The Probate Homestead in Minnesota | Transfer of Title to Real Property

Posted on June 29, 2015 by jlawyer

In many initial consultations with the heirs, children, and surviving spouses of a deceased person, people often have questions about whether probate is necessary and or how to transfer title to real property or the “homestead” from a deceased person’s name to that of the interested party.

Small estates in Minnesota probate

As I have discussed in previous posts on this topic, in many cases a probate estate will not be necessary. When an estate is valued at less than $50,000, Minnesota law provides that a probate will not be necessary.

Assets and other information may be transferred by a small estate affidavit. You have questions about this process you should contact Minnesota probate attorney.

The probate homestead in Minnesota

Even if the deceased person had assets which are valued at less than $50,000, they may still have had a home or other parcel of real property in their name. The law considers this an asset.

In most instances, the home will be worth more than $50,000. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a court approve the probate administration in order to transfer title properly from a deceased person to the name of the person’s heirs or the individual or individuals who were named in a person’s Will.

The Minnesota title standards and what are called the “white pages” provide an explanation as to why court approval is necessary when transferring title from a deceased person’s name to their heirs. It is very important that there are no “clouds on the title” of the real property going forward. As you might imagine, when a person passes away and the real property or home is in their name, the law does not want a county recorders office having deeds that are poorly drafted or do not transfer title properly to the person or persons who are entitled to the property.

Without court approval, the transfer of title process can become very messy in a hurry. This is because laypersons, who are not trained in the law, often make mistakes on how real property is transferred from one person to another. Furthermore, it is been my experience, as an estate planning and probate lawyer, that people are unclear as to what an estate means in terms of ownership. In essence, the estate still owns property even though a person may have passed-away. Title to real property does not automatically pass to children, surviving spouses, or heirs.

Minnesota attorneys and lawyers

If you have questions about the home, transfer of title to real property, or other Minnesota probate questions, contact Flanders Law Firm LLC at 612-424-0398.

Minnesota Probate Cases: Why It’s Rarely Wise to Represent Yourself

Posted on June 22, 2015 by jlawyer

Nearly every day, American TV shows feature people fighting in court over various matters, including Minnesota probate cases.

As the judge questions each party, it mays it look like it’s fairly easy to represent yourself in court. However, these shows rarely tell you that they’ve provided these litigants with a highly simplified process for presenting their cases.

In real life, it’s often quite difficult to responsibly handle a complex probate matter on your own without obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Few lay people have enough legal training and experience to successfully undertake this type of complicated legal process. Far too often, serious problems develop when a person representing herself fails to promptly respond to new court requests for additional information or motions filed by other parties. Furthermore, probate cases can be especially difficult since they often stir up longstanding family disagreements.

Minnesota Courts: Factors That Help People Decide if They Can Handle Their Own Cases

The Minnesota Judicial Branch provides the public with a Self Help Center website page. It describes factors that can help you decide whether you’re truly capable of handling any type of difficult case (including probate) on your own. Here are some of the key issues that prevent many litigants from choosing to appear “pro se” or “self-represented” in court.

Many probate cases are quite complicated. If you’re trying to probate a loved one’s Will and numerous, bickering family members are involved, you may have to endure some very painful and compromising arguments that could split your family apart for decades. Fortunately, most experienced Minnesota probate attorneys have experience working with difficult or demanding family members and they can help shield you from most of the stressful interactions with your family members and others;

Court paperwork can be difficult to understand. Although most courts try to explain matters clearly, it can be difficult to understand unfamiliar terms. Once you hire an attorney, he will know how to respond in a timely fashion to all paperwork received and all claims filed by various parties or creditors interested in the case;

You must have strong organizational skills and not feel shy when speaking in front of others in public. While probating a case mainly involves handling a significant amount of paperwork outside of the courtroom, there will be times when you’ll be required to appear and answer questions put to you by the court if you try and represent yourself. This can require time-consuming research and preparation, especially if you haven’t consulted with a probate attorney about any of the most complicated matters involved;

