Minneapolis Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer Warns Against Transferring Your Home to Kids Most people know that probate should be avoided if at all possible. It is an expensive, time-consuming process that exposes your family’s private matters to the public and allows for easy challenges by others. It sounds simple enough to just give your…

A Shared Home but Not a Joint Deed Many people erroneously assume that when one spouse dies, the other spouse receives all of the remaining assets; this is often not true and frequently results in unintentional disinheritance of the surviving spouse. In cases where a couple shares a home but only one spouse’s name is…

Protecting Your Vacation Home with a Cabin Trust Many people own a family vacation home–a lakeside cabin, a beachfront condo–a place where parents, children and grandchildren can gather for vacations, holidays and a bit of relaxation. It is important that the treasured family vacation home be considered as part of a thorough estate plan. In…

Minneapolis Estate Planning Lawyer Cautions Clients on Joint Ownership of Property One of the most common questions I am asked is whether someone should add another person to the deed to their home (or other property).  Below I discuss some of the concerns I have with joint ownership of property. “Joint Tenancy With Right of…

A Minneapolis Estate Planning Attorney Discusses Minnesota’s New Law Allowing Gay Couples to Legally Married Gay Couples Can Legally Marry in Minnesota On August 1 Minnesota will become the thirtheenth state to legally recognize same-sex marriages.  Gay couples who decide to tie knot here will gain a variety of financial benefits and legal rights. Some…

As noted in a prior post, the year 2012 was a difficult one for me personally with the loss of both my parents. It has been emotional and trying to deal with the losses and then, on top of that, try to work through their estates with two different sets of family. This is the…