trust

5 Quick Tips for Trustees on Upholding Fiduciary Duties & Avoiding Conflicts

by Margie Jennings Meier May 20, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Serving as a trustee is not to be taken lightly. This is because in the context of trusts and estates, a fiduciary relationship exists between the trustee (a/k/a fiduciary) who holds and keeps a property [...]

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In re Stisser Grantor Trust & the Implications for Revocable Trust Language

by Emma Maddy April 16, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Statutory Presumptions Minnesota statutes provide a set of default interpretations for some of the language used in Minnesota wills.1 Unless a will includes language to the contrary, these statutes provide interpretations for things such as what [...]

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Trustee and Custodian: What’s the Difference?

by Stephanie Schweiger February 18, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Trustee A trustee is a fiduciary with a high degree of responsibility.  As a fiduciary, a trustee has legal duties that he or she must perform.  As discussed in Maggie Green’s series of posts, those [...]

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[Un]married with Children

by Maggie Green February 1, 2013 Estate Planning 101

A couple in love has a baby but they haven’t tied the knot. Many times they also haven’t created an estate plan.  Unfortunately, the unwed parents in love need an estate plan more than married [...]

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The handy dandy super easy estate planning checklist

by Maggie Green January 17, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Make this your new year’s resolution.  Or don’t.  Either way, these six things should give you peace of mind that your family and friends will not struggle through the probate process. 1. Make a list of [...]

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1 or 2: Joint vs. Separate Revocable Trusts

by Jen Santini January 7, 2013 Trusts

We have written about the benefits of utilizing revocable trusts for incapacity planning, probate avoidance and out-of-state real estate. However, we often get the question from couples, “Why do we need two trusts? Why can’t [...]

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Trust Protectors

by Jayne Sykora December 4, 2012 Trusts

When a trust is created, it is always important to choose the right trustee. Generally, a trustee should be an individual(s) or company that is detail-oriented and will follow all required fiduciary duties. In previous [...]

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The Basics of Spendthrift Trusts

by Sarah Leonard November 21, 2012 Estate Planning 101

What is a Spendthrift Trust? A spendthrift trust is one in which the right of a beneficiary to future payments from the trust cannot be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred by the beneficiary or reached by [...]

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Pre-Planning for Death: Part 1

by Jill Sauber October 2, 2012 Guest Articles

This is the first in a three part series on pre-planning for your death. This series is written by Jill Sauber, a current law student and licensed mortician.    People often segue into talking about [...]

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Technology Outpaces the Law – Assisted Reproduction

by Jamie Held June 25, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Historically, determining a decedent’s heirs was easy – determine all of the decedent’s living family members on the date of decedent’s death and if decedent’s wife was pregnant on the date of his death, wait [...]

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Unintended Consequences: Naming a Child as Beneficiary of Life Insurance

by Anna Lima June 6, 2012 Estate Planning 101

If you are one of the millions of parents who own a life insurance policy, you may have your child named individually as a primary or contingent beneficiary if you were to pass away while [...]

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