Disclaiming Property in a Minnesota Probate

Posted on February 8, 2022 by jlawyer

Disclaiming Property in a Minnesota Probate You’re, more than likely, not required to inherit anything from a loved one. It’s actually a privilege that you even have a chance to chose what will happen to the property. Internalize that there could be individuals and whole families who were unable to have the chance to receive from the estate because of how much debt needs to be paid off.

Minnesota probate law tends to favor debts over allowing families to divide assets among themselves. Inheriting from the estate is almost always, in one way or another, an optional matter. There may be circumstances why you might not benefit from this transaction, as in the case that it causes you to lose benefits. So, don’t proceed blindly when making a choice on the matter.

Rational for Refusal

First of all, some people don’t want to have to pay for inheritance taxes. It may not be their desire for that kind of responsibility. Moreover, what money needs to be put into a run-down car or moldy home could be more than it’s worth in terms of cash, time, and effort. Not everything that can be left to a beneficiary is going to be automatically worth something to them. Any beneficiary should look at what assets they might be able to inherit before they actually say yes to inheriting them.

There’s also the chance that they’re not trying to abandon their benefits. Money and government benefits don’t always work together for the beneficiary’s interests should said beneficiary chose to take those assets.

Simply throwing a home into the will and designating it to them may or may not be the best decision. For those of you who are working on your estate planning still, try researching ways to work around this kind of issue. As for those of you presently working through the probate process, consider your options wisely and what ramifications your choices will bring about.

Ten Years

Inheriting someone’s IRA account may sound like a wonderful idea at first. The catch to that, however, is that you may be required to have the account paid out over the course of ten years. Rules have changed since 2020 so that keeping the money flowing in the family is harder.

Because of how things are set up, it may be wiser to keep the money designated to one person because of how inheriting that money may impact other beneficiaries. Should you look into inheriting anything in the future, assume that you’ll have to withdraw those funds within the next decade.

Your big concern might be for how your impact will change the Minnesota probate inheritance of other beneficiaries. It’s completely possible that someone else might be able to withdraw and use the funds for a longer time than you can. Talking with the other beneficiaries is of high importance so that you both can plan for what’s best.

They might not know it at first, but everyone may soon realize that they’re of drawing from the same metaphorical well. You may not be expected to communicate everything. Nonetheless, be aware of what happens when someone attempts to pull from the well and the water has run dry.

Disclaiming or Disinheriting Property

Disinheriting your inheritance doesn’t give you any real authority over who will get it instead. You’re really forfeiting all control over it if you disinherit the asset before you legally become an owner. If you want to give it to someone else, consider who it will go to if you don’t inherit it.

A contingent beneficiary will probably obtain your share, leaving you with nothing in turn. State law will most likely be implemented to figure out who gets your inheritance so that everyone knows where the money or property should go to.

Understand that you might not be treated as if you were a beneficiary at all once you disinherit the property. Yes, there might be writing and documents that said that you were previously a beneficiary of the estate, but once you give up that right, there may be no going back.

You must realize that this is a total forfeit of your control of the assets. Seriously look into who’s going to get these assets instead of you. If you want them to go to your mother or father, as an example, make sure they will actually go to that person and work out a plan. You may need to take ownership over the assets first and then give them to the person who you want them to go to.

Disclaiming Paperwork

You may not have much time to figure out whether or not you want to inherit the property. Nine months could be the most amount of time that you have, and that timer starts right when the deceased passes on. Should you have only considered this recently, work hard on figuring out if you want to disinherit the property. Once the calendar hits nine months from the passing, that property might automatically go to you regardless of how you feel about the situation.

Disclaiming the property also requires the right kind of paperwork to be filled out. Getting it notarized, signed, and filed should be the bare minimum of what you need to do. Informing the executor about the matter might be a wise step to take as well. Then, bring everything to the probate court as soon as you can.

Don’t delay. Then, the IRS might be happy. Though, if you already accepted any part of the estate, the IRS might consider your paperwork to be invalid. Be careful how you approach this matter. Taking any percentage and refusing the other parts may make people question what’s really going on.

Disclaimer Advice from a Probate Lawyer

Work with a Minnesota probate attorney to figure out your present challenges. In case you have questions relating to laws of inheritance or what kind of taxes you might need to pay, help might be just a phone call away.

Making that final decision as to whether or not you want to keep what you’re supposed to inherit may rely on multiple different factors. Wanting someone else to receive the property or wanting to keep your benefits are two understandable reasons.

