For many families, reviewing someone's will or estate plan is a technical process. Everyone already knows what to expect, so there are no surprises in the early stages of estate administration. For a small number of families, the terms in the estate plan will come as...
Minnesota Probate and Estate Planning Blog
3 solutions for your home in your estate plan
The equity you have built up in your home over the years is potentially your biggest source of personal wealth. It may be the most valuable thing you have to pass on to your loved ones when you die. Especially if you are now the sole owner of the home where you live,...
How a personal representative handles an estate’s debts
There are many responsibilities that fall to the personal representative of someone's estate. Their job includes securing property, presenting financial and estate documents to the probate courts and even paying off debts on behalf of the estate. Debts owed by the...
3 estate planning tips to protect your children
As a parent who is working on your estate plan, there is one thing that you need to consider above all else: how to protect your children. There are estate planning tools that will help you protect your kids if you are suddenly incapacitated or pass away, and those...
Can you turn down being the executor of an estate?
You never expected to lose a parent so early in your life. Being a relatively young adult, you thought that you’d have your parents with you for much longer. Since both have now passed away, you weren’t surprised that you had been named the executor of the estate....
3 ways to protect your children when drafting an estate plan
Becoming a parent is frequently the reason why people choose to create estate plans. They worry that their children will be vulnerable if anything ever happens to them, so they take action to offset some of those risks. Whether you just learned about a pregnancy or...
My fiancé wants a prenup. Does that mean they are preparing for divorce?
Despite a significant increase in their popularity in recent years, prenuptial agreements still carry a significant amount of social stigma. People tend to associate a prenuptial agreement with one spouse trying to gain the upper hand over the other or a couple...
Do you need to establish a pet trust?
Many people have prized animals that they keep as both pets and assets. They may have a dog that is a national dog show winner or an animal that has taken the internet by storm and gained unimaginable fame. When you have a pet that is so valuable to you, it’s a good...
3 times Minnesota estate administrators have to worry about taxes
The person who serves as the administrator of an estate has many different responsibilities. They need to locate and secure the assets of the estate. They have to notify beneficiaries and creditors about probate proceedings. They have to file paperwork with the...
3 important estate planning updates for after divorce
You share almost every aspect of your life with your spouse, so divorce will mean major upheaval for both of you. Once you sort out how to split up your property and handle matters involving any children that you share, you likely want to put the marriage behind you...