Becoming a Minnesota Probate Executor

Posted on May 19, 2021 by jlawyer

Becoming a Minnesota Probate Executor

So, say that there are people who want the will to go through probate. That’s fine. However, someone might have tasked you with the duty of becoming a Minnesota probate executor. Perhaps you’re feeling frightened as if you’re a bride or groom having second thoughts about getting married. To provide some clarity, here’s a bit more information on what this role might demand of you.

Understanding how probate law impacts this situation is key to helping you decide on what’s best for you. This is definitely something you should think about if you’re helping someone start their estate planning ventures or if someone close to you just passed on.

Decide How the Work Gets Done

Working with a probate lawyer can be expected depending on the circumstances. It’s how you work with them that is the part you may want to decide on early on. As the potential executor of the estate, maybe you want the case turned over to the lawyer or perhaps you want to deal with most of the issues yourself and only get outside help when you need it. Either way is perfectly fine, as long as you’re comfortable with the arrangement and the work gets done in some capacity.

For anyone who is planning on becoming an Minnesota executor in the future, it might be wise to discuss this with the person you’re representing well in advance. They might have a lawyer in mind for you, and finding out who that is can make things easier for you.

This is true even for situations where you will be working on most of the estate and ensuring that everything is properly accomplished. After all, one of the central parts to an executor’s role is to ensure that all of the deceased’s wishes were carried out as well as they could have been. And that may mean talking things through with the attorney who helped them set up their estate planning ventures.

Time Commitment

Don’t go into this situation before you’ve factored how long everything may take. Going through probate can take time. This ordeal may go for a half to a full year to get all the stuff finished. Probate may happen so that what wasn’t properly allocated to beneficiaries or was otherwise left untouched can get put in order.

The role of an executor isn’t one that you should rush into. It would be wise to seek guidance if family members or friends of the deceased are pressuring you to accept the role and/or to hurry up the process. Their intentions may be well and good, but that doesn’t mean that you should stress over the matter.

One conversation point that you may want to bring up is that this matter is, more or less, at the mercy of the court. Being appointed as executor lies in their hands. The deceased may have wanted you to be the executor for all intents and purposes. That said, the court will have to appoint you, and even after they do, you’re liable to being held accountable for your actions relating to the deceased’s estate.

Being the executor grants you the ability to help everything move forward, but you can’t decide that nothing more will be done until nothing more needs to be done. Should closing out the estate as soon as possible be your goal, you’re going to need to be on the very best of terms with everyone involved and perhaps guarantee that they’re working on the best of terms with each other.

Those Assets Under Your Protection

It doesn’t matter how many assets that you receive from the estate at the end of all this or how much needs to be sold off. What matters is that you internalize that as executor, you’re not only responsible for how the assets are handled but also how they’re protected. You may be signing yourself up to become a human safe deposit box for the deceased until further notice. This whole ordeal may have started due to some asset-related problem, and should you be the one to cause another bad thing to happen, be prepared to explain yourself.

Moreover, you’re responsible for providing beneficiaries with an estate inventory. They might only be anticipating you to take care of what’s supposed to go to them. Still, they also need a complete inventory of what property you oversaw. This isn’t something you can write off. You’re held accountable to giving them the real information. There’s no use in slacking off. So, it’s best that you’re honest with all involved parties.

Money and Numbers

It’s possible that you may feel like an accountant around this time, especially considering that you’re the one who might be in charge of doing taxes for the person you’re serving. Creditors may or may not be there, but there’s also handling income taxes and estate taxes, too. Sure, it’s all numbers and money when it comes down to it. It’s just that this stuff has to get done by somebody. The government probably wants to know that everything for the deceased is all finished.

Being an executor also may entail sending the deceased’s final medical payment along with paying off burial-related expenses. Accounting and legal bills can be two other factors that need to be handled by you as well. As far as any executor is concerned, their job isn’t done till each and every last bill has been put to rest. You may as well label yourself the family bill collector for the near future.

It probably won’t involve you gathering up bills from an estranged cousin, thankfully. What will most likely happen is calling companies and telling them that you’re paying off the deceased’s final bill and trying to bring about closure.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers and Attorneys

You can start the probate process and become an executor. Having more questions about either of those topics is to be expected. Answers to your questions can be found by calling 612-424-0398 and talking with a representative of Flanders Law Firm LLC.

Don’t feel that the situation is out of hand. Even if you’ve just begun to understand the basics of how probate law can impact a person like you, that’s all well and good. Some people don’t plan on becoming an executor, and then, a surprise shakes their whole world, causing them to question what’s next. The court will probably want their say in the matter, but there’s still hope.

