First Steps After a Death in Minnesota

A medical professional must pronounce the death. If death was expected under hospice, the hospice nurse can coordinate the pronouncement; if unexpected, call 911. Then choose a licensed Minnesota funeral home or cremation provider to transport and care for your loved one.

Lock the residence, keep utilities and insurance active, and avoid distributing property until authority and ownership are clear. In Minnesota the homestead has its own protected descent path, so do not make decisions about the house early.

The district court needs the original signed will to probate it. A custodian of a will must deliver it with reasonable promptness to an appropriate court on request of an interested person (Minn. Stat. 524.2-516). Also look for codicils, trusts, transfer on death deeds, vehicle titles, account statements, and life insurance policies.

Certified copies cost $13 each ($9 processing fee plus $4 surcharge, Minn. Stat. 144.226) from the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Vital Records or any county vital records office, which is usually the fastest option. The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need - banks, insurers, DVS, and the court all ask for one.

Probate is handled by the district court in the county where the decedent lived. Minnesota has no separate probate court; informal probate goes through the court's probate registrar and formal probate goes before a judge.

Separate probate assets (solely owned) from nonprobate assets such as joint survivorship accounts, beneficiary-designated accounts, life insurance, property covered by a recorded transfer on death deed, and trust property. This list becomes the basis for the inventory and for deciding whether probate is needed.

If the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is $75,000 or less and at least 30 days have passed since death with no personal representative appointed or applied for, a successor may collect personal property by affidavit (Minn. Stat. 524.3-1201, court forms PRO201/PRO202). The affidavit does not cover real estate. Larger estates, or estates with solely owned real estate, generally require informal or formal probate.

For routine, uncontested estates, file an informal application with the district court's probate registrar (forms PRO702 or PRO802 depending on whether there is a will). For disputes, will questions, or supervision needs, file a formal petition heard by a judge. Bring the original will and a certified death certificate, and budget the $310 base filing fee plus the county law library fee (Minn. Stat. 357.021). Once appointed, the personal representative receives letters testamentary or letters of general administration proving authority to act.

Apply for a free estate EIN from the IRS, then open a bank account in the estate's name (for example, 'Estate of Jane Doe'). Keep estate money completely separate from personal money and keep receipts for every payment and distribution.

Notice to creditors is published once a week for two successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county, which starts the four-month claim period. The personal representative must also serve written notice on known and identified creditors within three months after first publication (Minn. Stat. 524.3-801).

The personal representative must prepare an inventory within six months after appointment, or nine months after death, whichever is later, and send copies to the surviving spouse, all residuary distributees, and interested persons who request one (Minn. Stat. 524.3-706, court form PRO912).

Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and track the four-month creditor claim period before paying or distributing. Pay allowed claims in the priority order of Minn. Stat. 524.3-805, and address the spouse and children's exempt property and family allowance first.

Use the estate account for all estate income and expenses, and keep receipts for every transaction. Review the decedent's final federal Form 1040 and Minnesota Form M1, federal Form 1041 and Minnesota Form M2 if the estate earns income, and a Minnesota estate tax return (Form M706, due nine months after death) if the federal gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $3,000,000.