Divorce is a time of massive change. Change in schedule, change in routine, change in living situation, change in dynamic, change in budget – you name it, it changes after a divorce. Many divorcing couples do not understand, however, that divorce should also be accompanied by a change in estate plans. (An estate plan […]
The end of the year is an ideal time to review your current estate plan and confirm that you are taking advantage of all planning opportunities available to you. This includes not only tax planning, but also asset protection, probate avoidance, beneficiary designations and changes in your family and financial situations. On the other hand, […]
It has been mentioned here on Epilawg a few times already that Minnesota adopted a new trust statute. The specifics of the Minnesota Trust Code can be found in Minn. Ch. 501C (“MN Trust Code”) and has come to fruition by the countless hours and effort of a committee of local trusts and estates attorneys. […]
I know, I know… you have read it over and over again here on Epilawg that it is important to have documents in place for times of incapacity. Yet, as Jayne Sykora and I just attended a conference together, I was reminded of the importance to do so particularly if you own a business. As […]
There are a few items we wanted to remind you about as we wrap up the end of the year and look towards 2014. In no particular order they are: 1. Don’t forget that Minnesota has a gift tax! This gift tax applies to anything given over $1 million in a person’s lifetime (excluding gifts […]
If you have a young adult child coming home for the holidays, the Thanksgiving table might serve as a good opportunity to talk with them about estate planning. While most young adults do not own property or have children that may necessitate a Will, two major estate planning documents are often overlooked by young people […]
While long proven to be a delectable meal, a sandwich as applied to the “sandwich generation” is significantly less appealing. For many of us, we are facing a time where our parents and our children need us simultaneously – and frequently this is occurring during a period in our professional lives when our employers’ and […]
In a previous post I spelled out the basics of the changes made to Minnesota’s Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney that will take effect January 1, 2014. As I mentioned, many of these changes were made to address the potential for abuse. Indeed, a Power of Attorney document gives broad and sweeping powers to […]
Minnesota’s legislators have been busy working up new and exciting changes to Minnesota’s estate planning landscape. Perhaps less controversial and less exciting, (and, some would argue, more concrete) than the new Minnesota Gift Tax, this article will summarize some of the changes made to the Minnesota Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney document. With its […]
One goal of estate planning is to plan for the unforeseen. To do this, in most estate planning documents, a successor is typically named for each primary role. That way, if the primary person(s) that have been nominated in a given role become unavailable or unwilling to act in the role assigned, the successor can […]
In previous posts, the importance of having a Power of Attorney has been discussed (see Maggie Green‘s “The Power of Attorney In Real Life” and my post “Powers of Attorney: The Basics”). In general, the document is a good one to have while you are alive to ensure that important documents and other financial matters […]