There could also be the concern that you want help to ensure that someone can inherit the property despite the outstanding debts. Should you ever need assistance with probate-related issues, contact Flanders Law Firm LLC by dialing 612-424-0398.

Does a Will Have to be Probated In Minnesota?

Posted on February 4, 2022 by jlawyer

Does a Will Have to be Probated In Minnesota?

When it comes to wills and probate law, the former tends to greatly intertwine with the latter. You can go through a Minnesota probate without having a will on hand. That means, however, that most of the situation will be governed by the governing parties.

Estate planning tends to consist of your endeavors to try and state how you want your estate to be handled. Some of it may not work out if something doesn’t hold up in court, but if everything is done properly, you could potentially put everything you own into the right estate planning tools and have it sent to the right parties.

Your will might be, on another note, the central document for your estate planning. You could try and use trusts to redistribute your assets, but that all depends on your preferences. Wills tend to be the main tool for listing out your beneficiaries and assets. When in doubt, consider your will as starting point to help all the parties involved.

Who Gets What Stuff

It’s important to understand the role that wills can play in redistributing your assets. There’s also the fact that the will must be authenticated and can be challenged during this legal event, but once it’s clear, the will may dictate who gets what. Probate will probably take place regardless of there being a will or not. Your Minnesota estate planning tools are there to help give you freedom. Not having a will during probate is when the government tends to step in and make sure that all the assets get redistributed while having to figure out who rightfully receives anything.

It cannot be stressed enough how much the lack of a will can set things behind. You cannot neglect anything that’s not put into other estate planning tools such as trusts and you have to account for everything the deceased owned. The probate process is like a sale where everything must go or be accounted for. That includes projects like appraising the assets and finding out how to get them to the beneficiaries. The stuff has to go somewhere and the deceased’s will tends to be the document that everyone relies on.

Must Be Authentic

The will’s authenticity is what may make or break the Minnesota probate process. If it doesn’t prove real, then you have to find out what the next steps are. Proving that the will is important to move things forward. It’s so important to the process that certain states expect that whoever possesses a copy of the will should file for probate as soon as possible. Also, know where the death certificate is. Knowing where that is located can only help you and may prove to be necessary later on. Just as the will can’t be faked, so the passing of the deceased can’t be faked.

Keep in mind that just because the deceased wrote the will doesn’t mean that everything is ready. Parties which are interested in the will can contest it. Factors such as incapacitation can incapacitate the will from having any lasting impact. This is why you might want to consider opting for a living trust so that you can give away the assets before your will can be contested. The more that you can do beforehand to plan out your estate will only help your family to better deal with difficult concerns. If the will is contested, consider the will invalid until it’s proven innocent.

Select the Executor

Going through the probate process without a will probably means someone else gets to decide who the executor can be. While it’s true that not every will names an executor and that you can have a will without naming one, naming an executor might make the process easier. Assume that the government will decide who is going to be the executor if you don’t. It can’t be overestimated how much power you forfeit by not including more details inside your will. As far as you’re concerned, you might want your executor to memorize your will well before you pass.

That said, there’s a reason why executors are commonly referred to as personal representatives. They’re the person who gets the documents in order to help close out your estate. Without their help, you may as well consider the probate process postponed indefinitely. The people who help to close out your estate must be able to work with them. Select someone who will get along and will know what to do. They’re probably filling in your shoes after all.

Be Truthful

Though this might have been evident from the start, your beneficiaries probably won’t receive anything until after the probate process is complete. That may sound like it’s simple, but there’s a small catch. Your executor has to present all of the transactions pertaining to the estate before anybody can inherit anything. That means they must record and prepare a list of all the things they did when it came to your assets, more or less, and get it cleared.

Your executor has to be truthful to say the least. If the court isn’t happy, your beneficiaries may not be happy. To them, it might just appear that the assets are going through the probate process, but the real fight might prove to be internal. Cooperation is key. Having your will and copies of your other estate planning documents will only help all of those involved. Messing up one small detail could prove costly. Be well aware of what situations might arise in case something of yours is sold for a low amount, and there are still debts to be paid.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers

How you write your will may be different once you look into more about probate law. Your will isn’t the only thing that you can use to make the probate process easier. There are other estate planning tools out there that can help your assets avoid going through the probate process. Contact the Minnesota probate attorneys at Flanders Law Firm LLC. You can always call someone at 612-424-0398 for ideas.

