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Probate
Court
provides a cost-effective and efficient process to transfer
ownership of assets from one generation to the next. The Minnesota
Legislature has properly insisted that the process is efficient and
that most of the assets be available for the benefit of the persons
designated in the Will.
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We begin with a copy of the death certificate
and the Will. From that information we prepare an Application or
Petition to the Court to appoint the person chosen by the decedent to
be come the "personal representative" (or "executor" as it used to be
called) to administer the assets of the estate. Next the court will
issue the "Letters Testamentary" which are the operational documents
which allow the Personal Representative to act on behalf of the estate.
Once the administration of the estate is
confirmed, the next step is to collect the assets of the estate whether
they are in the form of bank accounts, stocks or other securities, real
estate or other assets.
After the collection phase, the assets are distributed to the
beneficiaries of the Will, the spouse, and family members and the
creditors who may be entitled to payment.
The estate may be administered informally or
formally which has to do with the degree of the intensity of
supervision which the probate court has over the estate. The
proceedings may be supervised or unsupervised which determines how
frequently we must go to the probate court for necessary approvals.
Written Notices are given to beneficiaries and
creditors of the decedent as well as providers of services for the last
illness, funeral and burial of the decedent. Notice must also be
published in a legal newspaper in the county where the decedent died.
The earliest that the estate can be closed is four months after the
notice by publication can be made, although often partial distributions
can be made to beneficiaries in the meantime.
Within four to six months after the publication,
the bills can be paid, the bequests distributed, the real estate
conveyed and stocks or other securities can be transferred. If there
are any taxes to be paid, that is the time those can be taken care of.
It is necessary to file an estate tax return even if no taxes are owed.
Unless there is some unique problem, an estate
can generally be close within six to nine months of the death of the
decedent.
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