http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx?page=513

This is the link to the Self Help Center, a website posted by the 6th District Court (formerly known as the St. Louis County Courts). This site has Divorce Forms, Child Support forms, Small Claims forms, and other blank forms that you can printout yourself and file with the Court. I can review self-help forms for my clients at a fair price. Other lawyers also can review forms for you, so please try to get legal advice before you file papers yourself. You risk losing time, money, etc. later by submitting forms that are done cheaply but aren't done right.

http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx?page=513&category=87

This link is specifically to the probate section of the above link. 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.
4. An Affidavit to collect an amount under $50,000 if that's all the value owned by the deceased person. If the deceased person owned more than $50,000, then you probably 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 $50,000 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 available 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. There are ten to thirty forms needed for a probate and I have a computer software "document system" that can produce the necessary forms efficiently and neatly.

http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx?page=1927

You can do your own judgment searches, criminal records searches, etc. and you can check the Court Calendar.

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 birth date from the entry, and search again to get just what you want.

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 entries 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.

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/pubs/

Public website of Minnesota Statutes. You can either check the index for laws by topic, or type in the Statute number to find an exact law.

If you do not know an exact Statute number (with the dot, example: "12.34"), then click on "Statutes" at the the left-hand side of the page for the index. Some examples of laws are: Domestic Relations (aka "family law") is mostly in Chapters 517, 518 and 519. The Best Interests of the Child for determining parental custody are defined in Minn. Stat. 518.17. More laws on child custody are in Chapter 257, 257A, 257B and 257C. "Grandparents' Rights" are discussed in Minn. Stat. 257C.08. The Uniform Probate rules are in Chapter 524, with multi-party bank accounts specifically discussed in Section 524.6, and the rights of creditors to those multi-party bank accounts discussed in Minn. Stat. 524.6-207.

Also at this site is a link called "Who represents me?" this networks with other legislative site links where you can find your voting district, state representatives and polling place.

http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Default.asp

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.co.st-louis.mn.us/slcportal/SiteMap/HomePage/FindItAZ/tabid/550/SiteMap/HomePage/Ordinances/tabid/812/Default.aspx

The County website has zoning, planning and other County ordinances online. I am still looking for a good source list for township and town ordinances that are posted online.

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.

http://co.st-louis.mn.us/slcportal/Portals/0/Townships/township%20list%20Updated%20April%2013,2009%20.pdf

http://www.co.st-louis.mn.us/slcportal/SiteMap/HomePage/Departments/LawLibrary/LegalForms/tabid/494/Default.aspx

In addition to law library information, this website page lists several of the same links that I have here, and a few more that you may find helpful.

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 full time, 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.

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.

www.sos.state.mn.us

Free forms to incorporate your business! (There is a fee to file the forms.) Also has business services, administrative rules, and Uniform Commercial Code.

When deciding whether to incorporate as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), regular corporation, Sub S corporation, or other entity, consult your accountant. Your accountant may already know what tax-entity would fit your financial situation. Also, if your accountant has no experience doing LLC taxes, for example, then you may not want to be an LLC as a human resources matter. In general, "incorporating" means liability protection, and any lawyer can tell you that reducing your liability is a good idea. The main reason to consult an attorney is to chose the "entity" that best fits your business and then get the filing done. If you decide to do the filing yourself, it might be a low priority and not get done.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0%2C%2Cid%3D102767%2C00.html

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://support.epnet.com

You can research the competition, economic situation, market trends and other critical business data at the Business Source Premier. This site is for advanced business development research. It might not make sense until you are ready for a marketing strategy.

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.

1. Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRRB, usually called "the I triple-R B") http://www.irrrb.org/business This organization has loans and grants.
2. The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund (loans and helpful information) http://www.entrepreneurfund.org/loanfund.shtml
3. The Northland Foundation (for nonprofit organizations) http://www.northlandfdn.org/Grants/

http://www.deed.state.mn.us/wpd/dhp/DHPproviderlist.doc

The AEOA in Virginia, Minnesota provides training for basic office skills for people who have been homemakers.

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 Molly 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.

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-switch site that is full of ways to "accidentally" misclick and get charged. The actual free site is also full of ways to misclick: if you are asked for your credit card number, cancel and start over. Read carefully, look for the gray box at the bottom of the page, click-to-check the tiny-little box to agree with the terms and conditions BEFORE you click the "Next" button (or it will send you to the page to get your report by post-office mail.) If you misclick, you have to start at the beginning, and you should then pick a different company for your report. If you misclick three times (once with each company), you may have to agree to get your report by mail.

www.cookmn.com

Meet the residents of Cook Minnesota.

earth.google.com

http://minnesotalegalhistoryproject.org/

www.estatecrafters.com

Information regarding estate matters.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My office is in Virginia as of February, 2009 at Suite #1, 108 South 5th Avenue - near the Courthouse, half a block from main street. I also work from my home in Britt. However, since planning an estate requires looking at documents of title, insurance policies, and other items, my clients and I have found it efficient to meet where these documents are located - at the client's house. Particularly if you have mobility issues, I can come to you with no travel expense if you are in Virginia or Cook or in-between.

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.