Flanders Law Firm LLC is a resource for whatever concerns you might have concerning preparing for probate in the future and for working on estate planning in the present. Probate isn’t something to be afraid of. Rather, it’s something that you can work through.

Handling a Probate Case without a Will in Minnesota

Posted on January 31, 2022 by jlawyer

Handling a Probate Case without a Will in Minnesota

Don’t think that because the deceased passed on without a will that your family can avoid having to deal with Minnesota probate law.

The truth of the matter is that you may find the situation to be far more reliant on the laws in this land of 10,000 lakes compared to cases that have a will. As a positive suggestion, because of the state in which this case is being held, you may want to look into seeing if an executor can be brought into help be a voice for the family. Below, you’ll find explanations on some of the perks and unique qualities of probate cases here in MN.

Executor Potential

One advantage of living in Minnesota is that if someone dies without a will, someone can petition to be the executor of the estate. The role doesn’t automatically fall to an administrator, and in the case that no one contests the petition to be an executor, the request may pass. That said, the person who wants to become the executor should be the one who opens the probate case and the party to provide the death certificate. It’s recommended, as such, to decide who the executor should be before anyone carries out these tasks.

However, even if someone becomes the executor of the estate, that doesn’t mean that they can make decisions regardless of the laws that are in place. Normally, the property will pass to the closest relations in situations where a will is absent. Whether that’s the deceased’s offspring or their spouse, the close family will most likely automatically receive a larger portion of the inheritance. Note that there should be ways to handle estates where the deceased leaves behind both children and a spouse, and assets can still be passed onto relatives down the family tree.

How to Divide

Since families can vary in how they’re constructed, laws can accommodate for those particular situations. If the surviving spouse and the deceased had no children to give assets to, everything should simply transfer to the living husband or wife. The same situation should occur in the case that there are absolutely no descendants and the wife or husband is the only surviving relation to the deceased. Marriage has its perks.

It’s when other relatives are included in the picture that things tend to get more complicated. If a spouse isn’t involved in inheriting anything, the surviving descendants should be able to get everything and the estate will probably be divided among themselves. As for when there are other descendants and a spouse, then the spouse will normally be able to lay claim to roughly fifteen-hundred thousand dollars worth of the estate’s assets. What remains of the estate may be then divided among the remaining descendants.

No One Remaining

Minnesota law is designed to help any potential beneficiaries inherit the Minnesota intestate estate. This is especially important for cases without a will, as wills are often the main document for listing beneficiaries of the estate. Even if the collective of beneficiaries might have distant cousins, it doesn’t matter if they’re a niece, nephew, parent, or sibling. The executor should only start to become worried about the estate’s well-being when no one who is related to the deceased can be found. Blood relations should be fully researched to any reasonable extent, and anyone who might be related by state law should also be investigated before the executor stops looking.

The executor should by no means consider that they can neglect their duties, especially when it comes to finding beneficiaries. It’s the standard for the executor to do qualitative research on any and all potential leads. Going and researching family heritage lines should come as no surprise. This may even involve placing an ad in the local newspaper. Assume that you must ask every potential candidate before you can take a break.

Nothing to Probate

A handful of Minnesota probate estates can be summarized, meaning that they don’t need to go through the full probate process. However, these cases still allow for beneficiaries to receive from the estate. Summarizing the estate doesn’t change whether or not assets can be inherited. The two big concerns which may change the situation are the deceased’s debts and their estate planning for the remaining assets. These are two issues that can make or break a probate case regardless of there being a will.

The former is simple to explain. If there are too many debts, there might not be enough assets or cash to pay them down. So, everything may be sold to pay the debts off. Concerning the issue of estate planning outside of a will, it’s possible that the deceased crafted irrevocable trusts for their assets. And since the contents of these documents aren’t impacted by probate, there might not be assets to inherit outside of the trusts. It’s possible that other matters may need to be dealt with still, but any asset that’s legitimately in an irrevocable trust might just go from one owner to the next. As a side note, it’s not just Minnesota residents who have to take these two factors into account during probate. They can modify probate cases regardless of which of the fifty states that you reside in.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers

Working on a probate case in Minnesota may take having a Minnesota probate lawyer from this state of winters and waters. How much this state’s laws modifies the case will vary for each case. Though, if there truly isn’t a will to go on, you may want to work on having as much help through the steps that you can have.

