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 Minnesota Court Information:
Minnesota Judicial Branch - Self help center. http://www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp/?page=1011 Some Self-Help Court Forms for Probate are at: http://www.mncourts.gov This link is to a website posted by the 6th District Court (formerly known as the St. Louis County Courts.) At this site, you can find (1) Information Packets, (2) an Estate Claim Form for when an Estate/deceased-person owes you money, (3) an Affidavit to open a Safe Deposit Box at the Bank if the box-owner has died, and (4) an Affidavit to collect an amount under $20,000 if that's all the value owned by the deceased person. If the deceased person owned more than $20,000, then you need to have a probate. If the deceased owned an asset that automatically passed to a living person (due to joint ownership, beneficiary designation, POD, or other written contract arrangement), then the value of that asset usually doesn't count toward the $20,000 limit. Those assets don't count because the deceased person theoretically doesn't own them anymore after death (ownership changes automatically), but part of a probate process is to check whether this is what the deceased person meant to have happen. As of August 2008, Petition for Probate forms were not avaiable on the Self-Help Court Forms site (my job is safe). Maybe "nolo.com" has them (for a fee) but so do I, and there wouldn't be so many probate lawyers if probate was simple. If you are worried about costs, I understand and can work with you as much as possible. 6th District Court - Serving Minnesota's Arrowhead Region in Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis Counties. Do your own judgment searches, criminal records searches and also you can check the Court Calendar. http://www.mncourts.gov/?siteID=6 To view the Court Calendar for the current week, first click on the specific courthouse on the left-side of the page, then click on "Calendar" in the box on the right-side of the page (NOT the one along the top). Each judge has a separate calendar, so if you don't know which judge has your case, you need to look at the calendar for each one. In Virginia, Judge Aronson has most of the Family Law cases and Probate cases, Aronson rarely handles criminal cases (if at all) or conciliation court matters, so look first to Judge Pagliacetti or Judge Florey for criminal and conciliation court cases in Virginia. In Hibbing, Judge Ackerson has most of the Probate cases. The calendars are only for one week at a time and as you scroll through them keep track of the date as it is only stated above the first entry of the day and there can be over 100 enteries for a Judge in a day. Sometimes cases are listed that should not be on the calendar, and sometimes cases can be heard that weren't on this official calendar. Also, some matters labeled "CRIM/TRAF" are criminal charges, not just traffic violations. Available online since 2007, you can search someone's background for judgments (court-ordered debts), civil actions and criminal records. At mncourts.gov, click "Access to Trial Records" at the top of the page and read through the instructions and agreement (it sends you to http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/default.aspx). If you click that you agree with the rules, then you will be presented with a simple page that already has "All MNCIS Sites - Case Search" in the box. Keep that entry and search records throughout Minnesota. You could change this entry to a more specific area, but it's usually better to seek more information. Also, within St. Louis County we have three courthouses with separate data bases, and it is easier to search all available data in the state than to run three separate searches for just our county. Under the "All MNCIS Sites - Case search" are the selections for Judgment, Civil and Criminal searches. To research someone you would run each of these selections. The first input-box is "Search by:" and it starts at "case", but you can click the arrow in the box and change the search to "Defendant" and then fill in the next two boxes with a Last and First name and click "Search." If the name is common to more than one person, you will want a middle name or birth date to identify your person. Sometimes, after searching the name, you can recognize your person in the list, gather the middle name or birthdate from the entry, and search again to get just what you want. St Louis County Website - Located in Northeastern Minnesota, St. Louis County is the largest county east of the Mississippi. St. Louis County maintains courthouses in Hibbing and Virginia and a Government Services Center in Ely to serve its citizens. http://www.co.st-louis.mn.us/slcportal/ This site has a list of openings for jobs in the County, contact information for the various County offices, and travel information. My favorite part is the "Property Tax Lookup" (on the list on the left side) where you can access property tax data. The most successful way is by using the Parcel Code. Using the address to find the data is not always successful. Using the Owner's name is possible (and usually