Ruling on probate dispute tied to criminal case not expected until November

Lincoln County circuit judge Galen Bayne-Allison heard three days of testimony last week related to the question of which legal instrument associated with the late Dallas M. Gropengiser will be formally admitted as his true last will and testament. He is expected to rule on that question in late November.
A Rhinelander native, Gropengiser died in August 2022 at the age of 79. In May 2023, the Oneida County district attorney’s office charged Terrie A. Bowman of Rhinelander, who was acting as the late Mr. Gropengiser’s power of attorney, with one felony count of theft of property with an elderly abuse enhancer. According to court records, that charge stems from a visit Bowman made to a local credit union just days before Gropengiser’s death where she withdrew just over $111,800 from payable on death accounts where Dallas’s only child, Daniel, was previously listed as the beneficiary. All but $4,000 of the funds were then deposited into a new bank account (in both her and her husband’s names) with another financial institution, according to court records. The funds remain “frozen” by a court order issued after the criminal case was filed.
In June 2024, with the criminal case making slow progress through the court system, both Bowman and Daniel Gropengiser filed separate petitions in probate court challenging wills put forth by the other purporting to be the last will and testament of the late Mr. Gropengiser. Daniel Gropengiser is seeking to have a 2019 will, that listed him as the sole beneficiary, admitted while Bowman is seeking admission of a will signed on July 30, 2022 that includes specific bequests to individuals with the residue of the state to go to her. Additional delays ensued before Bayne-Allison determined that the probate case should be resolved before the criminal case moves forward. Most recently, on July 28, Bayne-Allison granted a motion for partial summary judgment filed by Daniel. In that ruling, Bayne-Allison found that Bowman breached her fiduciary duty as Dallas Gropengiser’s power of attorney when she transferred the approximately $111,000 from his account to an account in her name. The power of attorney document explicitly withheld authority for Bowman to make gifts to herself unless a separate provision was completed specifically granting that power, the court ruled.
The remaining probate issue, as to which will is to be admitted, was held over so that evidence could be submitted through a trial to the court. Those proceedings, held Aug. 4-6, featured testimony from Bowman and Gropengiser as well Bowman’s husband, Rick Covin, multiple attorneys, friends of the late Mr. Gropengiser, the late Mr. Gropengiser’s doctor, a notary, former employees of Bowman and Covin’s dining establishment and various professionals who were involved in the late Mr. Gropengiser’s hospice care.
Over the course of three days, various witnesses offered differing information and observations as to the late Mr.Gropengiser’s physical and mental state at the time the July 2022 documents were executed as well as his wishes regarding his estate. The court also heard testimony that two of the individuals who witnessed the signing of the July 2022 will were listed as beneficiaries and therefore could not legally serve as witnesses. Daniel Gropengiser’s attorney also submitted documentation showing that Covin, who admitted to drafting the 2022 will, signed the July 2022 document above a line that said physician and included M.D. after his signature despite never having treated the late Mr. Gropengiser or practiced medicine in Wisconsin. According to testimony, Covin previously practiced ophthalmology in Texas and Michigan but was never licensed in Wisconsin.
In a pretrial order, the court prohibited the media from audio recording Bowman’s trial testimony after concerns were raised regarding the potential for jury trials in both the criminal case and a separate civil case filed by Daniel Gropengiser in July 2025.
After testimony ended on Aug. 6, Bayne-Allison indicated he will hear arguments from counsel and issue a ruling on the will issue on Nov. 23. The criminal and separate civil matter will remain on hold until after the probate matter is resolved. Jury trials on those matters may not be possible until spring or summer 2027, the parties indicated.