In case you talk to anyone about this situation, 612-424-0398 is the number that you can use to find help.

See if Flanders Law Firm LLC can be where you find resolution to the matter at hand so that you can move forward with this case and settle things properly. You may not have a will to go on, but you can have an attorney to work with.

Contesting A Will in Probate | MN Law

Posted on January 24, 2022 by jlawyer

Contesting a Will in a Probate

The following is a brief introduction on what you may want to consider and what you may encounter in the case that you want to refute or change a probate law case. For starters, let’s assume that everyone attempted to do the right thing.

These cases can be, after all, family members trying to interpret a deceased relative’s handwriting and seeking to do their best to carry out those instructions. There are physical limitations of what can be done. Moreover, that’s not even discussing what might be involved when attempting to prove the legitimacy of a will or proving that an estate can be summarized so that it doesn’t need to go through the normal probate process.

Accountable to Who

Oftentimes, a Minnesota probate judge is the one who has final say in the matter overall. The executor may well have input in what’s done immediately, but they’re still ultimately held accountable to a probate judge.

Remember that a probate court is probably going to be what decides who can be executor or administer over the estate in the first place. That said, a probate judge and court may be more involved in probate cases in which a will is not present or cases in which the will was contested.

The will may serve as a supplement to a judge, more or less, and so the judge may need to pay more attention when the will is either invalid or nonexistent. Judges interpret the will, but understand that they’re supposed to do their best to see that its contents are carried out.

Keep in mind that any family member who wants to contest the will should be well aware a negative potential outcome. The result may, in fact, be in the concerned beneficiary’s favor overall. The problem, rather, may be that the judge needs to make different decisions than what the deceased originally intended in the now invalidated will. Invalidating a will may not bring the estate to ruin, but it will probably overturn part of the estate planning that was intended to guide the probate process. Assume that the judge has taken the place of whatever will might have been in the case that this estate planning document is silenced.

Less Assistance | The Court is Not Your Lawyer

Probate judges don’t always need to be fully involved with the probate process. They will probably have say in the matter to some degree, but when the estate is small enough, there’s the chance that they may allow the estate to be summarized, causing the judge to not have as much to worry about. States might have different laws for what kind of estates can be summarized, so make sure you investigate how that may impact the process for you. Not every estate can be summarized, and getting permission to summarize the estate is often a sign of goodwill.

The one thing that will probably impact this the most is the overall worth of the estate. Larger estates tend to mean that there needs to be more court involvement. As the price of the estate increases, so does the likelihood that there will need to be more involvement by a judge. Comparatively, a smaller estate may mean that you’ll interact with the court for a fraction of the time compared to what you might do during a normal probate case.

That’s why having a will that’s well setup and maintaining a small estate may make the whole ordeal a lot simpler on your family. In cases like these, you may actually need to present concerns regarding the executor instead of the judge, since the executor may have been acting more on their own because of being allowed to summarize the estate.

No Partiality

As in most legal cases, probate judges are not supposed to show any partiality. Probate courts shouldn’t even want the executor to be someone who intends to buy the deceased’s home. That alone might be something which cripples the intended executor from gaining court approval. Partiality, in fact, might be one of the few things that legitimizes your claim against the court’s decision.

Proving that, nonetheless, might be a more difficult matter. In fact, you may even want to look and see if the judge was lied to and assume that they were acting out of blindness.

Your first concern in this matter should be getting all of the hard facts straight. Find out how much money, how many assets, how much real estate, how many vehicles, and how many items could have been involved in the case. If you find something that should have been included into the final inventory, that item might be your key. Hope that someone just forgot.

Don’t assume that you have a case until you can prove that someone actually did something they weren’t supposed to do. It’s very possible that the property that you wanted to receive had to be sold, and that the judge fully knew of the negative ramifications and approved the sale regardless of the results. Dealing with debt in probate isn’t always pretty.

Emotions or Illegal Will

Should you actually find that you’re looking to challenge the judge’s decision, perhaps the central objective should be to understand all of the elements impacting the judge in question. This could be, in the simplest terms, because of the judge’s emotions playing into their judgment. Choices that don’t make sense in the case are what you need to investigate thoroughly.

That’s why it’s so important that you, as mentioned previously, understand the hard facts concerning the deceased’s estate. You need to actually know what the judge had to work with instead of assuming that they wanted to do the wrong thing. Consider that the judge may have only had the known estate to work with and wasn’t planning on charging anyone else to cover the deceased’s outstanding bills.

