Minnesota Probate and First-Time Personal Representative Duties

Do you have questions about what to do if you are a first-time first representative of a loved one’s estate? This article will supply some basic information to keep in mind.

For starters, it is important to clarify that Minnesota law tells us that the person in charge of a loved one’s estate is a “personal representative” and not an “executor”. The law firm has Minnesota probate attorneys who have experience counseling first-time personal representatives who find them faced with a complicated legal process and no clear place to start. If your loved one has passed away and left you as an executor or personal representative of their state, we realize that you may have many unanswered questions about how to proceed.

First-steps in a Minnesota probably

The first-steps are to locate the deceased person’s personal identifying information; such as:

• a certified copy of the certificate of death;
• the deceased person’s Will, Trust, or other estate planning documents;
• social security numbers;
• addresses;
• bank accounts;
• retirement accounts;
• credit cards
• and all other information that pertain to the deceased person’s assets and debts.

The law firm uses a probate intake form to identify the above information. In addition to the personal identifying information about the deceased person, the names, addresses, and dates of birth of heirs, beneficiaries, and devisees are also important. The executor or personal representative will have to identify these people and give them “notice” of all the court procedures related to the estate. The heirs and beneficiaries will also receive notice of all the actions of the executive personal representative throughout the estate administration.

Where should the probate be commenced?

The probate proceeding for a deceased person should be brought before a judge in the county in which the deceased person resided. ”Residence”, basically, means where the person lived, paid taxes, mowed the lawn, etc. The deceased person may have had a home or apartment where they lived in their particular county. For instance, the probate lawyers at the law firm would file a probate proceeding in the Dakota County District Court, Minnesota for a deceased person who resided in the City of Eagan or any other city in Dakota County.

The personal representative should also keep in mind that the deceased person may have property in another county or even another state. For instance, the deceased person may have had a home in Florida. Or, this person may have had land or property in Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota. When this is the case, the proceeding should still be commenced in the county where the deceased person resided; however, a new probate proceeding, called an “ancillary administration”, may also need to be commenced in the other state where the deceased person owned the property.

Notice to Creditors and Heirs of the estate

Once the personal representative has chosen the property county to initiate a probate administration, he or she will also be required to give notice to creditors and heirs of the estate.

What does ”notice” mean?

Essentially, depending on the type of probate proceeding, the creditors and heirs of the estate will get notice of any court hearings and most actions of the personal representative. This does not mean that the creditors or heirs have “control” over the actions of the personal representative, it simply means that they have the right to know what is going on and to object to the actions of the personal representative, if necessary.

More information

For more information on the duties of a first-time personal representative in Minnesota, please contact Flanders Law Firm LLC at 612-424-0398 to speak to an experienced, Minnesota probate lawyer.