Free Fillable Minnesota Last Will and Testament Form

Life is a journey without a definite finishing date. Thus, it would be best if you lived ready to leave at any time. Your unknown departure also means that you must leave all of your hard-earned assets on earth to your surviving family members. However, it’s essential to think and care about how your inheritors will inherit your assets. Write a Minnesota last will and testament to guarantee them an orderly inheritance. This way, you ensure that everyone knows what you allocated to them.

Having a last will also means that there will be no confusion and conflict among your target beneficiaries. Remember, you worked hard to earn all of those assets and raise their beneficiaries. So, why should you allow the government to step in after you die to distribute your assets when you can conclusively determine everything today?

Keep reading to discover all you need to know about this critical document. Eventually, you will see the need to download our free last will and testament template and write your last will today.

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Free Fillable Minnesota Last Will and Testament Form

Why It’s Important

A Minnesota last will and testament is a critical document. However, the law doesn’t compel you to write one. But the challenge comes in when you die without a last will because the state has legal powers to intervene and distribute your estate as per its laws and not your wishes! Therefore, it’s prudent to write it early enough to avoid leaving your family at the mercy and discretion of state officials.

Writing a last will ensures that your family enjoys a harmonious and smooth transition. It ensures that your children don’t fight over your properties and end up hating one another as they age. The reason is that without clearly defined inheritance boundaries, everyone will want to set theirs. Consequently, they could set those demarcations based on selfish motives that shortchange their siblings and brew conflict. Therefore, it’s critical to write your last will to save your family from an avoidable and costly conflict.

Your last will lets you stamp your authority and have the final say over what you labored for. It allows you to define your inheritors based on what is best for each person. This way, you sign out of this life as a parent and spouse who was a master planner. You also show your children you care about them and that they have a place in your labor’s fruit.

It also lets you extend your inheritance’s beneficiaries beyond your children and spouse. The reason is that if you die without a last will, the government is only allowed to distribute it to your surviving family members. Therefore, you can’t donate to charity even if you wished to do so. You can also show generosity with your assets to non-human beneficiaries. You can do this by writing a pet trust that determines how your pets will benefit from your assets after your death.

Mandatory Legal Requirements

The last will in Minnesota is a legally binding document that should be composed in line with section 524.2-502 of 2019 Minnesota Statute, although it’s not legally mandatory. Therefore, you should follow some primary requirements to make it legally binding. Here are some of them.

The testator should be an adult aged 18 years and above.
The will writer should be sane.
The testator must sign the will or appoint a trusted person to do it in their name, presence, and at their direction. The law also allows conservators to sign the will as per court orders.
The document also requires at least two competent witnesses who witnessed the testator signing or acknowledging the will and/or its signing. These witnesses should also sign the document.

The last will should be in written form.
The testator can appoint anyone to inherit their estate from inside or outside their family.

Effecting Amendments

Minnesota laws allow you to amend your last will any time you wish. However, you must do it by following all the legal procedures you followed when you documented it. You can change it by codicil.

Effecting Revocation

Writing a last will is not a final act you can’t revoke. The law allows you to revoke the last will and write a new one. You can accomplish it by executing a subsequent last will. You may also revoke it if you burn, tear, cancel, obliterate, or destroy the document wholly or partially. The law also allows you to do it in person or by appointing a trusted person to revoke it for you. However, your appointee should revoke the last will in your presence and at your direction.

Moreover, the law allows for your last will’s revocation if you annul or dissolve your marriage because a will’s implementation revokes some of its provisions regarding your former spouse.

You are now abreast of all you needed to know about a Minnesota last will and testament. The ball is in your court to do yourself and family a favor by writing your last will today. Don’t leave your family in confusion and at the mercy of the government when you have the final say over your hard-earned assets. So, arise and stamp your authority over your family’s economic destiny by writing a last will today. You can download and fill out our forms now because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

What Happens When One Dies Without a Will?

The law empowers the state of Minnesota to intervene when one dies without a last will. It invokes intestacy laws. When it does, it allows one’s surviving spouse to inherit the whole estate if they left no children. However, if the decedent left children from another relationship, the surviving spouse inherits the first $150,000 plus the half of the remainder. The children inherit the remaining half.

If the deceased left no spouse or children, their closest surviving relatives would inherit their assets. Some of these relatives are parents, siblings, and grandparents.

Exempted Assets

Minnesota laws exempt some assets from distribution via the last will. These properties are:

The elective shares of surviving spouses;
Life insurance policies;
Retirement earnings;
Jointly owned properties.