Judicial review of discretionary power
Wis. Stat. § 701.1109
in effect(1) Nothing in this subchapter creates a duty to make an adjustment under s. 701.1104 or to convert a trust to a unitrust under s. 701.1106. Unless it determines that the decision to make an adjustment or to convert to a unitrust was an abuse of the fiduciary’s discretion, a court may not grant relief from any decision a fiduciary makes regarding the exercise of a discretionary power conferred by s. 701.1104 or 701.1106.
(2) An action taken under s. 701.1104 or 701.1106 is not an abuse of a fiduciary’s discretion if the fiduciary gave written notice of the proposed action under s. 701.1105 and did not receive a timely written objection to the notice. It is not an abuse of discretion not to exercise the power to adjust under s. 701.1104 or to convert under s. 701.1106.
(3) A fiduciary’s decision is not an abuse of discretion merely because the court would have exercised the power in a different manner or would not have exercised the power.
(4) If the court determines that a fiduciary has abused the fiduciary’s discretion, the remedy shall be to restore the income and remainder beneficiaries to the positions that they would have occupied had the discretion not been abused, according to the following rules:
(a) To the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in no distribution to a beneficiary or in a distribution that is too small, the court shall order the fiduciary to distribute from the trust to the beneficiary an amount that the court determines will restore the beneficiary, in whole or in part, to the beneficiary’s appropriate position.
(b) To the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in a distribution to a beneficiary that is too large, the court shall place the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in whole or in part, in their appropriate positions by ordering the fiduciary to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to the beneficiary who received the distribution that was too large or by ordering that beneficiary to return some or all of the distribution to the trust.
(c) To the extent that the court is unable, after applying pars. (a) and (b), to place the beneficiaries, the trust, or both in the positions that they would have occupied had the discretion not been abused, the court may order the fiduciary to pay an appropriate amount from its own funds to one or more of the beneficiaries, the trust, or both.
(5) Upon petition by the fiduciary, the court having jurisdiction over a trust shall determine whether a proposed exercise or nonexercise by the fiduciary of a discretionary power conferred under this section will result in an abuse of the fiduciary’s discretion. The petition must describe the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power and contain sufficient information to inform the beneficiaries of the reasons for the proposal, the facts upon which the fiduciary relies, and an explanation of how the income and remainder beneficiaries will be affected by the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power. A beneficiary who challenges the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power has the burden of establishing that it will result in an abuse of discretion.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/701.1109Fetched: 10/7/2026