Estate Planning for Young Families

How to properly estate plan for Young Families Many young families put off estate planning because they are young and healthy, or because they don’t think they can afford it. But even a healthy, young adult can be taken suddenly by an accident or illness. And while none of us expects to die while our […]

Minnesota Life Estate and Lady Bird Deeds

What is a Minnesota life estate and how is it set up? A life estate is the right to occupy or use a specified parcel of land for the period of a person’s life. There are a number of ways to set up a life estate. Most common are life estates that are set up by […]

Before you File for Bankruptcy

Before Filing for Bankruptcy, there are things you should handle. When you are looking at bankruptcy as the option to help you settle your debt, taking initiative before going down this route can improve the process and the final results that you receive. If you intend to file bankruptcy, there is a great deal of […]

Minnesota Ancillary Probate – What Does it Mean?

When a situation arises in which you’re dealing with a Minnesota Ancillary Probate, confusion often follows. In this post, we’ll tackle what an Ancillary Probate is, how to deal with it in Minnesota property law, and what your next steps are. Real property (real estate) located in Minnesota, that is not held in joint tenancy, […]

Removing a Trust Holder in a Minneapolis Trust

Removing someone preemptively with a Minneapolis Trust can be difficult. One of the grounds for removing a Minneapolis Trust is where hostility or lack of cooperation among the Co-Trustees impairs the Trust administration. How often do Co-Trustees engage in hostility? All the time! Just look to Minnesota’s most famous estate dispute in our state’s history! […]

What to do with your Home: Joint Ownership or Revocable Trust?

When leaving a home to your children, you can avoid probate by using either joint ownership or a revocable trust, but which is the better method?   If you add your child as a joint tenant on your house, you will each have an equal ownership interest in the property. If one joint tenant dies, […]

Five Commons Ways to Avoid Minnesota Probate

Avoiding Minnesota Probate is essential for both coping with the loss of a loved one and protecting assets. When a loved one passes away, beyond the feelings of grief or loss of companionship, most family members admittedly start thinking about what they will inherit from the decedent’s estate. There is nothing wrong with this curiosity. […]

10 Tips for Writing a Will and Forming a Trust

Will and Trust as Part of Your Greater Estate Plan Broadly defined, estate planning is the process by which someone decides how his assets are to be passed on to others at his death. Estate planning has two general objectives: to ensure that the assets are transferred according to the owner’s wishes and to minimize state and […]

The Iceberg: the True Cost of Litigation Versus Arbitration

Icebergs, scientists tell us, have three fifths of their mass below the surface of the ocean.  Icebergs are an apt analogy for the cost of litigation. Often, what a client sees or projects as the cost of litigation is dwarfed by the unseen costs. Attorney’s fees are but a portion of litigation costs. Expert fees, document preparation […]

Minnesota Business Entity Conversion

Business Entity Conversion can be a long, complicated process. Depending on the type of business you own, its designation can determine many different things about how you function on a daily basis. There may very well come a time when you want to convert your business entity to a different designation. A Minnesota business entity […]