating income interest, including debts, funeral expenses, disposition of remains, family allowances, and death taxes and related penalties that are apportioned to the estate or terminating income interest by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law. (3) A fiduciary shall distribute to a beneficiary, including a trustee, who receives a pecuniary amount not determined by a pecuniary formula related to a transfer tax interest at the legal rate set forth in s. 138.04 on any unpaid portion of the pecuniary amount for the period commencing one year after the decedent’s death or after the income interest in the trust ends. The interest under this subsection shall be distributed from net income determined under sub. (2) or from principal to the extent that net income is insufficient. For purposes of this subsection, the deferred marital property elective share amount elected by a surviving spouse under s. 861.02 (1) is a bequest of a pecuniary amount not determined by a pecuniary formula related to a transfer tax. (4) A fiduciary shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions required under subs. (1) to (3) in the manner described in s. 701.1111 to all other beneficiaries, including a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount determined by a pecuniary formula related to a transfer tax. (5) A fiduciary may not reduce principal or income receipts from property described in sub. (1) because of a payment described in s. 701.1130 or 701.1131 to the extent that the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law requires the fiduciary to make the payment from assets other than the property or to the extent that the fiduciary recovers or expects to recover the payment from a 3rd party. The net income and principal receipts from the property are determined by including all of the amounts the fiduciary receives or pays with respect to the property, whether those amounts accrued or became due before, on, or after the date of a decedent’s death or an income interest’s terminating event, and by making a reasonable provision for amounts that the fiduciary believes the estate or terminating income interest may become obligated to pay after the property is distributed.

Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/701.1110Fetched: 10/7/2026