Start with hope and then, look to what good you can do next.

Final Accounting in a Minnesota Probate

Posted on May 29, 2020 by jlawyer

Final Accounting in a Minnesota Probate

Towards the end of probate, you’re most likely to encounter a little something known as a final accounting form.

This is one of the final steps to closing out the whole process. The document in question is, more or less, the culmination of probate law. It’s where you go to fill out the details, proving that all of the asset- and estate-related goals have been accomplished. Think of it as the executor’s way of signing off, stating that all of the deceased’s accounts have been put to rest. This is a final accounting in a Minnesota probate.

In the following sections, you’ll get a better idea of what kind of things you should know in order to fill out a final accounting form. This involves activities such as completing the inventory for the deceased’s assets and paying off any debts they had. You may find this document hard to fill out if the other activities have yet to be completed.

Inventory Time

Beneficiaries and assets are mainly what you need to be thinking about when you’re writing in this form. Pretty much anything that has been given to the beneficiaries should be put onto this document because you’re creating a final account of what needs to be accounted for. You should have already been taking inventory of everything that’s being passed on, presuming you’re the functioning executor. This document is your way of saying that the assets will get to the parties which they need to go to.

Don’t forget that you’ll also have to figure out the market value for all those assets.

That probably means you’ll need to account for every object the deceased individual owned up until their death. The price for these items, nonetheless, can fluctuate before you finish your accounting. So, you should be mindful of how the prices change over time to ensure that the market values are as accurate as possible. You’ll need at least two prices for fixed assets, one price for a fixed item at the start of probate and one at the end.

Note Any Sales

Any of the assets which are sold shall need to be accounted for. These assets cannot be simply sold and treated as though they were forgotten, as there must be evidence to show that they were taken care of.

The price for these should also be taken into account to ensure that their market value was looked into. Remember that any assets must have their market value checked and recorded regardless of them being given away or sold.

There is a little bit more work that might need to be done for sold assets, however.

Should any of the property, objects, or other belongings be sold for a lower price than their estimated market price, an explanation might be necessary. So, for example, if the family wants all the property sold as soon as possible and isn’t concerned about the price, the executor should explain the situation inside the final accounting form. The executor might want to consider informing the family of this to prevent anyone from selling assets and losing track of the information.

Cashing Final Checks

Income that was meant to be received by the deceased at the time of their death has to be collected by the executor.

The same applies to income involving their estate such as rental properties and local businesses. Though the person which the money belongs to may have passed, there might still be money being generated. It’s one of the executor’s jobs to note all of the income which is generated and ensure that it’s redistributed properly.

Also, be aware that nearly any cash-related matters should be taken care of. Checks that weren’t deposited, loans that weren’t paid off, and tax refunds that weren’t dealt with are three such examples. As far as the executor is concerned, anything which involves money should probably be recorded. While they may not be asked about every transaction, it may be wise to have extra records on hand.

Search the Accounts

As a general recommendation, make sure that the executor takes care of any assets that might be hidden away. The deceased could have taken out a life insurance policy and the beneficiary for that policy could be anticipating the payout. An executor cannot just glance at the deceased’s bank accounts and call it a day until they’ve verified that there aren’t any other accounts or other things left in the deceased’s name.

Retirement accounts should be searched, car loans should be paid off, and investment and mortgage statements should be put to rest. There may also be bills that might have popped up. Utilities could have been used towards the end of life and the gas and electric companies might be looking for their payment. This is effectively a restatement of the last section in that if it involves money, you probably need to account for it.

Minnesota Final Accounting Lawyers

Once you have everything ready, you’re one step closer to completing the probate process.

There might be a few other details in the form that you need to work out, but you should have a general idea of what things need to be accomplished. And don’t be shy about asking for some assistance when it comes to the tricky parts. The law firm of Flanders Law Firm LLC is there to connect you with a probate attorney who should have the answers you’re seeking. As an executioner, you might have a lot of little details to go through in order to make sure everything is accurate.

So, keep 612-424-0398 in your contacts in case you need any help filling out the form or anything else related to probate.

How Much Does Probate Cost? | Minnesota Estate Law

Posted on March 8, 2017 by jlawyer

The Costs of Probate

If a deceased person failed to take action and died without an estate plan in place, it’s likely that the deceased person’s heirs may be cleaning up a messy probate.

This might not matter much to the deceased person; however, it usually matters a great deal to the heirs of the estate. Beyond being time-consuming, bureaucratic, and complex, a probate can also be expensive. And who gets stuck paying the bill? The heirs. The assets that you left behind are diminished to cover the costs associated with the probate process, leaving less to distribute among the heirs.

