We all know the saying about death and taxes being the only certainty in life. Well, ironically, there is very little certainty when it comes to the “Death Taxes.” Just this week, I received a newsletter from an Illinois attorney, Manish Bhatia, in which he explained how President Obama’s new tax proposal included changes to […]
What happens when one dies without a Health Care Directive and has specific wishes regarding the disposition of his or her body? What happens when a dispute occurs amongst remaining loved ones who have differing opinions about the disposition of the deceased’s body? These are important questions to examine when considering whether or not to […]
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” – Unofficial creed of the United States Postal Service Each and every time I’m called-upon to settle an estate, one of my first tasks is to change the decedent’s mailing address. I do this – […]
Name: Heather Gilbert Employer: Gilbert Law PLLC – http://www.gilbertlawpllc.com/ Position: Attorney Location: Roseville, MN Education: Juris Doctor, cum laude, William Mitchell College of Law How long have you been practicing? 1 year What led you to practice in the area of estate planning? I enjoy the client interaction and helping my clients make important plans […]
The question of what happens to a person’s digital property after death is a hot topic these days. Many online service providers are currently grappling with this issue, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and the list goes on.
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 property can be passed via will, what happens when a beneficiary dies before the testator, how and when gifts might […]
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 […]
I field this question every day. My response is always the same, it depends. So, when should someone consider a Trust-based estate plan*? Well, here are a few things to consider: Do you own property in another state? If so, a trust may be a good way to prevent the need for multiple probate proceedings. […]
July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947 Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and the person responsible for developing and manufacturing the first affordable automobile available to middle class Americans. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan and had an early interest in the mechanics of how things worked. It is said […]
We know it can be frustrating when you contact an attorney for the first time and you just have a quick legal question that you think can, and should, be answered rather easily. The attorney then replies, “We need to schedule an for you to come in to discuss the matter.” You really want to […]
Portability is a feature of the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act passed earlier this year. It came as a welcome relief to many but there is still much confusion and skepticism surrounding this concept.