MSBA Probate & Trust Law Section

Annual Report

Annual Report Archives

MSBA PROBATE & TRUST SECTION
2011-12

Section Membership
As of June 30, 2012, the Probate & Trust Section had 1,146 members.

Financial Status
The Probate & Trust Section had an account balance of $12,929.91 as of May 31, 2012.

Continuing Legal Education Programs and Social Events
The Section hosted four CLE programs in fiscal year 2011-12.

Program Date	Program Title	CLE Event Code and Credit	# of Attendees
9/29/2011	"Digital Death: Can Estates or Heirs Gain Access to Online Pictures, Social Networks, Emails, and Accounts?" (co-sponsored with the Business Law, Probate & Trust and Computer & Technology Law Sections)	159166 / 1.5 Standard	123
12/8/2011	The Life of a Case in the Trusts and Estates Area	162229 / 1.0 Standard	125
3/13/2012	Protect Your Practice: Best Practices in Backing Up Client Information and Disaster Prevention	165166 / 1.5 Standard	40
5/2/2012	Clients and Diminished Capacity Issues	166855 / 1.0 EOB	94

Legislation and Amicus Briefs

Peter Hatinen and Drew Baese led our legislative efforts this year. The Section sponsored bill was passed by the legislature. HF951/SF654 addressed the issue disputed in In re S.H. Bowman Trust, 804 N.W. 2d 361 (Minn.App.2011) involving the ability to disclaim property interests held in trusts. The Section’s efforts to clarify the farm and small business estate tax exclusions were unsuccessful.

There were no Amicus Briefs filed on behalf of the Section this year.

Annual Meeting and Election Results

The Probate and Trust Section annual meeting is being held at noon on June 4, 2012, at the Probate and Trust Annual Conference in St. Paul, MN.

The following individuals are nominated to serve as Officers in 2012-13:

Officers
Chair:                    Tom Woessner
Vice Chair:            Scott Nelson
Secretary:              Andrew Baese
Treasurer:              Peter Hatinen

Council

Todd Andrews has been nominated to replace Andrea Breckner on Section Council for the upcoming year.

The following individuals will serve as the Section’s MSBA Assembly representative and alternate in 2012-13:

Representative: Scott Nelson
Alternate: Tom Rauenhorst

Other Section Accomplishments
Pro Bono/Volunteer Service Activities:

• Wills For Heroes continues to be very successful with future events scheduled as far out as October 2014. We have prepared 6,287 estate plans to date.
Our attorney, data entry, and greeter volunteers have contributed 3,594 pro bono hours (under Rule 6.1(b)(3)) in 2011, broken down as follows: Attorney hours - 2,144; Data Entry hours - 1,395; and Greeter hours: 55. We held 40 clinics in 2011.

• Christ Hunt and his committee continue their work on review of the Uniform Trust Act. The Committee meets every three weeks. It is working a final draft of proposed comprehensive changes to Minnesota’s law governing the creation, administration and termination of trusts. The Committee hopes to have a draft for review by other MSBA sections by spring of 2013.

Website and practicelaw.org:

Monthly updates of federal tax developments affecting the probate and trust bar continued to be posted on the practicelaw.org website throughout the year

Section Newsletter/Publication:

• A Newsletter was published twice this year with several articles and section news including legislative updates.

• The Greater Minnesota Study Group continues to have numerous participants each month.

Submitted by:
Tom Rauenhorst, Section Chair

- Last Updated 07/13/2012 -

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