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Minnesota Farm Land Deduction Offers Estate Planning Opportunities for Farmers

Minnesota farmers have been seeing the value of their farmland increase significantly over the last few years. Though it has slowed recently, this increase often results in a gross estate that is more than the Minnesota estate tax exemption. For farm… Read More
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Categories: Estate Planning, Farm

Starting a New Business: 5 Things to Consider

Starting a business can be a huge step for new entrepreneurs. After all the planning, research, and time put into your venture, you do not want to miss any of the legal paperwork to make sure you are getting started off on the right foot. While it ca… Read More
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Categories: Business

What is a "living trust" and do I need one?

It seems everyone is hearing more and more about “living trusts” and “revocable trusts” lately. A lot of people seem to think that a trust is only for the super wealthy or those that are avoiding estate taxes. The truth is tha… Read More
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Categories: Estate Planning

A Brief Summary of the Various Ways Assets Pass After Death

Everyone has an estate plan. The laws of intestacy lay out how assets pass after someone has died. This means that without a Will, everything will be divided up the way the law says it should. However, these laws of intestacy do not always line up wi… Read More
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Categories: Estate Planning
Transitioning the Family…

Transitioning the Family Farm: An Overview of Strategies

In Southeastern Minnesota, family farms are not just the land, business, or way of life, but a direct link to the heritage and history of several generations. Ensuring the farm operation will be there for the next generation is often a top priority.… Read More
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Categories: Estate Planning, Farm

Property Taxes: Farmers Must Plan Carefully to Keep Agricultural Homestead

With the first half of real estate taxes recently being paid, most of us probably took a good look at our property tax statements. For farmers, the Agricultural Homestead classification represents significant tax savings. There are a number of ways t… Read More
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Categories: Farm
Charitable Remainder Trus…

Charitable Remainder Trusts Can Help Retiring Farmers

One of the most common situations facing retiring farmers is a looming income tax burden. From year to year, farmers are buying seed, fertilizer, and other inputs for next year’s operations while also deducting machinery and equipment. In the last… Read More
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Categories: Estate Planning

Farm Equipment Repair Tax

Effective July 1, 2013, Minnesota farmers have started seeing bigger equipment repair bills. As part of the new tax legislation that was adopted this May, labor for repairs and maintenance of farm equipment is taxable. However, the replacement parts… Read More
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Categories: Farm