Estate Planning

Estate Planning Attorney

Serving Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park in Minnesota

At the Berg Law offices in Hopkins, Minnesota, I create personalized estate plans to accomplish the personal goals of my clients, who range from young couples who have more debts than assets, to people who are planning for retirement, to wealthy individuals who are concerned about estate taxes.  My clients’ goals may include minimizing estate taxes, avoiding the expense and delay of probate when passing assets on to loved ones, or planning for incapacity. I am open and eager to work with any other advisors you may have, such as financial planners, accountants, and insurance agents. 

I use a variety of legal planning tools to meet your goals, including:

• Simple Wills
• Contingent Trust Wills for clients with young children who need trusts to manage assets
• Marital and Family Trusts for clients who have estate tax concerns
• Revocable Living Trusts to clients who want to pass their assets directly to the heirs without probate.  Revocable Living Trusts are also helpful for people who want to designate a trustee to step in and manage their affairs in the event of incapacity.

Estate planning tools that are used less frequently, but which can benefit clients with specific needs, include:

• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, which can benefit clients who have large estates.  Life Insurance policies placed in an irrevocable trust will not be included in a person’s estate for estate tax purposes.
• Special Needs Trusts, which can help clients plan for the needs of a family member with a disability.  Funds placed in a Special Needs Trust can provide additional income for a family member who is receiving government assistance from programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) without interfering with their eligibility for assistance.
• Charitable gifting, which provides tax advantages for clients with large estates.

Elder Law Services

I can also help people plan for incapacity by helping them develop a variety of elder law tools.  These tools include:

• Health Care and Financial Powers of attorney, to designate a trusted family member to manage your financial and health care affairs if you are unable to do so yourself.
• Health care directives (also called living wills), which spell out which steps you want taken to preserve your life in the event of a terminal illness.
• Revocable Living Trusts.  These tools serve a dual purpose of helping you avoid probate and designating a trusted family member to handle your financial affairs.

In situations where powers of attorney are not in place, I can help families care for incapacitated loved ones with the following legal proceedings:

• Conservatorship, in which the court appoints someone to manage the assets of an incapacitated person.
• Guardianship, in which the court appoints someone to make health care and personal care for an incapacitated person.

Call Nelson Berg at (952) 935-3425 for a free initial phone consultation

Berg Law Offices
1011 First Street South
Suite 400
Hopkins, MN 55343-9479
Phone: (952) 935-3425
Fax: (952) 935-7981

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