Minnesota probate attorney fees, how much do they cost?
The law firm charges varying attorney fees on Minnesota probates.
The complexity and work involved in the probate dictates the cost of the estate administration. There are many different types of probates, including: informal, formal, unsupervised, and supervised administrations.
At times, the attorney fees will be much less because all that needs to be transferred is one asset. In this case, there will be minimal effort involved in the transfer that asset in the probate. Common asset transfer situations, which have lower attorney fees, include the transfer of title to a home, or liquidation of a single stock, insurance, or other investment assets from the name of the deceased person to their heirs and beneficiaries.
Examples of Minnesota probates with higher attorney fees include the estates which need to be administered from date of death to distribution of assets. This would include: payment of creditor claims, publication of notice in the newspaper, negotiation of contested issues, payment beneficiaries, starting an estate bank account, paying taxes, etc. These duties can be very time-consuming and must be done correctly or liability for the personal representative and/or the attorney will be involved. In these cases the attorney fees are often much higher than many people may like.
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The firm works with individuals with the estates worth less than $50,000.00 and with the estates worth millions of dollars.
Different law applies to different estates. For further questions about Minnesota attorney fees in Minnesota probates, contact Flanders Law Firm LLC at 612-424-0398.
Many of my clients have questions about the meaning of the word “fiduciary” as it applies to probate law.
The definition and discussion often revolves around Minnesota probate and or Minnesota trust law. For this article I will discuss the definition as it applies to personal representatives and Minnesota probate (although the general rules apply in all cases).
Minnesota Probate Law
Minnesota statute 524.3-703 provides the legal definition of a fiduciary in terms of Minnesota probably law. Below are the pertinent portions of the statute:
524.3-703 GENERAL DUTIES; RELATION AND LIABILITY TO PERSONS INTERESTED IN ESTATE; STANDING TO SUE.
(a) A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care in dealing with the estate assets that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another, and if the personal representative has special skills or is named personal representative on a basis of representation of special skills or expertise, the personal representative is under a duty to use those skills. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of any probated and effective will and applicable law, and as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate. The personal representative shall use the authority conferred by applicable law, the terms of the will, if any, and any order in proceedings to which the personal representative is party for the best interests of successors to the estate.
. . .
As you can see, the definition of a fiduciary and what the fiduciary duties are in a probate are clear and well defined. Basically, a fiduciary is a legal definition of a person was been appointed to care for the property and legal rights of another. This is a very serious position which should not be taken lightly.
Violation of fiduciary duties
If the personal representative of the probate estate is not following Minnesota law, that person can be held personally liable for any mistakes, fraud, or misrepresentations that may have been committed. The people holding the personal representative accountable are often the heirs, beneficiaries, and or creditors of the estate. Failing to comply with the law as it defines a fiduciary is a sure way to be sued. Some common examples of failures of a personal representative include:
failing to properly notify creditors of estate debts
failure to properly account for estate assets,
failure to file an accurate inventory and/or final accounting
failure to notify heirs of their rights
not paying taxes of the deceased person in a timely fashion
In my estimation, as an attorney was been practicing probate law for a number of years, the personal representative duties are often rather obvious, unfortunately, some individuals are unable to meet the standard of caring for others. This is unfortunate.
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If you find yourself in a situation we have questions about your fiduciary duties as a new personal representative, or if your questions about a person representative who is not doing his or her job, contact the probate lawyer at Flanders Law Firm LLC, 612-424-0398.
In this article, I wanted to discuss the legal doctrines of jurisdiction and where a probate should be submitted to court in Minnesota. There was recently an article about Minnesota tax law as it applies to this issue.
Residency and Domicile in a Minnesota Probate
In Minnesota, when a person passes away, their estate needs to be probated in the county where they resided.
The justification for probating in the county where the person resided is that they will have likely paid taxes on their home, on vehicles, and participated in the day-to-day operations of life in the county.
The legal word “domicile” is complicated but it can be boiled down to where a person intended to stay and live. As stated above, this can become complicated when a person may have a home in Minnesota but that person may spend a significant amount of time in Florida, Arizona, Texas, or some other state with much warmer weather the Minnesota in the winter. This creates complications associated with tax liability as Minnesota has a high personal income tax as a state.
Furthermore, at times, the deceased person may have had a cabin or other property in Minnesota.
Although the person may have had a cabin or other property, the laws of domicile and residency still provide that the person this day should be probated in the county in which they resided permanently. Again, this can create confusion people tend to move around a fair amount when they retire. If you have questions about the meaning of domicile and residency, a Minnesota probate attorney should be consulted.
As stated above, once a proper county court is chosen, the executor or personal representative of the estate needs to properly petition the court for a probate administration. I have previously written articles on what needs to be contained in a petition for a new probate.
Ancillary Administrations and Minnesota Probate Law
In addition to the discussion above about domicile and residency, the questions of ancillary probate administration comes into play. This is because a deceased Minnesota resident may have a home in a different state – for instance, Florida.
If the deceased person owned a home in Florida, then the title to the property will need to be transferred from Florida to the person’s estate in Minnesota. Again, this is because Minnesota law wants to control a person’s estate.
In this instance, an attorney in who is licensed to practice law in Florida should be consulted because a separate, “ancilllary” probate will need to be conducted. This is an extra expense but it is a necessary expense.