Probate Fees and Court Costs

First, let’s make an important point about the costs of probate: everything is relative. Though some fees apply across the board, such as court costs and publication fees, the cost of attorney fees varies depending on the size and issues involved with the estate. Often, the greater the value of the probated property, the more expensive probate will be.

Personal Representative Fees

The next big category of expense is personal representative fees. These fees are dictated by state law. In some places, like Florida, all personal representatives are entitled to a flat 3 percent of the value of the estate. In Minnesota, things aren’t so simple. Minnesota law (Minnesota Statute Section 524.3-719) says that personal representatives are entitled to a “reasonable” fee for their work. How much that amounts to depends on how much time and energy the probate case takes. The size and complexity of the estate will likely figure into this calculation. If it’s a large estate that requires a significant commitment of time (which isn’t unusual), then the personal representative’s fee may prove costly. If your personal representative is feeling generous, he or she is also allowed to waive the fee.

Costs of Administration

Beyond the personal representative, probate attorneys and accountants can also request a share of the estate to help pay for their work. In both cases, the amount of the fee will depend on the value of the estate and the complexity of the estate management and distribution. Lawyers will keep track of their time and submit bills to the court asking for reimbursement of their work from the estate.

A final category of fees paid out during probate falls under the “miscellaneous” heading. You need to keep in mind the cost of mailing notices and other documents to the court and to heirs of the estate. There’s the cost of moving, storing and insuring probated property to make sure it isn’t damaged while waiting for the estate to be administered. If a house is involved, the costs can really start to add up, because the personal representative often will need to use estate funds to pay for home upkeep and repair as well as any bills associated with keeping the property in good condition.

Though the amount of money varies widely, experts say that if your estate ends up in probate court it is possible that between 3 and 8 percent of the total value of the estate could be lost due to payment of fees. Though it may not sound like much, adding up all the money that won’t be going to your heirs, but will instead go to paying courts, accountants and attorneys, might be enough to make you rethink creating an estate plan.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers

An experienced Minnesota estate-planning lawyer can help walk you through the complicated process of establishing a workable estate plan. For more information on estate planning in Minnesota, along with a variety of other topics, contact Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm at (612) 424-0398.

Source: “How Much Does it Cost to Settle a Trust After the Trustmaker Dies?”, by Julie Garber, published at TheBalance.com.

What happens when someone dies without a Will in Minnesota?

Posted on January 5, 2017 by jlawyer

Intestate Estates

When someone dies without a Will in Minnesota, it means they died “intestate”. (This is as opposed to someone dying with a Will. In such a case, that person died “testate”).

Who receives and inheritance if a person dies without a Will?

They law on intestate “succession” is somewhat complicated. This is mainly due to the conflict between what a “surviving spouse” must legally receive versus what surviving children may receive.

In essence, the surviving spouse, if there was one, has first-priority to many probate assets which belonged the deceased person (decedent). We have written other posts about the rights of surviving spouses. If you have specific questions about surviving spouse rights, read those posts or call the law office.

Intestate Succession for Deceased Person’s without a surviving spouse

The purpose of this article is to outline what happens if a person dies without a Will and did not have a surviving spouse. In this case, the children of the deceased receive the entire probate estate. End of story.

However, in many cases, the law office receives telephone calls from heirs who are not children or surviving spouses. Essentially, mainly people want to know who gets what if there were not children or surviving spouse.

The deceased person had no children

This is where things get interesting. Basically, Minnesota Statute 524.102 tells us that:

The deceased person’s remaining assets will be distributed:

to the decedent’s descendant’s by representation;
if there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent’s parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent;
if there is not surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent’s parents or either of them by representation;
if there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, bu the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the decedent’s paternal grandparents and half to the maternal grandparents, by representation.

These are the four main categories of possible heirs. Basically, here is the rundown of who receives and inheritance under Minnesota law if a person died intestate:

the surviving spouse
the surviving children
the deceased’s parents
the deceased’s siblings
the deceased’s nieces and nephews
the deceased grandparents or, more likely, one-half to each side of the grandparents family, by representation.

Please be cautioned that the above-explanation is not perfect. There are slight differences in the statute. If you have any questions about this, a Minnesota probate lawyers should be consulted.

Free Initial Consultations

Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm offers free consultations to all potential clients. Call (612) 424-0398.

How to Probate a Will in Minnesota

Posted on June 1, 2016 by jlawyer

Probating a will in Minnesota is, unfortunately, a complicated process.