You must also understand that the judge may have also considered parts of the will as being unreasonable according to the law. Proving otherwise may be difficult.

That said, matters in which beneficiaries are unnamed and challenge the will aren’t unheard of. Those cases may prove to be more understandable as they may be based off the will not including enough information compared to the will including faulty information. The reality of the matter is that if a judge chose to have someone not carry out a given section of the will, it might be up to you to prove that it should and could have been carried out. Wills are almost always subject to the court’s interpretation, and just because a section of the document was unable to be carried out, it may not invalidate the entire document.

Minnesota Will Contest Lawyers

Cases that actually involved intentionally wrong decisions might not be something that you encounter everyday. Contact a Minnesota probate attorney. Before you do anything in regards to making changes to the final decision, get some advice on the matter from a probate attorney. Request the advice from one at Flanders Law Firm LLC by calling them at 612-424-0398.

They might be able to discern and actually tell you if there’s been any major issues before you do anything. As a positive suggestion, they might even be able to help resolve things so that each party is pleased with the outcome. Involving a one of these lawyers is completely normal and you shouldn’t feel concerned about bringing them in to assist with the overall case. People usually involve them even when things are going smoothly to ensure everything gets done properly.

Estate Planning In Light of COVID-19

Posted on January 19, 2022 by jlawyer

Estate Planning in Light of COVID-19

Being concerned about what might happen next is completely understandable. Becoming incapacitated is a possibility even for people who don’t test positive for COVID-19. While you might be concerned about what might happen to you medically, you might still be able to do something for your health and estate through estate planning law. Your family may want to have power to make the medical decisions that you can’t make on your own.

Preparing for any kind of incapacitation isn’t always about what happens to you medically, moreover. There might be concerns about bringing in a conservator to care for your assets or figuring out how to care for your children. You can set things in place to prepare for testing positive or for other medical circumstances.

COVID Incapacitation

Now might be the time to start working on or reworking your living will. Though every case is different and you should definitely consult your doctor about health matters, it’s possible that being diagnosed with COVID-19 could result in eventual incapacitation. Being in a coma as a result of COVID-19 is a real thing. Your living will is one of the best ways to tell your doctor of what to do next even if you’re unable to mouth the words.

This is the central document if you want your friends and family to know what to do when you become incapacitated or if you are close to passing. Otherwise, they may not know what you’re looking for them to do in various circumstances. Never forget that incapacitation almost never helps you while you’re working on estate planning. That said, it’s wise to do things early on while you’re still healthy, ensuring that incapacitation won’t invalidate anything that you’ve set in place.

POA or Backup

Though you may have no interest in having a guardian or a conservator, it’s important to at least consider them. Unless you have durable power of attorney put into place, you may at least need to have a guardian in order to make medical decisions for you. That may involve someone else getting a bond in order to care for you. Conservators can be there to handle your assets while you’re physically unable to, and that doesn’t mean that a conservator can’t be your guardian and vice versa.

If having a guardian or conservator doesn’t sound appealing, durable power of attorney is almost always a good idea. While it’s true that you need to find someone you trust, a spouse or a best friend are two great options, if you believe that you may need someone to make medical or financial decisions for you, maybe have a bit of say in who decides. Regular power of attorney will not last if you become incapacitated. If you don’t grant durable POA, you may want to make your family aware of them possibly needing to find you a guardian or a conservator.

Caring for the Kids

It’s possible that you might not be the only person who needs a guardian. Your kids might come to depend on one until they can care for themselves. Designating someone else to be their care giver is something that you can do even if your kids enjoy the luxury of a two-parent household. You may be thinking about how the virus will affect you, but you’ve also got to plan for how it may affect the rest of your household.

This doesn’t mean that you have to forfeit your parental rights. Just think of this as making sure that your children will have a home to come to. There’s the chance that both you and your partner could succumb to COVID-19. You may even want to start having the talks sooner than later as they might want to have say in how their kids are taken care of, too. Not every estate planning decision should be done on your own.

Get the Executor

On top of having a will to account for your estate, it might be wise to also designate an executor of your estate. They’re the one who will be accountable for carrying out the contents of your will. While you might just want to draft a will and be done with it, that may not be the best option. Someone has to do all the hard work in your absence and that person may want some heads up.