Further information about ancillary probate and residency
Contact the Flanders Law Firm LLC or attorney Joseph M. Flanders, a Dakota County Minnesota probate law firm, for more information about ancillary probates, domicile, and the meaning of residency as it applies to Minnesota law. Telephone: 612-424-0398.
Do you need a lawyer to help you for your estate administration of “probate” case?
The answer: it depends. Also, as an aside, click on the link for more information on what “probate” means.
The question on whether or not to hire an attorney is always a difficult one. I am asked this question frequently by both current and potential clients. My answer is usually the same: it always helps to have an attorney and you’re going to do way better with one that without one. That being said my statement can be viewed as self-serving.
What are some of the benefits of hiring a probate attorney?
Experience in the field of probate law is the number one reason to hire an attorney. The probate or “estate administration” process is extremely complex. That cannot be overstated. When I first began practicing law as a new law school graduate, the ins-and-outs of what I was supposed to know and understand to competently administer an estate was completely foreign to me – and I had a background training in the law. The point here is that lawyers learn on the job, just like everyone else, and it took me, personally, a number of years to be good at that job. Is it reasonable to think that someone without a law degree and experience can do it? I think the answer is clear.
Below are some examples of the different types of probate proceedings in Minnesota. Lawyers are not even aware of these proceedings – it is necessary to refer this kind of a work to an attorney who understands what he is doing.
Some of the different kinds of probate proceedings in Minnesota include:
informal estates
formal estates
small estates
supervised estate
unsupervised estates.
Furthermore, the estate may be modified from an informal, unsupervised probate to our formal, supervise probate depending on the complexity of the case as it proceeds over many months.
What are some of the other questions to ask a probate attorney?
Essentially, as I described in earlier post on this topic, Minnesota probate attorneys are earnestly looking for personal identifying information of the heirs, personal representative, the deceased person. Next, the probate attorney will look for the assets and debts of the estate.
The attorney needs to know many different questions to include in a probate petition which notifies the court and the judge of how you proceed. The attorney will be making a determination as mind as to what he would recommend for obvious date would proceed which is something completely foreign to almost every client or person I’ve ever met with. After all, why would this person real to make a rational decision based on experience when they have done.
Are there times when a probate attorney may not be necessary?
The only time that attorney should not be consulted in state is when it may be transferred bye affidavit. In Minnesota, if your estate is worth under $50,000 in assets, the estate will likely not need to be probated but, instead, be transferred by a small estate affidavit. I have also discussed this and numerous articles in the past which can be located at the link provided above. The attorney like we should still be consulted on how to draft the small estate affidavit and move forward with that affidavit.
In all other instances, with assets over $50,000 in the state of Minnesota, a probate attorney should be consulted and hired. This is a difficult pill to swallow for many people that have never been involved with the process but it is certainly the correct advice – self-serving or not.
Free Initial Consultations
Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm employs Dakota County Minnesota probate attorneys. The firm offers free consultations to all potential clients. Call (612) 424-0398.
What are the initial steps to take as a first-time personal representative in Minnesota? The attorneys at the office are often asked what to do next when someone has lost a loved one. This is a difficult time for many peoples and we have noticed that people simply do not know what to ask or where to start.
There is some good news: it may not been necessary to do anything with the deceased person’s estate if the total value of the estate is under $50,000. This means that it would be a small estate and would therefore be administered by an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property. However, if the estate is worth more than that, a personal representative will need to be appointed by a probate judge.
7 Initial Steps of the Personal Representative:
There are certain things a person should do first when their loved one dies. These tasks include:
locate all assets of the deceased person
locate all debts of the deceased person
obtain the certificate of death from the county in which the person passed-away
determine whether not the deceased person had a Will or other estate planning documents such as a Trust
locate and contact all of the known heirs of the estate including the surviving spouse (if there is one)
locate the contact information for all creditors of the deceased person
Again, at times, a probate may not be necessary. If the estate is very small, a lawyer may not even need to be involved.
What to expect from a consultation with a probate attorney
In every consultation I do with a client, I am looking for information on the deceased person’s assets and debts. I will also ask for all personal identifying information on the deceased person; including: full legal names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and other personal information.
Once an attorney gathers the personal information for the deceased, the attorney will consider what assets may be exempt from creditor claims and what assets are available to pay estate debts. Estate debts may include such things as funeral expenses, expenses of last illness, and other bills.
After the attorney determines what the expenses of the estate are, the attorney will consider the possible distribution of assets (money) to the heirs and other beneficiaries of the estate. This could be a large lump sum or, at times, the estate may be insolvent (meaning there may be no money).
If the estate is insolvent, it may still be necessary to conduct a probate administration to transfer title of a home or other real estate. When real property or homes are titled in the name of the deceased person, is often necessary to “clear title”. This means that, in the state of Minnesota, the county recorders office will have to be notified of the probate estate and that the personal representative has been appointed so that he/she now has authority to transfer title to real estate. This is a complicated legal issue and a lawyer should be consulted if you have questions.
Free Initial Consultations
Contact the Flanders Law Firm today. The firm employs Dakota County Minnesota probate attorneys. The firm offers free consultations to all potential clients. Call (612) 424-0398.
“With the Solid platinum, client-focused, service of Mr. Joseph M. Flanders, J. D., you have a gentleman who will be right in your corner, serving you with skills, talents, and abilities that are possessed by real gentlemen of his caliber.”
Minnesota probate attorney fees, how much do they cost?
