Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

Transfer on Death Deed. A “Transfer on Death Deed” (“TODD”) is a relatively new
development under Minnesota law. It allows anyone owning Minnesota real property to specify,
by deed, who should receive the real estate following the death of the current owner, subject to
any outstanding mortgages on the property. If a married couple owns the property, the married
couple could together execute and record a TODD that specifies who should receive the real
estate following the death of both the husband and wife. In order to be effective, the TODD
must have been properly executed and recorded prior to death.
3. Probate Assets
Third, assets that cannot be categorized as either (1) trust assets or (2) other non-probate assets
should be considered “probate” assets. The legal transfer of these types of assets generally
involves the supervision of the state court system—a process generally called “probate.”
COLLECTION AND RE-TITLING OF ASSETS
Once assets have been identified and categorized, and the attorney-client relationship
established, the fiduciary should begin the process of collecting and re-titling assets.
Trust Assets:
Accounts or assets that were owned in the name of the decedent’s trust during lifetime should be
re-titled so that the asset is under the control of the trustee. In order to accomplish this, the
account or asset generally requires the following two changes:
New Trustee. First, in most cases it will be necessary to remove the name of the
decedent as the named trustee and re-title the trust assets in the name of the designated
“successor” trustee. Even if the decedent was not serving in any fiduciary capacity at the
time of his or her death, in many cases the trust document includes provisions for the
appointment of one or more “successor” trustees to serve following death.
New Tax Identification. Second, it is necessary to assign a new tax identification number
to the trust, as summarized above. While all items of income and loss on trust assets
were previously reported directly on decedent’s personal income tax return, now the trust
has its own separate tax characteristics.
The bank, brokerage firm, life insurance company, or other third party administering the trust
assets will generally need the following documentation to make these changes:
1. The new tax identification number for the trust;
2. The name and contact information for the trustee; and
3. Either (i) a new Certificate of Trust; or
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