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When a group of people with farming and/or ranching interests gathered in Minot recently they came to learn about asset protection and succession planning for farm families.

German Law Group presented the information on estate planning for farm families at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Minot.

Raymond German, owner of German Law Group in Grand Forks, has been an attorney for more than 40 years and is an expert in estate planning. He wrote the book “Legacy Wealth Planning for Minnesota and North Dakota Families,” now in its third edition. He is the only attorney in North Dakota who is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

An estate is a person’s cash, land, assets, investment stocks, livestock, etc. Anything of value that a person owns is part of their estate. It also includes life insurance but sometimes people forget they have life insurance in addition to their other assets.

Estate planning is a topic many people find difficult to discuss as well as to do.

According to the German Law Group, the main reasons people ask for their estate planning services is to pass along their land and hard-earned wealth without court involvement. They also want to avoid unnecessary tax and fees, and they don’t want to go broke with long-term care expenses. In addition, they want to protect their family and wealth from predators and creditors.

They also want to pass along their wisdom and values and their life lessons to the generations to follow. It’s not just about money but it’s also about who they are and what is important to them.

Medical expenses are the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country.

The average cost of a nursing home in North Dakota is $130,000 per year or over $10,000 a month.

Over 86 percent of farmers do not have a transfer plan in place, German Law Group attorneys said.

People don’t plan because for one reason they don’t want to think about death so they procrastinate.

The second most popular reason why people do not plan ahead is because of the lack of knowledge.

Those at the presentation listed various interests they have for legacy wealth planning ranging from the cost of taxes on estate planning, trust planning for a special needs child to nursing homes.

Some Myths

There are several myths including that people always think they’ll live quite a bit longer – but then they die.

Another myth is people don’t plan because they feel their business is private but if they don’t have a plan in place, it’s going to be very public when they do pass away, law firm attorneys said. Probate is very public and open for anyone to find out anything.

Sometimes people will say they do not have enough assets to do estate planning but if a person has anything of value, anything they care about and anyone they care about, German Law Group says they should make plans to make sure their estate goes to the right person at the right time.

Some will say they are too young to start planning but the advisers say a person is never too young to start planning.

Or people will also say their spouse can handle everything and that their family is too close so nothing will ever come between them but sometimes family members disagree.

People will also say they can’t afford to put an estate plan in place but they should ask themselves, “Can you not afford not to?”

Wills, living trusts

A will is a legal document in which a person designates who manage their estate after death and powers that person will have, who will inherit the person’s assets after death and how those assets will be transferred to those individuals. It also can appoint guardians for minor children.

A living trust is a legal entity created during the lifetime of the person creating the trust to hold that person’s property. It allows probate avoidance, incapacity planning and distribution of trust property to chosen beneficiaries (person or persons to receive assets) and in the manner desired by the person creating the trust, according to “Legacy Wealth Planning for Minnesota and North Dakota Families” written by German.

Probate is the court-administered process through which a will is proven to be valid after a person dies and through which property is transferred to the beneficiaries named in it, according to the book.

Probate is costly and time consuming.

The national average of probate is 3 percent of the estate, according to German Law Group attorneys. It can take anywhere from nine to 24 months and some probates have gone over 10 years. All of it is public record and most court records are public access. If assets are in more than one state, he said there are multiple probates.

The single most important part of a person’s plan is to tailor it to themselves and for their family, according to the law firm.

German Law Group held another estate planning seminar, this one on “How You Can Pay for Long Term Care Without Going Broke” in Minot April 10-12.

The book, “Legacy Wealth Planning for Minnesota and North Dakota Families” is available through the German Law Group office in Grand Forks. The phone number is 738-0060. The book is presented to seminar attendees along with a free consultation after the seminar.