What is a SLAT Trust? A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) is an irrevocable trust that authorizes the trustee to make distributions to a spouse if a need arises. It can be designed to benefit one's children, grandchildren or future generations. A lifetime gift tax and a generation-skipping tax exemption can be used to shield [...]
As a trust beneficiary, you have certain rights. However, trusts can take many forms and may be governed by unique provisions established by the creator of the trust or grantor, so details will vary. First, if you are a beneficiary, it's important to know what kind of trust you're named in. If it's a revocable trust, that [...]
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act is effective January 1, 2020 and is the most impactful legislation affecting retirement accounts in decades. The SECURE Act has several positive changes: It pushes back the age you must take required minimum distributions [...]
Our pets can feel like family sometimes and now Minnesota law lets you treat them that way. In 2016, Minnesota was the final state to add a provision to its trust code to allow for pet trusts. A pet trust allows you to leave funds for the care of your animal after you are gone. [...]
How to Avoid Probate in Minnesota Probate can be a long, contentious, frustrating and a VERY expensive process. For these reasons, most people will try to avoid probate in any way possible. So, how do you avoid probate in Minnesota? When people ask me this question I generally advise them to consider the following four options: Gifts [...]
You're ready to face the task of documenting how you will pass along your assets to your family and friends. But you're stuck: Should you use a trust or a will? Here are five considerations. Trusts avoid probate; wills don't. Probate is the legal process estates generally have to go through. It typically involves lawyers, [...]
You may be convinced that you need an estate plan, but you're fuzzy about what it covers and even how to make one. One great place to start is to determine your net worth. Determining Your Net Worth Determine your net worth as follows: add up rough estimates of the values of your assets. Assets [...]
Many of our clients ask, what are the tax implications of an inherited traditional IRA? The answer is that tax rules differ depending on whether or not the beneficiary is a spouse. Our attorneys want to make sure you know the rules, because your decisions may have serious tax consequences. If you're a spouse of [...]
It may sound simplistic, but making sure you've let your heirs know where your inheritance plans and paperwork are — not to mention passwords — and how to find them is one of the top last will and testament problems. How about the conventional wisdom of leaving each child an identical windfall in your will? That [...]
Statistics from the Pew Research Center note that a full 42 percent of all Americans are in a "step" relationship. This means that you or someone you know is very likely one of the 95.5 million people who are part of a blended family. Estate planning for the millions of Americans who are divorced, remarried [...]