Will

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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[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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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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Holographic Wills

by Jayne Sykora June 13, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Recently, at a Wills For Heroes clinic, a first responder asked what the requirements were for a Will to be valid in Minnesota and wondered if a Will could be handwritten. I thought these were [...]

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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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Arresting Motion: Estate Planning for Artists

by Christi Cottrell May 14, 2012 Estate Planning 101

PART IV: HOW? DETERMINING THE TOOLS. “When an artist of talent makes a painting or a sculpture, he is always aware of the potentials and limitations of his materials; the better the artist, the more [...]

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What is probate and do you need to avoid it?

by Carissa Brown May 2, 2012 Estate Planning 101

My clients frequently claim that their number one goal in establishing an estate plan is to “avoid probate.” Upon further discussion, I discover that most have a number of misconceptions regarding what probate actually is. [...]

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ARRESTING MOTION: ESTATE PLANNING FOR ARTISTS

by Christi Cottrell April 25, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Part III: Who? Identifying The Participants. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts[.]” [...]

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Are Equal Shares in Estate Plans Always Appropriate?

by Bobbi Dahlstrom April 23, 2012 Estate Planning 101

I have helped many people draft their estate plan documents and most have been traditional in the sense that they want to be “fair” to their descendants. If there is a spouse all goes to [...]

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Escheat: Could It Happen To Your Estate?

by Jayne Sykora April 9, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Escheat is the forfeit of all property to the state when a person dies without heirs, descendants, or named beneficiaries. Escheat of property occurs when it appears from a petition or application for probate, or [...]

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