Twin Cities Estate Planning Lawyers 

At Cloutier & Brandl, P.A., our attorneys and staff provide comprehensive estate planning representation. We strive to provide information and education as well as tailored guidance and services to our clients.

Will v. Trust

A will and a trust are both instruments for dispersing your assets when you die. A will is a simpler document which encompasses most issues. It is slightly less expensive to draft while you are alive, but costs a little more to administer when you die. It is also less complicated than a trust because a trust requires that you take the time to transfer your assets into the trust.

Two main advantages of a trust are that 1) the assets are transferred almost immediately after your death, rather than having to go through probate. This allows your beneficiaries to take possession of your assets almost immediately, saves them from paying probate fees, and allows you to maintain privacy about your estate. 2) you can completely control where your money and assets go for the life of your survivors if you so desire. For example, if you have minor children and leave your assets to them in a will, they will inherit everything at the age of 21 and you will have no say over how they spend it. With a trust, you can control when your children receive the money and how they are allowed to spend it.

Health Care Directives

A Health Care Directive allows you to designate a specific person or persons to control your medical care when you are unable to communicate for yourself. It also allows you to clearly set forth your wishes regarding the treatment of your body when you die. If you are in the hospital or are dying, your loved ones may be faced with difficult decisions. A Health Care Directive allows your family to grieve without the burden of trying to guess about your wishes and desires.

There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" Health Care Directive. At Cloutier & Brandl, we tailor each document to express your personal requests and needs.

Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to handle your financial affairs in the event that you become incapacitated and cannot attend to them on your own.

Estate Planning Document Storage

Will: Minnesota county probate offices will keep the original of your will in a safe place. Though you are welcome to leave your original will with us, the first place most officials look for a will is at the county of your residence. Further, if you die in 40+ years, it is unlikely anyone will remember which law firm drew up your document. Therefore, we encourage our clients to have their wills stored with the county for ease of access when they have died. The cost is a one time $20.00 fee for life. If you make changes to the will or add codicils, you may remove the will for free and there is an additional $20.00 fee when you bring back the new or amended will.

Health Care Directive : You will want to keep the original in a safe place, but not a safe deposit box because your Health Care Agent will need access to it if necessary. You should give copies of this document to your Health Care Agent, your doctor, your hospital, and anyone else you think could benefit from it. Paramedics routinely look on your refrigerator for copies of Health Care Directives, so it might be a good idea to put a copy there just in case.

Power of Attorney : It is very important to keep this document secure. Again, we do not suggest a safe deposit box unless your attorney-in-fact is someone who will have access to the safe deposit box in your absence. We suggest giving a copy to your attorney-in-fact and keeping the original in a very safe place where your attorney-in-fact knows how to find it. It is important to remember that the more copies you give out, the more there are to retrieve and destroy if you choose to revoke it.

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Cloutier & Brandl, P.A.
12 S. 6th Street, Suite 510
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 332-5100
Fax: (612) 344-1220
Toll Free: (800) 878-2334

At the law offices of Cloutier & Brandl, P.A. in Minneapolis, we represent clients throughout the Twin Cities Metro area, including St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Bloomington and Roseville; and in Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Anoka County, Dakota County, Carver County, Scott County, Wright County and Sherburne County, in addition to locations outside the Metro area.