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Alyssa K. Jerde
- May 16, 2019
- 2 min
Estate Planning 101: An Overview of Wills v. Trusts
By default, everyone has an estate plan. There is a common misconception that only the wealthy need an estate plan, but the bottom line is that one way or another, your assets will pass to another person or group of people at your death. There are a few primary ways assets pass upon death: (1) joint ownership, (2) beneficiary designations, (3) testate/intestate succession (probate), or (4) a trust. Assets owned jointly with another person with right of survivorship will autom
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By Alyssa K. Jerde
- Feb 14, 2019
- 4 min
Estate Planning 101: An Introduction to Basic Estate Planning Terminology
Meeting with an estate planning attorney can seem overwhelming. And when your attorney starts using terms like “intestate succession,” “attorney-in-fact,” or “probate,” it can feel like they are speaking a different language. In this article, we’ll break down some of the terminology that you may hear during an initial estate planning consultation. A health care directive is a legal document in which you designate someone to make medical decisions on your behalf when you can n
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Jason Wagner
- Jan 1, 2019
- 3 min
Estate and Gift Tax Update for 2019
With a new year come new estate tax exemption rates. Although estate and gift taxes are sometimes thought of as taxes that do not change that much, that has definitely not been the case in recent memory. In fact, there have been fairly significant changes to either Minnesota or federal estate and gift tax exemptions, rates, and deductions every year for the past several years. We are not expecting any major changes in 2019, but that remains to be seen. What we do have with 20
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Alyssa K. Jerde
- Jun 4, 2018
- 2 min
Transfer-on-Death Applications Now Available for Motor Vehicles
According to a Census survey, an estimated 91.3% of U.S. households owned at least one vehicle in 2016. Another study reports that some 268.8 million vehicles were registered in the U.S. in 2016. Needless to say, owning a vehicle is common among our estate planning clients. Minnesota has had a Transfer on Death Deed, sometimes called a “TODD”, since 2008. A TODD is used to transfer title of real estate to one or more named beneficiaries upon the death of the grantor/owner. A
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Jason Wagner
- Dec 7, 2017
- 5 min
Tax Reform and Your Estate Plan: What to Watch For
While Congress has not yet sent a tax bill to the President's desk, both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of a sweeping tax reform bill that has implications for many estates. This article explores the changes to the federal estate tax, gift tax, capitals gains tax, and steps you should take to review your estate plan. Estate Tax Repeal - Maybe The tax bills passed by the House and Senate immediately doubles the federal estate tax exemption. With adjustment
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Jason Wagner
- Aug 22, 2017
- 3 min
How to Choose a Trustee
How to Choose a Trustee When you establish a trust, you name someone to be the trustee. A trustee's duties include collecting income of the trust, paying the trust's bills and taxes, and investing the trust assets. The trustee is also responsible for ensuring your wishes and directions set forth in the trust are followed. Typically, you, as the person establishing the trust, are the trustee of your own revocable or living trust while you are living and able to do so. There ar
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William Oehler
- Apr 17, 2017
- 3 min
PROBATE TRUTHS (and "Truthiness")
Comedian Stephen Colbert popularized the term “truthiness”, defined to mean “the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true”. For “probate”, truthiness abounds! Here are three myths, and three truths about the probate and estate settlement process: Many speakers at estate planning “seminars” will state the cost of probating an estate at 4-6% of the value of the estate: for a $1,000,000 estate, cost of $40,000-$60,000! But, “truthiness” about
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Jason Wagner
- Feb 13, 2017
- 3 min
"I Love You" Wills: Planning for Couples
There are many ways to express love for your special Valentine. While roses and chocolate are always a good standby, estate planning can also be from the heart. An "I Love You" will is a common type of will that is used by estate planning attorneys for married couples. What is an "I Love You" will? "I Love You" wills are basically a set of wills in which each spouse leaves everything they own at their death to the surviving spouse. Their wills would also have reciprocal provi
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Jason Wagner
- Feb 13, 2017
- 2 min
Estate and Gift Tax Update for 2017
On January 1, 2017, both the Minnesota and federal estate tax exemptions were updated for decedents dying in 2017. The federal estate and gift tax exemption is $5.49 million per individual (up from $5.45 million in 2016). The Minnesota estate tax exemption is $1.8 million per individual. Minnesota has no gift tax (though gifts made within three years of death can be included in the gross estate). While the federal estate tax is pegged to inflation, the Minnesota estate tax ex
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Jason Wagner
- Jan 27, 2017
- 3 min
Frameworks For Farm Transitions
The process of transitioning the family farm often begins long before any assets are moved from the retiring farmer to the successor. Generally, the succession plan is a done gradually and involves some gifting/discount by the retiring farmer and buy-in and time commitment by the successor farmer. When farmers are ready to begin the transition there are a few common strategies they can use that are highlighted below. One simple way to start the process is for the younger farm
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Jason Wagner
- Jan 26, 2017
- 2 min
Using a Transfer on Death Deed
A transfer on death deed is type of deed that only becomes effective after a person has died. It essentially allows Minnesota property owners to put a beneficiary designation on real estate much like they would a bank account or other asset. The transfer on death deed, or TODD, does not alter the property owner’s ability to mortgage, sell, or lease the property and it can be changed as long as the owner is competent. For many Minnesotans, real estate is their only probate as
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Jason Wagner
- Dec 8, 2016
- 2 min
Requirements for a Valid Will in Minnesota
One question clients ask occasionally is: what are the requirements for a will to be valid in Minnesota? There are a couple basic requirements for the document itself to be considered a valid last will and testament. Most obvious, the person making the will must sign the document of his own free will and be of sound mind. Second, the signing of the will must be witnessed by two competent individuals at least age 18. That's all that is required for the document to be a valid l
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Bill Oehler
- Nov 21, 2016
- 3 min
The Uncertain Future of the Estate Tax
No More Estate Tax? No More “Stepped Up” Tax Basis? Now that the dust has settled on the grueling and seemingly endless election cycle, voters’ minds turn to policy and wonder what (if anything) will come of the promises made by the candidates: Now What Happens? For decades, the Republican Party has railed against the so-called “death tax”, calling for complete repeal of the federal estate tax. The policy arguments in favor of repeal range from “job creation” to “I’ve alread
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Jason Wagner
- Nov 3, 2016
- 2 min
Checking on Your Estate Plan: Reasons to Update Your Documents
Getting your estate plan in place can feel like a major accomplishment (and it is!), but it is not the end of the story. Estate planning itself is the process of guiding the way in which assets pass to your loved ones after your death and ensuring your wishes are followed. Checking in and reviewing your estate planning documents regularly and when certain life events occur is part of this ongoing process. While the estate plans we prepare for our clients are intended to be lo
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Jason Wagner
- Sep 30, 2016
- 2 min
Definition: Death Taxes
"Death Taxes" Defined. The term "death taxes" refers to taxes that are imposed by the federal and some state governments (Minnesota included) on someone's estate upon their death. For federal and Minnesota purposes, the term refers only to estate taxes. Some states also have an inheritance tax which is different from the estate tax. Whereas the estate tax is levied based on the size of a person's estate, an inheritance tax is imposed on the assets a particular beneficiary inh
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