Minnesota Estate Planning and Probate Law

The attorneys of Doda & McGeeney advise families and small businesses throughout southeast Minnesota about planning for their own future and that of their children. To learn how our estate planning solutions can address your needs, contact our office in Rochester.

Almost everyone should have a basic estate plan in place: last will and testament, power of attorney, and health care directive. These instruments will reflect your careful planning for the transfer of your assets, the designation of trusted persons to manage your finances and medical treatment if you cannot due to serious accident or incapacity, and your specific preferences as to whether or when life support should be terminated in a final illness or catastrophic injury.

These basic estate planning instruments can be supplemented with trusts that divide the title to certain assets from the benefit of owning them. These are often advisable to accomplish such goals as wealth preservation, managing exposure to estate taxes, keeping a family farm intact, or addressing the future needs of vulnerable relatives or developmentally disabled children. A living trust can transfer title while retaining the benefit of much or all or your estate while you are still alive, and if properly drafted and updated, can bypass probate upon your death.

We also advise clients about more sophisticated trusts for more complex business succession, charitable, or life-care planning purposes. For many families, anticipating the need for in-home care and assistance as an alternative to a nursing home will be an important estate planning objective. We can advise you about alternatives ranging from Medicaid eligibility protection to private disability insurance.

Our lawyers also provide full client service in probate matters ranging from the administration of an intestate estate to litigation of disputes over wills and trusts. For out-of-state executors or administrators, we can usually handle everything without any need for you to return to Minnesota. We can also take care of the probate of Minnesota estates holding assets in other states, such as lake home property in Wisconsin.

For additional information about the range of our experience in estate planning and probate, contact a lawyer at Doda & McGeeney in Rochester.