Practice Areas

Get To Know Our Firm’s Areas of Legal Practice

Our team helps individuals from all walks of life navigate a diversity of complex and controversial legal cases. We specialize in various practice areas, optimizing excellent strategies to meet your specific legal objective.

Criminal Defense

In Minnesota, crimes are categorized into three categories. These are felonies, gross misdemeanors, and misdemeanors, with petty misdemeanors not being considered a crime. Regardless of the severity of the charge, it is often a very emotional and difficult experience.

Complex and Sensitive Situations

Many individuals who have never been charged with a crime seldom have confrontations with police officers, courts, and corrections—the three branches of our criminal justice system. Very quickly, you can be thrust into a situation that you are unfamiliar with. If you have been arrested, booked, and held in jail, you already know how frustrating and confusing that experience is.

Impacts and Repercussions

Moreover, a criminal conviction, especially in the age of computer databases, can and probably will have a significant impact on your future life. There are many possible consequences of inadequate representation, including the following:

  • Fines and Surcharges
  • Impact on Family and Relationships
  • Inability to Purchase or Rent a Home
  • Increased Insurance Rates
  • Irreparable Damage to One’s Reputation
  • Jail Time or Prison Time
  • Loss of Job or Career Opportunities

If you are not a U.S. citizen, a criminal conviction, under certain circumstances, can also trigger deportation proceedings.

Need for Rapid Legal Assistance

You may still be able to get your life back to normal, but timing is crucial. Obtaining prompt, competent legal advice once you have been arrested or charged with a crime is absolutely vital. Your attorney will explain your rights under local Minnesota law and the United States Constitution. Our team is ready, willing, and able to assist you with criminal defense matters such as the following:

  • Assault
  • Burglary
  • Disorderly Conduct
  • Domestic Violence
  • Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)
  • Drug Charges
  • Felonies
  • Juvenile Crimes
  • Misdemeanors
  • Probation Violations
  • Public Intoxication
  • Shoplifting
  • Theft
  • Traffic Violations
  • Trespassing

Probate and Estate Administration

When your loved one passes away, his or her estate may be required to go through a court-managed process called probate administration. It is the name for the process wherein the assets of the deceased are distributed.

Dealing With Estate Distribution

If the will names you as the personal representative (formerly known as the “executor”), you have legal obligations to manage. Without skilled legal counsel to guide you, the probate process can be confusing to navigate. The process may also be difficult to handle if the named personal representative lives out of the area where the will must be probated.

The length of time needed to complete the probate of an estate depends upon the local procedures, rules, and schedule of the probate court as well as the size and complexity of the estate.

Reliable Probate and Estate Administration Services

Probate administration can be a very difficult personal matter. Clients are often forced to make important decisions while still dealing with the shock of the loss of a loved one. That’s why we offer our reliable attorney services, helping clients make well-informed choices during their most difficult times. We support and assist personal representatives during all phases of estate administration, including the following:

  • Meeting Personal Representative and/or Other Interested Parties
  • Formal "Reading of the Will" (If Desired)
  • Filing Documents To Commence Probate Administration
  • Identifying and Contacting Heirs and Beneficiaries
  • Sending Notice of Probate to Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Other Interested Parties
  • Obtaining Tax Identification Numbers for the Estate
  • Conducting an Inventory and Appraisal of the Estate Assets
  • Sale of the Estate Assets (Including the Home, if Necessary)
  • Filing of Decedent’s Last Personal Income Tax Return
  • Preparing Federal Estate Tax and State Inheritance Tax Returns
  • Preparing Fiduciary Accounting
  • Final Distribution of Assets

Non-Probate Administration

However, if your loved one owned all of his or her assets through a fully funded trust, a probate administration may not be necessary. Under Minnesota law, a probate may not be needed for a small estate of less than $75,000 and provided certain conditions are met.

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Landlord & Tenant Law

We represent landlords in eviction cases, offering our expertise to help each landowner navigate their unique legal situations. Our professionals also help mediate a variety of disputes and opt for strategic solutions that work best for all parties involved.

Estate Planning

Estate Planning offers multiple benefits, including peace of mind knowing your financial and personal matters are taken care of. The process also helps you avoid costly estate litigation in the future and probate.

