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Zenk Law, PLLC

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Zenk Law, PLLC

Central MN Law Firm, specializing in estate planning, business & farm planning & related matters. With over 16 years of experience, this is our specialty.

We specialize in estate planning, business planning and related matters. We guide individuals, families, and businesses through complex issues of estate planning, business transition and succession planning, estate tax planning, asset protection and business entity planning. Tackling these issues may seem overwhelming, but I’m here to explain it to you in terms you will understand and help you fin

d answers for all of your questions. From there, we’ll create a plan that you feel comfortable with, understand and works for you. Serving all of western & central Minnesota. Licensed in Minnesota, North Dakota & Colorado.

Contact us today if you would like more information.

05/14/2025

04/30/2025

We are hiring a Full Time Administrative Assistant for our Glenwood office. If interested in applying please send cover letter and resume to [email protected].

01/05/2024

Join a free webinar on Thursday, January 25th at Noon.

DESCRIPTION:

Many of the favorable tax provisions enacted by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of 2025. This reset will create large tax and estate-planning ramifications for farmers and business owners including massive changes in estate and gift tax planning capabilities. In this webinar, Attorney Andrew Zenk and Financial Advisor, Ben Taatjes, will educate you on the changes and provide specific tools and strategies you can use to protect your assets from this tax code change.

REGISTRATION LINK:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lc-quqTotG9dDBo-Iok-v2RtcVRoWzXH6

Linked at TFG website: www.taatjesfinancial.com
FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1513379222563944/

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving to our amazing clients, family and friends. We are thankful for your continued support.

06/14/2023

We are hiring!

12/17/2022

Funding Your Trust - Critical to Revocable Living Trust Success

I’ve talked about revocable living trusts as a good tool for estate planning, particularly to avoid probate. They are good tools - not appropriate for everyone; but, if the right fit for you, a great estate planning option. Creating the trust is first step; but there are additional critical steps necessary after the trust is created to assure it works as you intend. This post focuses on this critical additional step - the “funding” of your trust.

Creating the trust is the foundation - it’s the vehicle to accomplish the goals. However, the creation of your trust is not the end. A trust needs to be “funded” with your assets in order to work as intended; particularly to avoid probate. An unfunded trust may create the need to go to the probate court in the event that you become incapacitated or pass away. What does it mean to “fund” your trust?

“Funding” your trust means ensuring that your trust owns or controls your property and accounts, instead of you as an individual. How to fund the property depends on the type of property. For example, if you own real estate, a deed transferring ownership to the trust, recorded with the county, is the way to “fund” that asset. Each asset / property type needs to have a specific action plan determined for trust funding. Further, as you buy / acquire more assets, those need to be funded as well. It’s an ongoing need.

Think of your trust as a vehicle - a car. A car needs gas to run and take you where you need to go. Funding is the “gas” your trust needs to assure it takes you where you need it to go.

We can help - give us a call to schedule an appointment to discuss your estate planning, business planning or any related needs.

12/10/2022

Starting to think about your New Year's Resolutions? Estate Planning should be one of them!! We'll help you make this a Resolution you keep! Give us a call and schedule an appointment. Available times are filling up! Bring in the New Year with peace of mind, and gaining control of your future. We can help!!

11/29/2022

Alternatives to a Revocable Living Trust

Last post reviewed a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust is a good tool to avoid probate, distribute assets to beneficiaries, and also complete estate tax planning, if necessary, as part of your estate plan. If estate tax planning is not at issue, alternative tools exist to allow for a person to transfer assets to their heirs at death, avoid probate, and not need to create and fund a revocable living trust. This list will focus on a few of those options.

Payable on Death Designations:

A Payable on Death account (“P.O.D.”) is type of account that becomes payable to someone else (the beneficiary you name) upon your passing. It is usually available with various bank accounts (CDs, checking and savings) and investment / brokerage accounts. This is created with a legal document or form that’s completed and kept on file with the financial institution.

Transfer on Death Deed:

A Transfer on Death Deed (“TODD”) allows a person to transfer real estate at the time of death and do so while avoiding probate. The deed is similar to a P.O.D. in the sense that the property automatically goes to the beneficiary at the time of death. The main benefit of a TODD in Minnesota is that it is a relatively simple process, especially when compared to probate. To receive the property, the beneficiary has to file certain paperwork. It is important to note that any mortgages, liens, or other interests associated with the property will be transferred along with the property.

Beneficiary Designations:

A beneficiary designation is naming the person who will inherit an asset at the account owner’s passing. Some common examples include life insurance policies and retirement accounts. When the account owner passes away, their assets are then transferred to the beneficiary that they designated. It is also possible to designate your estate as the beneficiary. In that case, the assets are distributed according to the provisions in your revocable living trust or Will.

All Options are Revocable:

Arguably, the most important advantage / understanding of all options listed above is that they all give the grantor complete control of the property during life. If the grantor has the mental capacity, it may be changed / revoked at any time prior to death.

