I wrote the book on Minnesota probate.
When most people think about estate planning, they spend a long time considering how they want to leave their assets. However, if you do not put the same amount of thought into choosing the personal representative who will administer the estate, you may be putting...
Under Minnesota Law, the family of the deceased Loved One has three years after the death to file a probate proceeding in district court. There are a number of circumstances when you may have not gotten around to starting the probate. Sometimes the family may have...
You may already be aware that the death of a relative can bring out raw emotions in most people. Some may withdraw or prefer to remember their loved ones in solitude. Others might let negative emotions take hold, including anger or entitlement. You and other Minnesota...
Death is not always an easy topic to discuss. Though an estate plan can be beneficial to virtually anyone, some parties do not see the full value in it. If you are considering an estate plan, it is important to understand the important aspects of it, such as the...
If you have a family Trust, it may be serving your family and your finances well. On the other hand, the Trust may be needlessly costing your family a large amount of money now or in the future. In that case, you should consider dissolving the Trust. When establishing...
You may feel relieved to know that your adult children will probably not inherit your debts when you die unless they have co-signed on a loan or credit line. However, this is not to say that your debt will not affect them. During probate proceedings, one of the duties...
"That woman was only married to Dad for six months before he passed away. Why should she get anything?" That is a question we have heard a number of times in probate cases. It is a difficult subject for many families when the parent has children from a prior marriage,...
No one likes to think about having to enter a nursing home. The idea can seem especially unfathomable when you are in good health, no matter your age. However, the odds that you will never have to go into a nursing home are not something you want to gamble with....
Planning for your child’s future can be stressful, but that stress further compounds when your child has special needs. The designation of special needs encompasses a broad spectrum of cognitive disabilities and when children near legal adulthood it can be...
Understanding the probate process and what assets it involves will be part of the discussion when you meet with an attorney to prepare your will. For example, if you want to know whether your collection of vintage dolls will be subject to probate, the short answer is...