Some legal research and analytical skills may be required. If you’re intimidated by the papers (or packet of materials) the court gives you to help with representing yourself – and you’re unable to read statutes or court cases with clear understanding, you may need to seriously consider hiring a lawyer;

It can be very difficult to hold down a full-time job while your probate case is pending. If your child gets sick at the last minute or you can’t get time off work one day, you’ll quickly learn how hard it can be to get a court to reset an important hearing or meeting;

You’re uncertain if a court interpreter can meet all of your needs. While these court employees (or outside contractors) work very hard to help those who can’t easily speak English or write clearly – they aren’t authorized to provide any type of legal advice;

Parties handling probate matters often need strong negotiating skills.

If one or more of these issues greatly trouble you, it’s nearly always best to hire an experienced Minnesota probate lawyer to represent you.

Minnesota Probate Attorneys

If you have questions about the the nomination of personal representative process and/or Minnesota probates, contact Flanders Law Firm LLC at 612-424-0398.

Minnesota Probate Law | Do you need a lawyer for a Minnesota Probate?

Posted on October 23, 2014 by jlawyer

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.

Everything You (Never) Wanted To Know About Disinheritance

Posted on September 8, 2014 by jlawyer

No one wants to think about ever having to disinherit a loved one, after all, doing so can create serious friction in the family and lead to irreparably hurt feelings.

However, there are some cases where disinheritance may be in order, in which case, it helps to be armed with information. To find out more about how it works in Minnesota, keep reading.

Minnesota Probate Law | Can you disinherit a spouse?

Though we’d hope it never gets to the point that you want to, it is possible you might be interested in disinheriting a spouse. Is such a thing possible in Minnesota? Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), spouses can never be disinherited in Minnesota. This is because your spouse has a legal right to his or her spousal share of your estate. This means even if you specifically leave assets to others and change your beneficiary designations, your spouse will still be able to claim a certain share of the value of the estate.

The rule in Minnesota says that a spouse has the right to a percentage of the augmented estate, meaning the value of your assets plus the value of his or her stuff. The percentage is based on a sliding scale and starts at three percent of the augmented estate for those married for only a year. At year 15 the percentage caps out at 50 percent of the augmented estate.

This percentage is guaranteed regardless of what is written in your will and, assuming the spouse has little of his or her own, will guarantee he or she walks away with half of your estate. If that’s a problem, you might want to consider meeting with a Minnesota family law attorney rather than an estate planning lawyer.

Minnesota Probate Law | What about children?

Though it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to disinherit a child, the reality is that there are sometimes legitimate reasons for such a decision. One example is if there is simply no relationship between the parent and child and including the child in the will would run contrary to the person’s wishes.

A second, and much less depressing situation, is if one child is especially well off financially and does not need the same level of support as other children. By excluding the wealthy child from your inheritance you can leave more to the children who may really need it.

Unlike spouses, children can be disinherited. Doing so may obviously lead to hostility, especially if the disinheritance comes as a surprise. To ease the pain, it may be best to sit down with the family and explain your rationale for the decision early on, giving everyone time to process and, eventually, accept your choice.

How do you go about disinheriting someone?

If you’re looking to disinherit someone, likely a child, there are several ways to go about it. One way is to simply exclude their name from your will and all other documents regarding your estate. Don’t name them as beneficiaries on your life insurance or retirement accounts. Though this approach can work, it can also lead to confusion and unnecessary fighting. If someone is merely left out of a will, it’s possible that they would think it was the result of a simple oversight and could thus lead to a lengthy fight among the heirs.

Rather than allow for so much potential confusion, the better way to go about disinheriting someone is to specifically name him or her in your will and other estate planning documents. By including them by name and then stating that you wish to leave them with nothing, you are eliminating the possibility that this could be contested later on as vague. Your wishes, though harsh, will have been made unequivocally clear.

An experienced Minnesota probate 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: “Disinheriting someone is not easy,” by Geoff Williams, published at Reuters.com.

See Our Related Blog Posts:

Minnesota Probate Law | When is Probate Necessary?

What’s a living trust and how does it work in Minnesota?