Most people we speak with are handling an estate for the first time. Many have no idea where to start and do not understand what they are supposed to do. Often, a loved one has named them as the personal representative but they don’t even know what that means. Read on for some answers to these common problems.

How to probate a will in Minnesota

The first thing that a executor or personal representative should do is review the deceased person’s estate plan or their Will. The deceased person may also have a trust or other “testamentary” document. Next, the person should read the Will to see one who the chosen executor or personal representative is and who the heirs of the estate will be. Locating names and addresses for all individuals is very important as they will be sent all information about the estate.

From there, the person in charge of the estate should determine whether or not there are surf sufficient assets to require the probate of the estate.

When it is a probate required?

A probate is required when their assets in excess of $50,000. Assets may include such things as bank accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, the home in which the deceased person lived, and all other monetary assets -including personal pride property.

If, after totaling up all of the assets, the estate is worth over $50,000, the probate will be necessary. If, the assets are worth less than $50,000 for probate will not be necessary. However, a personal representative should still speak with an attorney about a small estate administration as there are legalities that need to be taken care of upon a person’s death even if their estate is worth less than $50,000.

If the probate is necessary what should you do next?

After determining that that the assets of the estate are in excess of $50,000, the person in charge of the estate should contact the probate attorney. Do not try to handle an estate alone. The probate process is difficult to understand even for seasoned lawyers.

A petition for a probate must be filed in the county in which the deceased lived. Once filed with the county court, notice of the estate will need to be published a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the deceased person had property. Notice of the estate and the petition will need to be sent to all heirs, creditors, and other interested parties of the estate.

The law office has discussed the requirements of a probate petition in previous posts, please read those files for further information on the requirements of what needs to be contained in a probate petition.

The probate inventory and final accounting

The executor or personal representative will need to keep track of all assets and debts of the deceased, pay debts, gather assets, and inventory those assets in a document which will be provided to the court. This document will also be sent to all heirs and interested parties of the estate. Again, this document is called an Inventory.

After the estate assets have been inventoried, the personal representative will work with the probate attorney to fall the law, pay all debts, work with the court system, and, eventually, make distributions to all heirs of the estate.

No distributions from the estate should be made to errors or any other parties until the probate process has been completed. This process can take months if not years and the right steps need to be followed. If the right steps are not followed, the personal representative or executor could be held personally liable to the heirs, the federal government, the state of Minnesota, and the court system at large for failure to properly administer the estate. Generic lawyer shit

How to Probate a Will in Minnesota

Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm offers free consultations to all potential clients. Call (612) 424-0398.

How to Appoint a Special Administrator under Minnesota Probate Law

Posted on April 28, 2016 by jlawyer

Minnesota Probate Special Administration

There are times where it may be necessary to appoint a Minnesota probate special administrator instead a more traditional “personal representative” of a Minnesota probate.

The circumstances with this becomes an issue are limited. This article will discuss the instances in which a special administrator can be appointed over a deceased person’s estate and, also, what the person’s duties are.

Minnesota statute section 524.3-614, states that a special administrator can be appointed as follows:

524.3-614 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR; APPOINTMENT.

A special administrator may be appointed:

(1) informally by the registrar on the application of any interested person when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent prior to the appointment of a general personal representative, when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent due to circumstances described in section 524.2-803, or if a prior appointment has been terminated as provided in section 524.3-609;

(2) in a formal proceeding by order of the court on the petition of any interested person and finding, after notice and hearing, that appointment is necessary to preserve the estate or to secure its proper administration including its administration in circumstances where a general personal representative cannot or should not act. If it appears to the court that an emergency exists or that section 524.2-803 may apply, appointment may be ordered without notice.

The instances in which my office has asked for the appointment of a special administrator are in the “emergency” situations. Typically, a more traditional personal representative would be appointed. However, things like problems with a Will, or lack thereof, can lead to the appointment of a special administrator. In one particular circumstance, our office helped a client who needed to remove a loved-one from the city morgue and they were unable to do so without being appointed as a special administrator by a Minnesota court. This was an extreme example, but it illustrates why this area of the law may arise.

The next logical question is who can be appointed as a special administrator?

524.3-615 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR; WHO MAY BE APPOINTED.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), if a special administrator is to be appointed pending the probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application or petition for probate, the person named executor in the will shall be appointed if available, and qualified.

(b) In cases where the court determines a personal representative named in a will may not be entitled to benefits pursuant to section 524.2-803, the court may appoint a qualified neutral, professional fiduciary, or an interested person to serve as special administrator.

(c) In other cases, any proper person may be appointed special administrator.