Concluding Thoughts:

The above illustrates some options / alternative tools to help avoid probate. They are options, but are they the best options for you? Of course, that depends. Determining what is best for you requires careful analysis, working with your qualified attorney. We can help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment. Take control of your future!

11/20/2022

Will or a Revocable Trust. What is best for you?

Two common estate planning tools are a last will and testament (“will”) and a revocable living trust. Each planning tool can be a good strategy to attain your estate planning goals. I’m often asked the question: “what’s best for me?” The answer, as usual, is it depends on the situation. It is crucial to look at your circumstances, goals and situation to determine what plan of action is best for you. This post will focus on the revocable living trust.

Establishing a revocable living trust requires a document that specifies your wishes, lists beneficiaries, names a trustee or trustees to manage the assets, and describes what the trustee or trustees may do. A revocable living trust is a trust created during a person’s lifetime and is designed to give the trust maker flexibility and control over his or her assets. With a revocable living trust, you may act as your own Trustee, thereby maintaining complete control over your assets during your lifetime. You can name yourself as trustee, but if you do, you should also name a successor trustee to take over if you should become disabled or die. With a revocable living trust, assets can be freely transferred in and out of the trust. You can also change or revoke the revocable living trust at any time and make all decisions regarding the trust.

The positives of a revocable living trust first require a discussion on what probate is. Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a person who has died (a “decedent.”) Generally, assets that were owned in the decedent’s sole name (as opposed to jointly with another person, or by a trust), must go through probate. Having a will does not avoid probate. A will still requires a probate proceeding to occur. This is a common misunderstanding.

The first thing that needs to happen is the opening of a probate case. A probate matter is initiated by filing the appropriate documents with the court in the county where the decedent resided at the time of his or her death. The court will then appoint a personal representative to administer the estate. The time between the filing of the documents and when the probate court appoints a personal representative is generally 2-3 months. This is difficult, as the assets are “tied up” until the personal representative is appointed. Whether or not there is a will, a personal representative does not have authority to handle estate business until appointed by a court order. No debts can be paid, no authority over the assets, so they sit there for this time period. Again, this usually takes a minimum of 2-3 months ONCE the initial filing of the documents with the court occur. Once the personal representative is appointed, then the work begins to administer the estate / probate process. This takes more time.

A revocable living trust avoids Probate – Assuming the Assets are Properly “Funded” in the Trust.

With an understanding of probate, a benefit of a revocable living trust is that it can avoid probate. First, placing your assets (“funding”) in a revocable living trust instead of a will, you can avoid the time delays that are typical of probating a will. Trust assets, in most situations, can be distributed to beneficiaries almost immediately after the death of the trust maker. The prevailing theme with this benefit is that a revocable living trust offers a much more efficient administration process at death, compared to a will, which requires probate. Probate can be a lengthy process, depending on the circumstances. It is also a public proceeding, as it is a court procedure. Revocable living trusts are privately administered.

The key to this benefit hinges on the need to “fund” a revocable living trust. To fund a revocable living trust, you must take any assets or property that you own turn ownership (or control) of those assets or property over to the revocable living trust. This doesn’t mean that you won’t get to control the assets or property – not at all. As trustee of your own revocable living trust you would have just as much control as you did when you had sole ownership. The difference is that in legal terms, the revocable living trust is a living document that holds true ownership of the property, and when the trust maker dies, the trust continues on - it doesn't "die" with the trust maker. This is how a revocable living trust helps to avoid probate.

Next, a revocable living trust can protect your privacy regarding the distribution of your assets. With a Will, the probate laws require that an inventory of the estate’s assets be filed with the court. The will and the inventory are public information. With a revocable living trust, generally only the beneficiaries of the trust will be informed of the nature and the value of the assets.

Further, if you own real property in another state, a revocable living trust may help you avoid a probate proceeding in the other state for that property. For example, if you have a winter home in Arizona, as well as assets in Minnesota, you would place your Arizona home in your revocable living trust, thus be able to avoid a Arizona probate proceeding.

Stay tuned for future posts continuing on this topic.

11/12/2022

Estate Planning for Young Families:
What about the Assets?

This is a continuation of a post I started last week regarding the importance of establishing an estate plan if you have minor children. Last week we talked about the need to do a Will so you can determine who your child’s guardian will be - who is legally responsible for them should you die. This post talks about the assets.

What happens to the assets? If a parent dies without a will (dying intestate), and the minor children are heirs, minor children cannot inherit assets individually. They will receive the benefit of the assets, but not before time consuming and lengthy court procedures occur.

Without a will, the court establishes conservatorship, guardianship, and related custodial actions, so that the assets owned by the decedent are held in the hands of an appointed person to control the assets until the child becomes an adult - age 18. The assets are available to the children, at the control / discretion of the appointed person. Once the child reaches age 18, then the assets are the child’s, without restriction. Is that a good idea? More on that later.

