How to Get Letters Testamentary | Minnesota Probate Law

Getting Letters Testamentary

One of those common question the law firm receives is: “how do I get letters testamentary?” Because this questions comes up so often, we have decided to write a long post about the topic.

Letters Testamentary

Before we can answer the question of how to get letters testamentary, it is important to explain exactly what Letters Testamentary are. Basically, the “letters” are creations of law. Once a personal representative has been appointed by the appropriate probate court, the probate judge will literally sign court documents called “Letters Testamentary” if the person who died had a Will. Let me say that again: Letters Testamentary are only issued to a court-appointed personal representative (executor) if the deceased person had a Will at the time of his/her death.

It is important to understand that Letters Testamentary pertain only to probates where the is a Will. Different letters are issued by a court when a person died without a Will. These documents are called “Letters of General Administration” by the law. Therefore, the first question I ask people is: “did the deceased person have a Will?”

Court Orders

We discussed above the a personal representative has to be appointed by the court to get these “letters”. Again, they are court approved documents that give a personal representative authority to act on behalf of a deceased person’s estate. When the letters are issued, it is common that certified copies of the documents must be obtained from the court clerk. Banks and other financial institutions require certified copies.

Petitioning to be Appointed Personal Representative

The next question people often ask is: how do a I get appointed by the court? The answer: you have to petition the court to be appointed as personal representative.

A Petition must contain the proper legal language and factual statements to be valid under the law. The probate lawyers at the firm have seen many instances when people try to petition the court themselves and often are unable to properly do so. It goes without saying that a experienced probate lawyer should be consulted whenever a new probate is started.

The Petition must contain information about who the petitioner is, who the deceased was, addresses, dates of birth, and other pertinent factual information. It can be complicated. The Petition should also include information about who the heirs (people receiving money) are and who the creditors of the estate are. Finally, the petition should contain factual information about the deceased person’s money and debts. For example, the deceased person likely had money in the form of a home, retirement accounts, bank accounts, stocks, and other investments. The deceased person also likely had some amount of debt. All of this information should be included in the Petition.

Affidavits and Proper “Notices”

After drafting a legal Petition, the personal representative and the attorney also need to mail out “notices” to the heirs and other “interested parties”. These notices are court-ordered documents stating that the decased person has died, a probate has begun, and a hearing will be held with the court at some time after the initial filing of the Petition. The notices are mailed out to the heirs and other interested parties because they have certain legal rights – such as the right to object to the Petition. The law firm does not see this often, however, it is relatively common that someone will be upset and may object to the appointment of the petitioner (the proposed personal representative). When this happens, the probate lawyers at the firm no what to do.

Furthermore, one common missed step by non-lawyers is that the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services and the County Department of Human Services need to be notified about the estate. How does this happen? By mailing the court-ordered notice directly to them. Why is this done? Because the law requires the personal represntative to give notice to the state in case the state provided any medical assistance benefits on behalf of the deceased at any time during their life. As you might imagine, many people die when they are of advanced age and, due to this, those people may have very expensive medical bills. Sometimes, the state will pay a portion of those medical bills and, naturally, the state wants to be reimbursed by the decased person and their estate.

Getting Letters Testamentary

Assuming the personal representative has properly petitioned the court, all notices have been mailed and published in a newspaper, and nobody object, then the court will likely appoint the petitioning party. Soon after the court hearing, the court will issue the Letters Testamentary.

Many people ask how long this process takes. The answer: it depends. Certain counties take longer to probate estates. Sometimes problems come up. Sometimes people object and the creates delay. However, on average, a person can expect the court to set the matter for hearing within about two months of them petitioning the court.

Probate Lawyers

The law firm has experienced probate lawyers ready to help you in your estate. The firm has years of experience helping people get Letters Testamentary and Letters of General Administration. Call Flanders Law Firm LLC today at 612-424-0398.