Conversion of an Exempt Asset


October 27, 2015
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As I wrote in my past article, Hands Off, Creditors!, when someone passes away intestate in Minnesota there are several assets that pass to a surviving spouse and/or children free from claims and creditors. As a reminder, those assets are: The homestead (under Minn. Stat. §524.2-402); Exempt property, which includes one vehicle (regardless of value) […]

Donor Advised Funds go Mainstream


October 22, 2015
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In the four years since this site last addressed Donor Advised Funds, this tax planning tool has grown significantly in popularity. Between 2011 and 2013, total assets in Donor Advised Funds grew from $38 billion to almost $54 billion, and the trend doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down. While many advisors consider […]

Nuts and Bolts of Real Estate Filings in Minnesota for Estates and Trusts Professionals


October 14, 2015
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As a freelance probate and estate planning legal assistant/paralegal (call me what you like) I work with a lot of real estate documents.  Most commonly I’m involved in preparing and recording… Quit Claim Deeds transferring property into a trust; Deeds of Distribution distributing property out of an estate; Trustee’s Deeds (along with an accompanying Certificate […]

Safely storing and sharing passwords


October 7, 2015
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Maintaining passwords is an evolving game. Experts recommend that you keep different passwords for each online account, all with at least 8 characters comprised of uppercase, lowercase and at least one number/symbol. Personally, this is too much for me to keep track of and so I use a password manager. Many of you may be […]