A benefit of establishing a will allows a parent to create a plan for the assets for their children. Often, the plan is to create a “testamentary trust”, which is a trust established as a part of your will. In this case, you have in your will directions where the trust is created at death (“testamentary.”) It’s not a separate document from a will; but instead, language included within your will.

The trust often stays in place until the child reaches a certain age - over age 18 - such as age 25, for example. This gives the child time to mature and learn the importance of proper money / asset management. Recall what we said above - if there’s no will, the child inherits the asset at age 18. 18 years old is an “adult”, but most of the time the child’s financial and asset management maturity is not yet there. They need time to “grow up” in this regard. A testamentary trust allows for that, continuing to protect the assets until the child reaches that set age; i.e. age 25.

The trust provides for instructions and directions to the trustee - the person or people controlling the trust / assets. They are directed as to how and when to make distributions to the children, as beneficiaries of the trust. These instructions are usually geared towards a standard related to the “health, education, maintenance and support” of the child. If there’s a need that meets these criteria, the assets are available. If it doesn’t meet these criteria, the assets are not available. For example, if a child needs money to pay for education, the assets in the trust are available. If the child wants money for a new Corvette, the assets are not available.

This example illustrates another good characteristic of the trust - it serves to protect the assets from frivolous spending and related bad decisions that often times young adults may make. Not picking on your kids here - think of yourself at age 18, and what you would’ve done with a large amount of assets with no protection measures in place? I know what I would’ve done!

All this can be done in a simple process of establishing your estate plan - your will and related documents. We can help. Give us a call today and schedule an appointment. More information at zenk-law.com.

11/06/2022

This is a picture of my kids. They are a bunch of goofballs! Goofballs that are my wife and my everything - our gifts from God that we love, provide for and protect.

But what if we're not here tomorrow? Not a fun thought, obviously. What happens? It depends. Do we have an estate plan - a will? Or not.

Many think of estate planning as a task for those who are older, whose children are adults, with children of their own. The unfortunate reality is that it doesn’t always work that way. Untimely deaths occur; people die young, with young families of their own surviving them. If a person dies untimely, and if there are minor children, what happens?

If you die without a will, you are deemed to have died “intestate”, which means that state law determines who will be the guardians of your minor children. Court proceedings occur and the state determines who is best suited to be the legal guardian of the children. Who does the court select? That depends. The courts do their best, but there are several factors and procedures that occur to appoint a legal guardian. The court does this the best they can, with the “best interest of the child” as the standard. That’s good, of course, but what does the court not know? What the decedent’s wishes were. They’re dead. What if the person appointed is not whom the decedent wanted? They do not share the same values and beliefs, for example. That doesn’t matter - the court will do the best they can, but with no information from the decedent (a will), the court may appoint a person as guardian who is not whom the decedent would want to be legal guardian of their children.

Don’t let this happen. Get your estate plan done that appoints the legal guardians that you want so you know your minor children will go to those who you are comfortable with, should you die untimely. We can help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

AND - It doesn’t end there - what about the assets? Minor children cannot inherit assets, so what happens? I’ll address that in a later post. Stay tuned.

10/27/2022

Who’s estate planning for? Everyone!! No matter the size of your estate, some simple planning can help to take care of you and your family. Here are some key components everyone should consider now:

* Last Will and Testament. Your Last Will and Testament names your Personal Representative (Executor) and provides what will happen to your property should you pass.

Guardians for your minor children: Your Last Will and Testament is also the best mechanism for planning for minor children. You can name the person you wish to serve as guardian for your child or children under your Will. If you fail to name a guardian, a court will be forced to appoint someone with no input from you.

Additionally, minor children cannot hold title to property in their own names. A Will allows you to create a testamentary trust and appoint a trustee to serve as a fiduciary who is responsible for managing assets meeting the needs of a child or children. Your Will can also provide guidance to your trustee in the form of a testamentary trust.

* Health Care Directive. Your Health Care Directive allows you to appoint an agent to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated, as well as to express your wishes should certain medical situations arise.�
* General Durable Power of Attorney. Your general durable power of attorney allows you to appoint an agent to make financial decisions. Spouses may name each other as agent and make the document effective immediately which may allow one spouse to transact business on behalf of the other in the event that one spouse is ill but not incapacitated.�
* Revocable Trust. A Revocable Trust can be used to plan for incapacity as well as to avoid probate expenses. During your lifetime, you are the owner of any assets in your revocable trust. You also can serve as trustee during your lifetime; however, you can name a successor who will serve if you are incapacitated. Assets already in a revocable trust are generally not subject to probate, which is a cost savings for your estate.

Take control of your future. Get your planning done! We can help. Give us a call!

Address

30 East Minnesota Ave.
Glenwood, MN
56334

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 12pm

Telephone

+13204130362

Website

http://zenk-law.com/

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