As you can see, Minnesota probate law provides very specific terms in which a special administrator can be appointed. The special administrator law does limit that person’s power over the estate. Our law firm has had experience asking that a special administrator be appointed, and then modifying the estate so that a new personal representative be appointed.

Finally, the special administrator has specifically delineated duties that he or she will be obligated to perform on behalf o the deceased person’s estate.

524.3-617 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR; FORMAL PROCEEDINGS; POWER AND DUTIES.

A special administrator appointed by order of the court in any formal proceeding has the power of a general personal representative except as limited in the appointment and duties as prescribed in the order. The appointment may be for a specified time, to perform particular acts or on other terms as the court may direct.

As you can see, a special administration may be appointed in an informal or formal probate administration depending on the situation. For further questions on this issue, a Minnesota probate attorney should be contacted.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers

Contact Flanders law firm LLC today to discuss your particular situation and possible appointment as a special administrator. Contact the firm at 612-424-0398.

Minnesota Probate | Dying Intestate: Too Many Famous People Also Make This Mistake

Posted on October 5, 2015 by jlawyer

Hopefully, you’re among the roughly 49% of Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 who have already created a Will or another type of estate plan.

However, if you just keep putting off this critical task, you really should try to correct this oversight at your earliest convenience.

Procrastinating in obtaining a Will greatly increases the chances that those you love the most may inherit nothing – especially if they’re not blood relatives or “next of kin.” Dying “intestate” (without a Will) means that by default, you’re giving your state’s statutes the power to select your beneficiaries for you.

Please consider contacting your Minnesota estate planning attorney today so you can obtain the help you need. In the meantime, feel free to review the names below of some of the famous people who also forgot to create Wills. Hopefully, you’ll decide to leave gifts of different types to your various loved ones, friends, and favorite charitable causes.

Famous People Who Failed to Create a Will Before Dying

Abraham Lincoln. Although he was a lawyer and served as our nation’s 16th President, he still overlooked creating a Will prior to his assassination in 1865. Fortunately, since he was married, that increased the chances that his loved ones received most of his wealth. However, any close friends or others he might have wanted to provide for were surely prevented from benefitting from his estate;

“Sonny” Bono of “Sonny and Cher” fame. Although his birth name was Salvatore Phillip Bono, most of us will always remember him as one of the artists who sang “The Beat Goes On” and “I’ve Got You Babe” with his (then) wife, the singer Cher. Many of today’s younger entertainment fans may also know him as Chaz Bono’s dad. Mr. Bono died back in 1998 due to a skiing accident;
Pablo Picasso. You would think this highly accomplished painter might have created an elaborate Will to benefit some of the many people who added substance to his life. Yet like many others, he overlooked this important task. As his Bio.com profile indicates, Picasso was “one of the greatest and most influential artists of the twentieth century.” Although he passed away long ago in 1973, many will always recall his singular contributions to Surrealism and Cubism;
Other musicians, singers, and rock stars who failed to create a Will. These include John Denver, jazz great John Coltrane, George Gershwin, Tupac Shakur, and Keith Moon – still remembered by Baby Boomers as the drummer for the group known as “The Who;”
Additional artists, writers, and comedians who died intestate. These include comedian Chris Farley of Saturday Night Live fame, actor Sal Mineo who starred in the film “Rebel

Without a Cause,” the very bright yet volatile comedian Lenny Bruce, actor Peter Lorre, actress Jayne Mansfield, and poet Dylan Thomas;

Other famous people who died without a Will include: Billionaire Howard Hughes and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Although you may think you’re in good company to still be without a Will, keep in mind that failing to create an estate plan often means:

Large sums of money you left behind will be wasted during the lengthy time period it may take to disburse all of the wealth you left behind. It’s been said that it cost approximately $30 million to settle Picasso’s estate – funds that his loved ones or various charitable groups could have put to far greater use;
You stretch out the grieving period in an agonizing way for those who truly loved you. No one wants to be handling critical financial matters while they’re grieving, even if they hire an attorney to appear in court on their behalf;
Critical living expenses needed by some of your sickest distant relatives may go unmet while your estate is being settled;
Your state’s intestacy statutes can easily wind up giving your entire fortune to a sibling or parent who always treated you very poorly while you were still alive. No one needs a “laughing heir” who will laugh all of the way to the bank, knowing you never intended for him/her to inherit a penny from you;

Public or charitable causes you greatly loved will never see a penny of your wealth. Surely we should all try to do something good with at least part of our estate at the end of our lives – preferably something that will benefit those in great need.

Minnesota Probate Lawyers

Free Initial Consultations

Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm offers free estate planning consultations to all potential clients. Call(612) 424-0398.