successful), but since the search is only for the last name, you could get a long list to look through. This information has always been public, and this website has been available for years. Minnesota Statutes, Laws, and Rules https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/pubs/ - Statutes are laws that apply to all citizens and cover a variety of topics. - Session laws are acts that were passed during the legislative session. - An administrative rule is a general statement adopted by an agency to make the law it enforces or administers more specific or to govern the agency's organization or procedure. Minnesota Attorney General - Free information on hundreds of topics, with publications that they mail to you for free. Online complaint forms for you to report scams, bad businesses, etc. http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Default.asp Minnesota Secretary of State - Free forms to incorporate your business! (There is a fee to file the forms.) Also has business services, administrative rules, and Uniform Commercial Code. www.sos.state.mn.us IRS - This IRS website allows you to apply for an Employer Identification Number. It takes about two minutes to apply and you get your number immediately online. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0%2C%2Cid%3D102767%2C00.html Social Services Child Support Guidelines Calculator http://childsupportcalculator.dhs.state.mn.us/ Please note: Parent A is the obligor who pays the support. Parent B is the obligee who gets the child support. If these are input backwards the calculator won't work. If dad pays child support, dad is Parent A. The case # in 3 and 4 can be left blank but all other boxes need a positive number or a zero. "Income" is gross income (no deductions for taxes or anything). "Potential income" is how much more a parent should be earning if they worked fulltime, worked at a job like their former (better) job, or worked at a (better) job they reasonably could have. This works both ways. Even a stay-at-home mom with young children may have to input for 40 hours per week of potential earnings (sometimes even if the income won't cover the cost of daycare, but every case is different.) If you run the calculation and need to change a number, you have to re-type all the answers, it will not back-up and let you change one thing. To print, click the "printable version" command near the top of the page and then click print. Law Books, Legal Forms, and Legal Software - Nolo's goal is simple: To make America's legal system accessible to everyone. nolo.com Annual Credit Report Website www.annualcreditreport.com This is the FREE site. I like the Experian reports better than the other two. The "freeannualcreditreport.com" site is a bait-and-swtich site that requires you to input your credit card information, will require you to cancel the service or be charged, and almost certainly will cost you money (they took $29.95 off my card for one wrong click). They did have a very easy-to-read report with credit rating, but it was not worth $29.95. The actual free site gives a report that repeats the same information so many times it is hard to understand, but it's easy enough to cross off and ignore the repeated info. Estate Crafter's - Information regarding estate matters. www.estatecrafters.com This is a website by/for a lawyer whom I do not know, but his website has lots of discussion about estate planning basics that you might find helpful.
Real Estate For Sale I access the Multiple Listing Service through www.vermilionland.com or www.culbertrealty.com. These websites are nicely designed to bring up Iron Range listings. I like Vermilion Land Office realtors (Steve, Donna, Don, Karl, et al) especially for listings north of Virginia to Cook, Tower, Babbit, Ely; and I like Mooly Poole and the Culberts at Culbert realtors for Quad Cities listings (Virginia, Eveleth, Gilbert, Mt. Iron). I also like Mike Lolling and Mr. and Mrs. Edwards at Century 21, www.century21edwards.com. Cook Minnesota - Meet the residents of Cook Minnesota. www.cookmn.com Google Earth earth.google.com Minnesota Historical Project http://minnesotalegalhistoryproject.org/
If you are starting a business, go to: http://www.deed.state.mn.us/bizdev/start.html within this site you may obtain a free information guide and all kinds of info on loans, employment issues, etc. You can get your incorporation forms at the Secretary of State website that is stated above. You can research the competition, economic situation, market trends and other critical business data at the Business Source Premier. I suggest starting at: http://support.epnet.com/uploads/kb/ebs_2563.doc You should also go to the Arrowhead Library link at: http://www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us and click on their "Services for Library Patrons" and then click on the "Magazines, Newspapers and Other Databases." This is both a gold mine of information and a good way to spend hours and hours of time online. Then go to these websites for information on Iron Range business development and maybe some "free money":
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What is an Ethical Will?
