“I’ve come to pay my respects.” We typically hear this at funerals and cemeteries. But what does this mean? “Respect” comes from the Latin word “respectus” which means “to look back at” or “regard”. When it comes to a person’s life and he or she is here no more, to respect them is to remember [..]
As I write this, Minnesota is about to enter its coldest days in over 20 years. Thirty below temperatures with wind chills up to 65 below. This would be a great time to try that vaporizing trick where a pot of boiled water is tossed up in the air and before a drop reaches the [..]
Let’s face it. No one intentionally wants to go through probate. For experienced attorneys, going through probate is no big deal. But your heirs might not like it. It will cost your estate and delay matters. A smaller, uncontested probate can run $4,000 to $6,000 on average. And it can take 9 months to 1 [..]
If you have taken the time to read my bio attached to my law office website you will see that I provide you with a little history about how I got the idea to become a lawyer and a little insight into my upbringing. Well, I am excited to say that one statement I made [..]
Some of you may know that back on June 1, 2016, my legal assistant, Suzanne, and I ventured into the world of a virtual business existence with my estate planning and probate practice. We both have home offices and routinely communicate with one another from there via a cloud-based, encrypted system called “MyCase”. Sure we [..]
We have all heard of Powers of Attorneys. But are we really aware of what they are, what they do and even how many of them exist? We have Power of Attorneys for finances and Power of Attorneys for healthcare issues. Does it matter if I have a “Short Form Power of Attorney” instead of [..]
“But dad, I’m going to be late for school!” Such was the cry of my 18 year old daughter on her 3rd day of community college PSEO classes. We were in downtown Anoka conducting some bank business, ironically for the purpose of getting her a car, when poof!, gone was my vehicle and I’m stranded [..]
About a year ago I left the practice of “family law” to focus my law practice strictly on estate planning and probate. I teamed up with WealthCounsel and ElderCounsel, two national, topshelf, estate planning and elder law planning support services companies, to provide my clients with quality, comprehensive and up-to- date services. In preparation for [..]
On May 22, 2016 the Governor signed into law the following provisions (which take effect August 1, 2016) which will put more money into the pocket of heirs: For 2nd marriage spouses, this will interest you. In cases where there is no Will or estate plan, you can now take $225,000 off the top of [..]
If you have ever consulted with your financial advisor or estate planning attorney you have probably heard the phrase “Will Package”. A Will Package typically refers to a Will, Healthcare Directive and a Power of Attorney offered at a discount if purchased at one time. Some attorneys have recently added a fourth document to the “package” called a [..]