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Our Services

We assist clients in defining estate planning objectives, understanding the process, and crafting the legal documents necessary to ensure each individual’s final wishes are followed. The following are the estate planning services we offer:

  • Assistance with Beneficiary Designations on 401(k)s, IRAs, and Life Insurance
  • Health Care Directives
  • Help with Medical Assistance Applications
  • Powers of Attorney
  • Wills

Last Will and Testament

A final will is one of the most essential estate planning tools necessary for every person 18 years of age or older. This works by having the testator or testatrix set forth a plan of distribution for their assets upon his or her death. Completing this process gives much-needed peace of mind, knowing their final desires will be respected and assets will be distributed according to their final instructions. We assist with the entire process, including the following:

  • Naming a Guardian For the Children
  • Naming a Personal Representative to Administer Estate
  • Specifying Wishes Regarding Informal Probate Administration Vs. Formal Probate Administration
  • Specifying Wishes Regarding Whether a Bond Shall Be Required of Trustees

Other Forms of Asset Transferring

Proactive estate planning may also minimize the probate process, easing the burden on grieving loved ones. There are additional tools that may assist you in transferring property outside the probate process, including the following:

  • Establishing Joint Tenancy on Real Estate
  • Creating and Executing a Transfer on Death Deed (TODD)
  • Establishing Payable Upon Death (POD) or Transfer on Death (TOD) Arrangements on Checking Accounts, Saving Accounts, and Other Money Market Accounts
  • Listing Beneficiaries on 401(K)s, IRAs, Other Retirement Accounts, and Life Insurance

Power of Attorney

What Is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows the drafter, commonly known as the “principal”, to name a person, an “agent”, or “attorney-in-fact” to act on behalf of the former in certain circumstances including financial issues. However, power of attorney does not give the agent the authority to make health care decisions for the principal.

Should the principal wish to authorize an agent to make health care decisions for them, they should establish a health care directive.

Who Will Be My Agent/Attorney-in-Fact?

You can appoint an individual of your choosing as long as they are 18 years or older. You may also name an alternate agent or agents in case the primary agent is unwilling or unable to serve. Most of the time, individuals appoint a trusted family member or friend as their agent.

What Powers Can I Give to My Agent?

A principal must assign specific powers to his or her agent. These powers can include the authority to sell real estate, pay bills, manage bank accounts, and make investments. However, a financial power of attorney can not give the agent the power to prepare a will, the power to vote, or the power to seek a divorce on the principal’s behalf.

What Is the Benefit of Having a Financial Power of Attorney?

If you are unable to make decisions due to incapacity or illness, your agent or attorney-in-fact will act on your behalf in the areas stated in your financial power of attorney.

However, if you become incapacitated without a power of attorney, someone, typically a family member or friend, would need to arrange for a court proceeding to be appointed as your guardian or conservator who can manage your finances. This process, however, can be more costly than appointing an agent early on.

What if I Change My Mind? Can I Revoke My Power of Attorney?

Yes, provided you still have the mental capacity and fitness to execute a power of attorney. You may, at any time, revoke your power of attorney. The Minnesota statutes set forth specific methods for revocation of a power of attorney.

Will My Agent/Attorney-in-Fact Be Able To Act on My Behalf After My Death?

No. A power of attorney is null and void upon your death.

Health Care Directives

What Is a Health Care Directive?

A health care directive is a legal document that enables an agent to communicate an individual’s wishes about incapacity, illness, medications, and end-of-life care. It can do one or more of the following:

  • Inform others, such as nurses, physicians, social workers, and family members, about your wishes pertaining to your health care, care during illness, pregnancy, and end-of-life care.
  • Allow the principal the power to appoint an individual known as the health care agent to make health care decisions on your behalf, should you be incapable of making your own decisions.

What Types of Instructions and Information Can I Include in My Health Care Directive?

Your health care directive should name the person(s) you would like to list as your health care agent and alternate health care agent as well as your instructions on the following:

  • Receiving Artificial Life-Sustaining Measures
  • Pregnancy
  • Care During an Illness
  • Artificial Nutrition and Hydration
  • Pain Medications
  • Antibiotics
  • Donating Organs Upon Your Death
  • Burial or Cremation
  • Funeral Arrangements (If Applicable)
  • Care Facilities (Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Etc.) Where You Would Like to Receive Care
  • Care In Accordance With Your Values, Morals, And Religious Beliefs

What Are the Requirements for an Individual To Be a Health Care Agent?

A health care agent must be an individual age eighteen (18) or older.

What Is the Difference Between a Health Care Directive and a Living Will?

In the past, Minnesota law provided for a variety of health-related documents, including durable health care powers of attorney and living wills. However, in August 1998, Minnesota law changed so that individuals can use one document to encompass all of an individual’s health care instructions and wishes. That document is known today as the health care directive.

What Are the Requirements for a Valid Health Care Directive in Minnesota?

Under Minnesota Law, a valid health care directive must be in writing, dated, and state the name of the principal creating the health care directive. The health care directive must also be signed by the principal, and it must contain verification of the principal’s signature by a notary public or by two witnesses. Additionally, the health care directive must include health care instructions, appoint a health care power of attorney, or both.

What if I Execute a Health Care Directive, and Then I Decide a Few Years Later That I Want To Create a New Directive Based on My New Preferences?

Yes, during your lifetime, you can revoke your health care directive and create a new one. A health care directive can be revoked according to the terms outlined in the Minnesota statutes.

Connect With Us Now

To get a free consultation, give us a call at (320) 864-4800. We welcome calls from out-of-state parties and are ready to provide our reliable legal services. You can also use our contact form to send us a message.

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