Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: February 22, 2024 Contact: Scott Grosz, Principal Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 667
Senate Substitute
Amendment 1
2023 SENATE BILL 667
2023 Senate Bill 667 creates a new type of domestic asset protection trust, called a legacy trust. Among
its distinctions from other trusts that may be created under Wisconsin law, a legacy trust would differ in
the treatment of its spendthrift provision. Generally, a spendthrift provision is a term of a trust that
restricts transfers of a beneficiary’s interest in the trust. Treatment of a spendthrift provision in a legacy
trust would differ from treatment of spendthrift provisions in other trusts in numerous ways, most
prominently in that the settlor or transferor of assets to a legacy trust may also be the beneficiary of the
trust. Claims against assets in legacy trust are also limited as compared to claims that may be made
against other trusts. While assets in a legacy trust would be subject to claims for child support, those
assets would not be subject to claims for public support. Other claims against assets in a legacy trust
would be time-barred, generally 18 months after the transfer of the asset to the trust, unless the transfer
was made in order to defraud a creditor.
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1
Relative to the bill as introduced, Senate Substitute Amendment 1 makes two changes. First, the
substitute amendment reorganizes the law authorizing creation of a legacy trust as a new subchapter of
ch. 701, Stats., rather than creating the provisions in a new chapter of the statutes.
Second, with respect to a transferor who is married at the time of a qualified disposition to a legacy
trust, the substitute amendment specifies the following:
The provisions of the legacy trust law apply to any of the transferor’s individual property that is the
subject of the disposition.
The provisions of the legacy trust law may apply to any of the transferor’s marital property, but only
if one of the following occurs:
o Notice of the disposition, in prescribed form, is provided to the transferor’s spouse.
o The spouse of the transferor executes written consent to the disposition after being provided the
information set forth in the notice.
BILL HISTORY
Senator Knodl introduced 2023 Senate Bill 667 on November 9, 2023, and offered Senate Substitute
Amendment 1 on February 16, 2024. On February 20, 2024, the Senate adopted Senate Substitute
Amendment 1 and passed Senate Bill 667 on successive voice votes.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
SG:jal