Complete Estate Planning in MN Means More Than a Will
Most people are familiar with the idea of a will—a legal document that helps you control how your estate will be divided. But did you know that a complete estate plan includes more than just a will?
When people work with an attorney to plan ahead for end-of-life decisions, those plans regularly include more legal tools: living trusts, powers of attorney and healthcare directives. Here are three key documents for estate planning in MN and how they can be used by residents.
1. Healthcare Directives/Advance Directives in Minnesota
In Minnesota, a healthcare directive, also called an advance directive, is a written plan that you make to ensure your medical wishes are followed. You can share your priorities and personal preferences so your loved ones and healthcare team have guidance in the event that you can’t speak for yourself.
Everyone should have a healthcare directive, even if they’re healthy. That way, the people you love will have the guidance they need, just in case.
Advance directives in Minnesota are healthcare providers’ first reference for your care. However, if your directive is unclear or doesn’t cover the specific situation you are in, your providers will consult with your power of attorney. Let’s discuss who that is and what that means.
2. Power of Attorney in MN
With a power of attorney in MN, you give a trusted person the right to act on your behalf in financial or real estate issues. The person you designate can sign legal documents for you.
Designating a power of attorney (POA) is helpful when you’re going to be out of the state or country for a long time. For example, they may attend your real estate closing if you cannot. It’s also helpful when you want someone else in charge of one specific legal matter.
In estate planning, you’re giving the POA power to make medical and/or financial decisions in the event you’re incapacitated or unable to share your wishes yourself. Medical decisions can involve serious situations, such as when to provide life-saving care. This is a big responsibility, so choose someone you trust.
An important note: Power of attorney in MN is voluntary. You choose when to give someone this designation, and you can opt to rescind it at any time, as long as you’re of sound mind.
Let’s say you’re incapacitated and haven’t designated a POA, but legal decisions need to be made. In that case, loved ones have to take the time to petition to become a conservator or guardian.
Unlike designating a power of attorney in MN, conservatorships and guardianships typically result from court proceedings. They give someone else control over your financial and care decisions. They’re very difficult to reverse, and they can only be revoked by the court after you’ve proven you’re mentally fit.
3. Living Trusts
A living trust is a trust that’s made while the person establishing it is still alive. Often, living trusts are created by parents for their children. They’re legal tools that hold assets and direct what happens to those assets if the creator of the trust becomes incapacitated or dies.
Many people choose trusts because they can often avoid probate, which makes things faster, more private and often less expensive for their heirs.
Living trusts are designated as “revocable” or “irrevocable.”
Revocable Living Trusts
This is the most popular kind of living trust. While you’re alive and mentally competent, you can change the trust, add or remove assets, change beneficiaries or cancel the trust entirely. In practical terms, you retain complete control over your assets.
A revocable living trust enables you to have someone with financial expertise manage your assets during your lifetime. It also protects your privacy regarding the distribution of your assets after your death.
Irrevocable Living Trusts
This is typically set up to reduce estate or income taxes. For tax purposes, the trust becomes a separate entity. That means that the properties and assets are no longer yours; they belong to the trust, and changes can’t be made to it. It also means your creditors can’t find it, and it can’t be counted as taxable property.
Are Estate Planning Documents Required By Law in Minnesota?
Estate planning documents aren’t required by law. However, if you don’t have a will or other estate planning documents, the state laws control how your assets will be divided. If you die without a will, your property will go to your closest relatives according to a formula set by law (Minn. Stat § 524.2-103).
An estate plan is the best way to make sure your intentions are met. You can designate someone to make decisions for you, name a guardian for your children and plan donations for your favorite charity. All these things may not happen exactly the way you’d want them to if left to relatives or to Minnesota state law.
Where Should I Keep These Documents?
Make sure to keep your documents for estate planning in MN in a safe place where your personal representative can easily find and access them. In Minnesota, the probate court or the state administrator’s office will accept wills for safekeeping free of charge or for a small fee. Your attorney may also be willing to hold onto your estate planning documents for safekeeping.
No matter where you keep them, make sure to tell your family where your estate planning documents are.
Get Help Estate Planning in MN
Documents for estate planning in MN involve more than just a will. They involve a series of legal documents that are written just for you and tailored to your needs. At White Luing Law, we can prepare your complete estate plan for you, including your living will, power of attorney and healthcare directive.
To talk with our lawyers about your options and which documents are right for you, call us at 763-241-0477 or send us a message to schedule a planning session.
