Court of Appeals protects specific gifts of real property from an estate.
On December 12, 2022, in In re Estate of Zych, the court of appeals held that the “personal representative of an estate may not sell real property that the testator has specifically devised by will.” Stanley Zych left his farmland to four sons, certificates of deposit to three daughters, and the remainder of his property was left to all seven children. Prior to his death, several of his assets were mismanaged for over a decade by three of his children. As a result of the mismanagement, the district court found that the three children owed significant sums to the estate,... Read More
Estate Taxes Still an Issue
With the federal estate tax beginning for estates in excess of $5.4 million, most families no longer concern themselves with avoiding the imposition of this tax. However, Minnesota residences or non-residences with Minnesota property still face Minnesota taxes for estates that exceed $1.6 million. Do not assume that estate planning is no longer necessary simply because of the size of the federal exemption. There are a number of planning opportunities for families to avoid or minimize Minnesota estate tax. For more information on Estate Taxes and Estate Planning, contact Steve Fink at Farrish Johnson Law Office. This webpage contains general... Read More
Will Contest Case Succeeds at Appeal
Attorney Scott Kelly, representing the defendant, prevailed at the Court of Appeals in a will contest matter. In this appeal from a district court order in probate proceedings, the plaintiff challenged the district court’s adoption of the county taxing authority’s estimated market value as the fair market value of certain real property. The Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that the district court’s finding of fair market value had meaningful and adequate evidentiary support and was not clearly erroneous. This was the second appeal arising from a dispute over the administration of the estate and Scott worked closely... Read More