If you are one of the Minnesotans who has taken the time to create a will, congratulations. The vast majority of Minnesotans have no such estate plan and you’ve taken an important step in ensuring your family is looked after once you’re gone. While it’s great that you made the will, after a while…
How Does Probate Work In Minnesota?
How Does Probate Work in Minnesota? Read on. Probate can be a very confusing process. Many people are unfamiliar with how to probate an estate due to their lack of experience with the subject. In a lifetime, it is likely that a person will only be involved with the probate process once or twice, if ever. While your lack of…
What’s The Minnesota Probate Process All About?
Many people are confused about the Minnesota probate process and are often intimated before taking the time to fully understand how probate proceedings works. First of all, probate is the name for the legal process whereby an estate disposes of its assets. What does that mean exactly? Well, probate is a term that can be…
The Importance Of A Will In Minnesota
Here’s a disturbing fact: approximately 70% of Americans don’t have a will. A Minnesota will is a relatively simple document to draft so why is it that so many people avoid it? Just a few of the common excuses for not having a will include: I don’t have anything worth leaving to my family; I’ve…
What’s a living trust and how does it work in Minnesota?
Though Minnesota estate-planning terminology can sometimes be opaque to those not in the business, a living trust is an example of something that is just what it sounds like it is. The term “living trust” refers to those trusts that are created while you are alive (also known as “inter vivos” trusts) rather than ones…
Minnesota Health Care Directives: What are they and how do they work?
First things first, what exactly is a health care directive? In Minnesota, state law (Minnesota Statutes Section 145C.02) says that health care directives are legal documents that exist to let others know about your opinions regarding important health care matters. Health care directives are also important because they are used in much the same way…
What is a power of attorney and how does it work in Minnesota?
If you’re like most Minnesotans who have bills to pay and a family to look out for, chances are you may have begun thinking about the importance of creating an estate plan. Such planning is essential to safeguard the future for not only yourself, but also the family members who depend on you. One critical…
Minnesota Guardianship Law | Do I need to have a guardianship?
From time to time I get questions from prospective or current client about whether they need to apply for a Minnesota guardianship over minor children or, at times, adults. For instance, below is a question that I recently answered regarding the necessity of applying for a Minnesota guardianship: I have two nieces that want to…
Minnesota IRA Investment: Be careful who you give your money to
Anybody who is considering how to structure their Minnesota IRA Investment, should think twice about who they are giving their money to. Bad Investments, Ponzi-Schemes, and Unscrupulous Companies I was recently made aware of an article written in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a potential ponzi-scheme-like investments right here in Minneapolis. Another Minnesota estate planning…
Minnesota Decree of Descent | Estate Planning and Probate
If you are a personal representative or an executor of an estate, you should be aware of the legal vehicle that is a Minnesota decree of descent. Decree of Descent in Minnesota In Minnesota, whenever any person has been dead for three or more years and their estate has not been probated, an “interested person” can…