Estate planning, elder law, family transitions, business planning – the legal issues that affect your family are always evolving. Jennifer writes regularly to keep you informed, educated, and empowered. Browse the latest articles below, or search by topic to find what you’re looking for.
Losing a loved one is an emotional and life-changing experience. You might be tasked with the responsibility of settling the estate while also grieving your loss. It can be a challenging time in anyone's life. However, it becomes complicated when you must go through probate for out-of-state property. Many people move to various states throughout their...
Because your life changes, so must your estate plan. As a Monticello estate planning lawyer, I recommend that everyone reviews their estate plan every 3 to 5 years because life events that you might not even think about could impact how your estate plan works. While this periodic review is important, there are certain life events that should trigger...
Many seniors often have difficulty managing their finances at a certain point, and it comes down to their adult children to assist with these matters. It’s important to know what you’re getting into when you begin assisting an elderly parent with their financial affairs, especially if legal intervention is required. To start, you’ll need to examine your...
Even those who don’t fully understand the probate process are pretty clear about the fact that they want to avoid it. As a Central Minnesota probate lawyer, I see so many cases where probate could have been shortened or avoided altogether if only people had more information. Probate is a legal process that takes place when an individual dies. If he or she...
If you’ve set up a Revocable Living Trust, congratulations! As a Minnesota will and trust lawyer, I assure you that you’ve taken a very important step in protecting your assets and your family in the event you become incapacitated or pass away. However, just because you’ve completed this important step does not mean that you are done with “trust planning”...
Estate planning for a married couple is often pretty straightforward: you leave all of your property and money to your spouse who also takes care of the minor children. But what happens if both parents pass away unexpectedly or if you’re a single parent creating an estate plan? Parents will usually say “then the children get everything,” but a Minnesota...
Unfortunately, many parents of children with special needs wait until their child turns 18 to consider creating a Special Needs Trust. Sometimes, they even wait until their child eventually needs government benefits like SSI or Medicaid. However, Special Needs Trusts do a lot more than just protect the beneficiary’s access to government benefits and should...
You’ve most likely seen articles and news segments about cryptocurrency. The most popular form is Bitcoin, but there are several others on the horizon. What is cryptocurrency? For the uninitiated, cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, making it difficult to counterfeit. Cryptocurrencies are not issued by any...
Small businesses are the backbone of this country. They employ more than half of the domestic workforce and contribute greatly to the economy. 9 out of every 10 small businesses are family-owned. But most of those do not make it past the third generation of family ownership. Many small business owners neglect to do one thing to ensure their business...
Minnesota estate planning lawyers are often asked by their clients to explain what comprises a basic estate plan. Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to this question because an estate plan all depends on the situation and the needs of the individual. For instance, a basic estate plan for one person might include a Revocable Living Trust, while for...
Picture this – you get an opportunity to spend some alone time with your spouse. What do you do to prepare for date night? You carefully select a babysitter. Then, you write detailed instructions; when to feed the baby, how often to change diapers, what snacks are allowed…and you leave a myriad of contact information including your cell phone numbers, the...
For more than a decade I have helped clients with their estate plans. Things are different now. Previously, a potential client reached out to me wanting to talk about wills or trusts. I would explain that an estate plan is so much more than just the will. It’s taking a big picture look to make sure that things are in place no matter what happens - making...