Minnesota Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

As personal representative, it is your brother's duty to gather the assets, pay the debts and distribute the rest.  He is not privileged to live in the home if he did not inherit it in full and does not need to sell it to pay the debts.  If that is the case, he can have any guest he likes but should first deed the house from the estate to himself personally.... Read More

Step One.  Hire a probate attorney who practices in the county in which your mother died.  You will need legal representation to apply for a determination of heirship and letters of administration, in settling the estate, and in drafting a family settlement agreement and presenting it to the court and drafting and recording a deed transferring your sister's interest in the home to you.... Read More

To transfer title to and ownership of the home you must first probate (prove) your parents' estates.  This may be by probating their Will or through a court heirship proceeding, Small Estate Affidavit or Affidavit of Heirship, depending on the circumstances.  Please contact a probate lawyer who practices in the county in which your parents died.... Read More

Yes and no.  Yes, civil courts can award relief other than money, for example enjoining someone from using your trademark, or compelling a landlord to make repairs.  Unfortunately the relief you're asking about is probably beyond the court's power to grant in this suit.  If you sue for money and win, however, you can try to settle the case along the lines of forgiving some or all of the money judgment if your ex agrees to complete the programs you've outlined.... Read More

Wills are private documents with no legal effect until they are admitted to probate (proving) by a court.  Your father may have had one among his belongings.  Like most people, he may have died without one.  If he had no children who were not also your mother's children, it is likely that she, not you and not your sister, will inherit.... Read More

This varies by location, lawyer and the complexity of the case.  One does not simply file and get Letters Testamentary.  There is a hearing.  The court appoints the personal representative.  The time to get a hearing also varies by location and by court.  Note that there are court filing fees.... Read More

The executor is not the executor until a court appoints her.  She must hire a probate attorney and present the Will for probate (proving).  Until a Will is admitted to probate by a court, it has no legal effect. When the Will has been admitted to probate and your sister has been appointed by the court, she will have the authority and the obligation to gather the assets, pay the bills and distribute the rest according to the Will. This may well involve evicting you from the home.... Read More

If the account is joint with right of survivorship (JTROS or JTWROS), 100% of the money is hers on presentation of a death certificate.  If the account is joint, 50% of the money is hers on presentation of a death certificate and 50% passes to your uncle's estate. If your mother is under 65, she can deposit the funds in a special needs trust or an account with a master pooled special needs trust and should do so in the same month in which she received them. If your mother is 65 or over, she should spend the money on an exempt asset, such as a home, in the month in which it is received. To make sure this is handled properly, she may want to consult a special needs attorney.  She can find one near her through the Special Needs Alliance or the National Academy of Elder Law and Special Needs Attorneys (www.naela.org)    ... Read More

If your original contract did not include a lien (which I assume it did not or you would have filed it then) you can't just file a lien.  You hae to sue her for the money and win, at which point you will have a judgment lien.  Whether you will win may depend on whether your agreement that she pay you in intallments, or that she pay you by a certain date, or that she pay you when she could, etc?.  If your agreement was to pay you in installments, which it looks like on its face because she has been doing si for years and you accepted without suing her for breach of contract, you have no right to get your money all at once.  Also, if you sue, you will have to decide whether to sue in MO or MN.  Each has advantages and disadvantages, which yoiu shoudl probably discuss with a local attorney.... Read More