A will is an essential part of estate planning and you may even want to start there. Nonetheless, don’t neglect figuring out who will do the dirty work. Treat them as you would treat the person that you give durable power of attorney to. All of those debts and creditors that want their money back will have to go through your executor if they want some of your assets. Moreover, they have to do most of their job when you’re not around anymore. While you might talk with the person who previously served as your guardian or conservator, your executor might just have to work while thinking of all the good times that you shared.

Minnesota Estate Planning Lawyers

Yes, you should probably talk to medical professionals if you think you need to get tested. Assuming that you’re healthy, you may want to take the time to speak to someone from Flanders Law Firm LLC. If you’re worried about going in-person, enter 612-424-0398 into your phone and request a free quote.

You can get an estate planning lawyer who’s helped people deal with all sorts of concerns to assist with the fears you might have. Staying healthy is one of the best ways to prevent your concerns from ever coming to fruition, but it never hurts to have a little backup. At least, take the time to talk things through and prepare for better or for worse.

Choosing A Guardian for Your Child | Minnesota Law

Posted on January 13, 2022 by jlawyer

Choosing a Guardian for Your Child

When you think of estate planning, the first thing that comes to your mind might be leaving assets to your children.

Minnesota Guardianship law does a bit more in that you can find someone who can take care of your children when you’re unavailable. Similar to how you can give durable power of attorney to another party, guardianships can be put in place to help you out while you’re still alive.

As a kind of introduction to guardianships for your family, you should think of them as wills for your kids.

Though, it means involving real people not just paper documents. That’s to say that if you don’t have a proper one set into place, a judge will probably have to figure out what’s to be done about the situation. Just as people might be asking where your assets will go, they’ll probably also be asking where your kids will go. Granting guardianship over your kids answers the latter question.

Do Not Let a Judge Choose for You

A judge might have to do it otherwise. That’s the short answer to why picking out a guardian is important for your kids. Say that you and the spouse passed away, leaving a judge to contemplate what’s to be done about your offspring’s welfare. Your choice for a guardian may not even come to the judge’s mind. In almost every estate planning matter, unless you do things the legal way, people might not be able to carry out your plans whatsoever.

If you’re willing to say that something should be done, act on it ahead of time. Your family and friends may not be perfect, but think about who can take care of the children. That’s a huge part. Who has the finances to take care of them, who will raise them to be qualitative individuals, and who will teach them the values that you want them to have are all questions you should contemplate. You may even want to sit down and plan things out.

Backup to a Guardian for Your Child

The person you name as your children’s guardian probably wants your input if they plan on raising your kids just as you intend. That kind of conversation isn’t one that you can summarize in a one-page document and leave them to figure out the rest. Values, expectations, parenting techniques, and college hopes could all be on the table. You’re really finding your children’s next parent here.

They might not become your life partner or adopt the kids, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t make any impact on their lives. Whoever you designate to be their guardian might end up making serious medical decisions for your kids. As far as you’re concerned, treat this like you would treat an adoption, save that you’re not the one adopting. You’re not losing your kids. You’re not forfeiting your rights as a parent. You’re setting up backup for when you can no longer be there for them.

Military Families

Military families face hardships just like any other families. Though, sometimes those hardships come in the form of a parent being stationed away while their child needs them the most. Having a primary and alternative guardian live near your family can make things safer, ensuring that someone can be there in case medical emergencies happen on either side. Life isn’t always ice cream and cake. And the fact is that you can’t always be there to be their hero.

You might want them help provide education for your children. You might want them to fill in the parental role when you’re on tour. Whatever you want your children’s guardian to be has got to be voiced while you still can. It’s time to deal with the reality that you may fall outside of or during combat. Leaving them a fortune is one thing, but leaving them a flesh and blood human being is a whole new level.

Single Parent Household

Being a single mom or dad takes a lot of work. Maybe you just became a single parent due to the loss of your partner. The situation matters little compared to how you handle it. What matters is having someone for them. The sad thing is that you might be the only one to be there for them. Selecting a guardian might be the best option for you and your kids. Unlike dating, there doesn’t need to be any roses or movie nights.

If you’ve been doing this for a while, you probably know how much time that you need to dedicate to your family and good on you for it. However, it’s possible you could become incapacitated, be called away for duty, have to visit a sick relative in another state, or want to see your favorite band in another country. Death is not the only time in which you may want a guardian to be there for your kids. Give them a more stable life by helping bring someone new into their reality.

