Beverly Bird is a practicing paralegal who has been writing professionally on legal topics for over 30 years. She specializes in family law and estate law and has acted as a custody mediator. Attention: This publication is provided for educational information. It does not provide legal advice. If you have any questions about this information, contact a lawyer. How does it work? To make a will in Minnesota itself, the testator and witnesses must sign a “self-proving affidavit” before a notary. An affidavit is an affidavit, and a notary is an officer of the court. Therefore, an affidavit before a notary is like a statement to the court. So if an affidavit says that the will was properly executed, that is as good as testifying in court, and witnesses do not have to appear at the time the will is admitted to court.
Minn. Stat. § 524.2-504. If Healthcare Friend can`t or won`t act as an agent, I`ll call it Backup Friend instead. If a guardian is needed to care for one of my children or their property, I call Haylee Marie Cristan as my guardian. If Haylee Marie Cristan is unwilling or unable to serve as a tutor, I appoint Corinna Lynn Cristan as my guardian instead. A will (also simply called a will) is a legal document. It indicates your wishes for your property and minor children (if any) after your death. Here you will also appoint a personal representative who will be responsible for managing your affairs. If you don`t leave a will, your assets go to your spouse and children by default under Minnesota law.
No one else will receive anything. If you don`t leave behind a surviving spouse or children, your grandchildren and parents are the next to preserve your wealth. This list then begins to branch out to more distant relatives. That`s a great question. It`s not hard to make a valid will in Minnesota, but it`s easy to create one that`s not valid if you don`t understand the requirements. Let`s discuss the requirements for a valid will in Minnesota. But what if, for example, the testator is physically unable to hold a pen? A signature on a Minnesota will is still valid if it was made in the name of the testator, in the presence of the testator, and at the request of the testator. In other words, if an elderly and frail testator asked his attorney`s secretary to sign the testator`s name on the will, and the secretary did so in the presence of the testator, the signature would be acceptable under Minnesota law.
If you are of legal age and in good mental health, you can write your own will. However, a will written by a lawyer is much more likely to include all the provisions of inheritance law and ensure a legal description of your wishes. A testamentary document from the Internet or a software package can also let you down. The cost of having a lawyer write your will is minimal compared to the potential tax liability or assets that go where you didn`t intend them to go if you make a mistake in making the will yourself. A will is a legal document that contains instructions on how to distribute and manage your assets. A will technically only regulates finances, with the exception of guardianship. Common sense usually means that you are aware of your actions when you make the will. Specifically, this means that when making a will, you understand that you are making a will, the type of property you own and to whom you bequeath your property.
Even a person with dementia or Alzheimer`s can be considered healthy if they are clear at the time of signing. If a testator feels that there may be doubts about his mental capacity at the time of signing, a letter from a doctor confirming mental capacity may be attached to the will. In Minnesota, anyone can make a will at the age of eighteen (18) and in their own way. (See: Articles 524.2-501) “Common sense” generally means someone who has not been found incompetent in a previous court case. If you want to change your will slightly, you can use what is called an addendum to make changes to the will. If you wish to send certain personal items to specific friends or relatives, a letter of instruction can be written and attached to your will. It is mentioned in your will and allows you to send certain household or family items to whomever you want. Consider making multiple copies of this document and sharing them with your children. By sharing your will and the reasons for what you did with your assets, family conflicts can be avoided. Although a will is not required by law, without a will, state laws (called inheritance laws) determine the division of the deceased`s property. However, the result may not coincide with the wishes of the deceased (the deceased), which means that it is usually advisable to draw up a will.
The legal requirements for drafting a will in Minnesota can be found in Minn. Stat. § 524.2-501. See below for basics. Couples who have divided their real estate equally among themselves often use complex wills. After the first death, this plan uses a will to channel assets through a life trust to the spouse and children. This is used when evaluating combined discounts beyond the applicable federal and state exclusion exemption amounts and when certain provisions are made for children. Trusts created using this method are known by several titles: A-B trusts, circumvention trusts, testamentary trusts or credit shelter trusts. All assets such as stocks, bonds, life insurance proceeds, mutual funds, real estate or cash can be reserved for children.
Giving part of the estate to the children protects the children in the event that the spouse remarries or otherwise consummates the estate before death. It also prevents this part of the estate from being taxed on the death of the spouse. A person who makes a will, also called a testator, must be of legal age and at least 18 years of age and of sound mind to sign a valid will. Under Minnesota law, there are three other requirements for the execution of a valid will: With respect to the will itself, the standard requirements are set forth in Minn. Stat. § 524.2-502. Most wills have several articles that set out procedures for distributing property. These articles should take into account contingencies, such as what happens if the spouse dies first, if both spouses die together, or if the whole family dies.
Similarly, the will should govern what happens if a married child dies or divorces before your death. You can also introduce “lineage protection” in case the surviving spouse remarries.
Comments are closed.