An Ethical Will is your spiritual legacy, your memories, your wisdom and guidance passed on to posterity. When your heirs read your Ethical Will (either as a separate document, as a recording, or as part of your Will), they will come to know you and your thoughts. Having a message from you can be more meaningful than money. If you had a letter that your great-grandparent wrote, would you read it? What sort of things would be most meaningful for you to know about that person? Now think of how you could write a letter about yourself, your experiences in life, your advice, and your heritage (what do you remember about your grandparents?) to leave for future generations to read, or for them to watch if you chose to make a videotape. I take pleasure in providing this service, and the flat fee is the same for a Will or an Ethical Will. I offer this non-legal service because it flows naturally out of the legal will-writing process. What happens if a person dies without a Will In general, without any Will, a deceased person's Spouse is entitled to everything (after paying off debts, with a homestead exemption.) However, if the Spouse's name is not on the title to real estate, vehicles or other property, then the property must go through Probate to get the Spouse's name on the title. Probate costs more than creating a deed to change the title. For people (typically young people) who do not have a spouse and who do not have children, the assets pass to their legal parents (half to the mother, half to the father, or all to the surviving parent). When a decedent leaves children but no spouse, the law grants everything in equal shares to the decedent's natural and/or adopted children "per stirpes" - and right about there is where grandchildren, "degrees of relation," etc, complicate the explanation. Apart from State Law legalities, when there is no Will to clearly explain a decedent's wishes, certain people seem to think of the un-bequeathed Estate as "ownerless" and they take what they want. I believe that people are less likely to steal and argue over property when there is a Will to guide them in the distribution of assets. One last point to mention: the State of Minnesota gets the assets of a decedent resident if no legal relative comes forward to claim the assets. There are plenty of other worthy charities, from churches to schools to animal shelters which would be far more honored to receive a legacy of any size. If you have no family and want to leave your Estate to your favorite charity but you can't afford to pay much for a Will, I can offer you a discount, just ask. What is an Estate Plan? An Estate Plan involves both having a Will and checking all the "paperwork" such as deeds, titles, bank accounts, life insurance and other financial assets - because many assets have, in their "paperwork," a sort-of "mini-will" that directs who gets the asset if the owner passes away. Simply writing a Will might cause confusion if the Will conflicts with the "mini-wills." An Estate Plan coordinates everything to eliminate confusion and minimize costs (such as estate taxes and probate). Another benefit of the Estate Plan is information. Once you can "see" your assets altogether, it becomes easier to manage them to benefit yourself. How much do you need to save for your retirement plan? Should you have nursing home insurance, or disability income insurance, or more or less life insurance? I do not sell any financial products nor direct my clients to any insurance agent. I can set up the framework for you to make decisions. What is a "Living Will"? The term "Living Will" has been replaced by the term "Health Care Directive." Having a simple Living Will that states your wishes regarding whether or not you want to be kept on artificial life support is insufficient. Doctors and lawyers feel safer following the orders of a real person more so than following (and therefore being responsible for) the directives of a written document, especially on matters of life and death. Therefore, it is necessary to have a Health Care Directive, also called a Power of Attorney for Health Care. This gives one or more persons of your choosing the power to make your health care decisions when you cannot do so yourself. Where is your office?
My office is in Virginia, Minnesota - Suite #1, 412-1st Street South - near the Courthouse, and I also work in Britt. If you have mobility issues, I can come to you with no travel expense if you are in Virginia or Cook or in-between. My office is also only one block from the downtown main street of Virginia. When driving to my office, find and take 4th Avenue South to 1st Street South, which is a one-way street. Turning the correct way on 1st Street will put you right in front of my office with the easy-to-find Phillips Law Office sign out front. The building is brown brick with a red roof. There is plenty of street parking available. The building was built in 1906 as the Fee Office for the mining operations, and was used during World War Two for handing out ration coupon books. Attorney David Bourgen practiced here (his name is still on my office door) from 1945 to 1975, and he was partnered with Attorney Gus Koski for a few years. Attorney Andrew J. Phillips bought the building from Bourgen in 1976. Andy was partnered for several years with Attorney Scott Newman, who is currently serving as a State Representative from an area near the Metro. Can you answer a quick question? Maybe. If you want to trust the privacy of the Internet, which IS NOT up to the standards of attorney-client confidentiality, feel free to send me a short email message at ange@sipilaw.com . Do not send any information that you must keep confidential, email is not sufficiently secure for such communications. The act of sending me an email does not make me your lawyer. My answering your email might make me your lawyer, we'll see. I am not allowed to publicly post my fees, but if you ask (by email), I can tell you my hourly rate, I can state my flat fees for a Will, Purchase Agreement, Easement or Deed, and/or I can send my standard fee estimate for a Probate or a Divorce. I will try to reply to your question by email within a day or two unless there is a technical problem. This service is intended for people who live in my business area (i.e. Northeastern Minnesota.) I must say that if you are concerned about your rights in a legal matter, DON'T DELAY - get off the Internet and call an attorney to discuss it. Some claims expire if you wait too long to raise them. So don't wait. Thank you for reading my website. Your e-mail comments are welcome. |
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