Trusts
A "Trust" is an important estate planning tool for protecting and managing the distribution of your assets. Below are articles concerning the many uses of trusts in Minnesota.
Estate Planner's Arsenal: The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
03/16/2013 - The "Estate Planner's Arsenal" series highlights specific estate planning tools and their uses. An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust ("ILIT") is a relatively straightforward estate planning tool that is used primarily for reducing or avoiding estate taxes, as well as maintaining more control ...
Choosing Fiduciaries Part II - Guardians and Trustees
10/25/2012 - A fiduciary is a person or an institution that you give the power to act on your behalf or administer your affairs according to the terms you lay out in your estate planning documents. They have a "fiduciary duty" to act in good faith according to your wishes and the terms you set out defining...
Estate Planner's Arsenal: Common Probate Avoidance Tools
04/28/2012 - The "Estate Planner's Arsenal" series highlights specific estate planning tools and their uses. Clients often state that their main estate planning goal is to avoid probate. This article does not comment on whether probate avoidance is a good thing, as that depends on everyone's unique perso...
Estate Planner's Arsenal: The Revocable Living Trust
02/08/2012 - The "Estate Planner's Arsenal" series highlights specific estate planning tools and their uses. Generally speaking, a "Trust" is a tool for protecting and managing the distribution of your assets. Property is transferred to the Trust by re-titling the property in the name of the Trustee. ...
Contingent Trusts for Minor Children
12/10/2011 - The general consensus is that parents with minor children (under 18) should have some form of estate planning in place. This is often in the form of a Simple Will which has a provision nominating a Guardian who will physically care for the minor children if both parents die. Additionally, it...
Four Simple Ways to Prevent Conflict through Estate Planning
11/19/2011 - Grieving for the loss of a loved one is hard enough without enduring extra familial conflict surrounding the death. The death of a loved one is an emotional time and can often rekindle old arguments and rivalries between family members, as well as start new arguments. However, you can take s...
Estate Planner's Arsenal: The Pot Trust
10/21/2011 - The "Estate Planner's Arsenal" series highlights specific estate planning tools and their uses. The Situation. The Pot Trust is a useful tool when you have children and it may not be desirable for them to receive their full inheritance immediately upon your death. Generally, upon the first ...
Estate Planning and Divorce in Minnesota
10/20/2011 - During the emotional turmoil accompanying a divorce, one of the last things on your mind is estate planning. However, it is advisable to review your entire estate plan during and after a divorce because the plan will almost certainly require some fine tuning and may no longer be desirable in s...
Estate Planner's Arsenal: Disclaimer Trust
10/18/2011 - The "Estate Planner's Arsenal" series highlights specific estate planning tools and their uses. The Disclaimer Trust is an increasingly popular method for married couples to fully utilize the marital deduction in order to decrease possible estate taxes upon the second spouse's death, thus prese...
Estate Planning is for Everyone
09/15/2011 - The phrase "estate planning" often conjures up images of an older, wealthy person trying to reduce estate taxes at death. While this certainly is one goal, it only scratches the surface of what estate planning entails. Estate planning in one form or another is truly for people of all ages,...
The Basic Estate Planning Process
07/21/2011 - You've finally decided to take action and get your estate plan in order. So, how do you get started? What should you be thinking about? Here is the basic process that will make it easier for you, your spouse, and your attorney to efficiently and effectively execute your estate planning g...
The Problem of Owning Real Estate in Other States
05/13/2011 - Let us say you are the personal representative of your father's estate. Your father lived and passed away in Minnesota. As you are listing the assets of his estate, you discover that your father owned a small piece of real estate in California and another piece of real estate in Florida. Y...