Minnesota Guardianship Lawyers

Finding a guardian might not be your problem. Perhaps your kids’ uncles and aunts are leaping at the chance. Working out the legal details and jargon is another thing. That’s why you may want a guardianship lawyer from Flanders Law Firm LLC. You can grab a free quote at 612-424-0398 before you begin and go from there.

Don’t worry about getting your kids involved unless you feel they might want to have say in the mater. This isn’t putting them up for adoption. This is helping ensure that they can have a better tomorrow. If you really feel pressured to give your children a home with two parents, guarantee that at least one person will be there when you can’t be.

Buying a Home Through a Probate Sale | Minnesota Law

Posted on November 8, 2021 by jlawyer

Buying a Home Through a Probate Sale

At its basis, buying a home which is being sold from a Minnesota probated estate is the same as purchasing a home normally. There are a few details that you may need to work around, depending on the situation, such as a potential auction.

Perhaps you want to even stop the sale from happening in the first place and have good reason for wanting to put a halt to things. One factor you should keep in mind is that this sale might not be happening for purely selfish reasons. The circumstance could well be that the sale is the family’s last chance at staving off debt. It’s best to understand the following so that you know how probate law may change both the selling and buying process.

The Main Reason

Buying a home in a probate sale usually means that it’s going to be sold for a lower price. One contributing factor might be that the original owners aren’t around to take care of it. At least one of the owners is most likely deceased, but that might not be the only contributing factor. These sales often take place because no one wants to or has the ability inherit the property. The price of the home could even be lower than most of the other homes in the area because of how it has been maintained.

Note that these homes aren’t always in the best of conditions. If you like fixing up homes and making them feel like new again, one of these homes might be to your choosing. Don’t expect that there can be much to be done to improve the home before it becomes your property. These are often sold in the condition that they were left it. Assume that the domicile that you see is the lodging that you’ll get.

Stop the Probate Sale

An heir can stop the auction of a home if they aren’t comfortable with a presented offer. The house will probably be sold once the sale takes place, but that doesn’t mean a legal heir won’t want to prevent things before they happen.

Similarly, the court will still need to agree that everything is legal. Moreover, the whole reason why this sale came to be a hypothetical reality could be because the court or executor thought it necessary. This might not be the family’s first choice.

Any heir that hears an offer might want to challenge it. To be on the safe side, presume that the executor is working with at least one heir directly. Executors are duty bound to ensure that the estate is handled just how the deceased wanted, and they might be trying their hardest to keep the will’s beneficiaries happy. Home sales can be a bit more complex when all of the probate details are brought in.

Selling Options

Not all homes that go through probate are sold in a traditional sale. Some are put up for sale in probate auctions. If you’re looking to do a bit of bidding on the home, make sure you look for an ad concerning the home. Both information pertaining to the house and the date of auction have to be made known. You might not need to worry about the heirs as much, but that doesn’t mean the mansion of your dreams will be yours for sure.

Like most auctions, the property goes to the highest bidders. There’s always the chance that there might be other people to provide counter offers on the home. Moreover, these auctions often entail visiting a courthouse to provide any bids. A cashier’s check will be needed as well, as the person who won the auction will need to hand one to the executor. Ten percent of the home’s sale price needs to be provided up front.

MN Probate Home Sale | What to Look Out For

Besides everything that was mentioned previously, you still should be aware of a few things. Firstly, events might take more time than you realize. It may take a longer time to close the home compared to a typical sale. Then, you may also have to wait on the IRS to be satisfied. The estate could still have to settle up so that there are no unpaid estate taxes. When in doubt, consult the executor if you’re wondering what kind of debt the estate might be in and to understand what kind of things need to be accomplished.

On another note, like every home, there might be things that you didn’t know about or the estate didn’t know about. The homeowner may not have notified everyone about the defects such as bad pluming or indoor flooding. Probate sales can also involve working with a special probate real estate agent who’s been trained to handle these kind of matters. You may even have to be prepared for fees relating to legal matters, appraisals, and other relative factors.

Minnesota Probate Home Sale Lawyers

Should you ever find that you’re having difficulty on either side of the purchase, when buying or selling a home through a probate sale, consider talking with a probate lawyer. This doesn’t mean that you should neglect talking to a real estate agent who’s familiar with selling homes through a probate sale, but an attorney might be able to cover various other aspects.

Should the executor have any problems pertaining to the case, involving Flanders Law Firm LLC is a recommended option. Call them at 612-424-0398.

If you’re not sure everything is being handled correctly, a second opinion should always be available.