Updated August 14, 2026. Quick answer: Wisconsin fixes the petition filing fee at $20 by statute, and the periodic accounting is annual, on A fixed calendar date. Everything on this page is quoted from the jurisdiction’s own statute or an official court schedule, and where Wisconsin publishes no figure this page says so rather than printing an estimate. What drives the rest of the bill — lawyers, an investigation, a capacity evaluation — is on what guardianship costs.
What Wisconsin fixes by statute
| Item | What the text says | Where it says it |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | Ad valorem and estate-only. The register in probate collects, for filing a petition for guardianship of the estate under Ch. 54 or an application for conservatorship under s.54.76, $20 if the property (less encumbrances, liens or charges) is $50,000 or less, and 0.2% of that value if more; the fee is paid at the time of filing the inventory, not at petition. S.814.66(1) prescribes no fee for a petition for guardianship of the person. The $20 rises to $36 effective 2026-11-01 under 2025 Wis. Act 179; as of the retrieval date the operative figure is $20. | Wis. Stat. s.814.66(1)(b)2. (2023-24 Stats., published and certified 2026-08-05); threshold from s.867.03(1g) |
| Bond | The appointment order specifies the amount of any bond required of the guardian of the estate; ‘No bond may be required for the guardian of the person.’ The court may waive the bond (a) at any time, (b) if so requested in a will containing the nomination, or (c) if the guardian has or will have funds of the ward totalling $100,000 or less and the court directs deposit into an insured joint account payable only on further court order. | Wis. Stat. s.54.46(4)(a)-(b) |
| Guardian ad litem and attorney fees | Unless the court directs otherwise, GAL compensation is paid from the ward’s income or assets if sufficient and by the county of venue if insufficient – but if the petition is dismissed the court shall order the petitioner to pay the gal’s compensation. Where the county pays, the amount ordered may not exceed the private-bar rate under s.977.08(4m)(b). Separately, if a guardian is not appointed, the petitioner is liable for fees due the GAL and the proposed ward’s legal counsel (s.54.46(3)(c)). | Wis. Stat. ss.54.74, 54.46(3)(c) |
| Periodic accounting or report | Annual, on A fixed calendar date. Except for small estates or unless waived by the court, every guardian – including a corporate guardian – must file a sworn account before april 15 of each year covering the preceding calendar year; on the guardian’s motion the court may instead order filing within 60 days after the anniversary of qualification. The guardian must also report any change in the status of the surety on the bond, and must produce evidence of all securities, depository accounts and investments for examination. Small estates (income and assets not exceeding the s.867.03(1g) amount, i.e. $50,000) are excused unless the court orders otherwise. | Wis. Stat. s.54.62(1)-(3) |
What the proceeding is called here. Guardian of the person and guardian of the estate (Ch. 54); a voluntary conservator is a separate, self-requested proceeding under s.54.76.
The filing fee
Ad valorem and estate-only. The register in probate collects, for filing a petition for guardianship of the estate under Ch. 54 or an application for conservatorship under s.54.76, $20 if the property (less encumbrances, liens or charges) is $50,000 or less, and 0.2% of that value if more; the fee is paid at the time of filing the inventory, not at petition. S.814.66(1) prescribes no fee for a petition for guardianship of the person. The $20 rises to $36 effective 2026-11-01 under 2025 Wis. Act 179; as of the retrieval date the operative figure is $20.
It is not one number. The statute states it as: $20 if property <= $50,000, else 0.2% of value; $36 replaces $20 on 2026-11-01
Read at statute source on 2026-08-12: Wis. Stat. s.814.66(1)(b)2. (2023-24 Stats., published and certified 2026-08-05); threshold from s.867.03(1g).
The bond
The appointment order specifies the amount of any bond required of the guardian of the estate; ‘No bond may be required for the guardian of the person.’ The court may waive the bond (a) at any time, (b) if so requested in a will containing the nomination, or (c) if the guardian has or will have funds of the ward totalling $100,000 or less and the court directs deposit into an insured joint account payable only on further court order.
The court may require additional security or may require a corporate surety bond, the premium thereon to be paid from the ward’s estate.
Read at statute source on 2026-08-12: Wis. Stat. s.54.46(4)(a)-(b).
Who pays the premium is answered only for one kind of estate. The single premium-allocation rule in Wisconsin’s guardianship chapter sits in the article governing estates funded by veterans’ benefits, and it does not reach an ordinary guardianship.
Do not read that across to a general guardianship. For every other estate Wisconsin states no rule on who bears the premium, and no figure for what one costs is published anywhere this project could verify.
Guardian ad litem and attorney fees
Unless the court directs otherwise, GAL compensation is paid from the ward’s income or assets if sufficient and by the county of venue if insufficient – but if the petition is dismissed the court shall order the petitioner to pay the gal’s compensation. Where the county pays, the amount ordered may not exceed the private-bar rate under s.977.08(4m)(b). Separately, if a guardian is not appointed, the petitioner is liable for fees due the GAL and the proposed ward’s legal counsel (s.54.46(3)(c)).
Read at statute source on 2026-08-12: Wis. Stat. ss.54.74, 54.46(3)(c).
How often you have to account
Annual, on A fixed calendar date. Do not carry that assumption across a state line: the interval is set by each state separately, several are biennial or triennial, and your own appointing court can order more often than the statutory minimum. The document that governs you is your order.
Annual, on A fixed calendar date. Except for small estates or unless waived by the court, every guardian – including a corporate guardian – must file a sworn account before april 15 of each year covering the preceding calendar year; on the guardian’s motion the court may instead order filing within 60 days after the anniversary of qualification. The guardian must also report any change in the status of the surety on the bond, and must produce evidence of all securities, depository accounts and investments for examination. Small estates (income and assets not exceeding the s.867.03(1g) amount, i.e. $50,000) are excused unless the court orders otherwise.
Read at statute source on 2026-08-12: Wis. Stat. s.54.62(1)-(3).
What an accounting has to contain, and the duties that come with it, are on the guardian accounting duties page.
What this page does not tell you
All four items this page set out to establish were read at primary and are stated above with their cites. What is missing everywhere, in every state, is a price: what an attorney charges to bring an uncontested petition, what a court-ordered capacity evaluation or investigation costs, and what a surety charges for the bond. None of it is published by any authority, and this page does not estimate it.
Where this fits
The filing fee is the smallest part of what a guardianship costs, and the national page sets out the costs that are larger and are not published anywhere. If nobody has been appointed yet, the comparison that actually matters is against the document that avoids this proceeding entirely — guardianship against a power of attorney.
Sources
| Item | Citation | Tier | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | Wis. Stat. s.814.66(1)(b)2. (2023-24 Stats., published and certified 2026-08-05); threshold from s.867.03(1g) | statute | 2026-08-12 |
| Bond | Wis. Stat. s.54.46(4)(a)-(b) | statute | 2026-08-12 |
| Guardian ad litem and attorney fees | Wis. Stat. ss.54.74, 54.46(3)(c) | statute | 2026-08-12 |
| Periodic accounting or report | Wis. Stat. s.54.62(1)-(3) | statute | 2026-08-12 |
General consumer information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Guardianship and conservatorship are governed by STATE law and differ materially between states; every figure here is quoted from the cited source as read on the date shown and changes without notice. Read as of August 14, 2026.