SYMPOSIUM 2017: Planning for Success

Financial Planning Association of Minnesota October 16-17, 2017

THE CABIN TRUST SOLUTION

1 CE – CFP/CIMA/NASBA/MN/WI • .75 – CLE NASBA Category: Specialized Knowledge & Applications; CLE Category: Standard

Joel Mullen – Tuesday, October 17, 2017 – 1:50-2:40 pm

Course Description:

For many Minnesotans, the family cabin is intended to be a true legacy asset; however, simply leaving the

cabin to the next generation can present a myriad of problems. Most cabin owners are unaware that

without proper planning, unresolved issues could tear a family apart. The Cabin Trust Solution will teach

you how to utilize Minnesota case law to help your clients avoid future conflict and keep the cabin in the

family and away from creditors and claimants. Most importantly, you will learn how to identify critical

issues associated with the family cabin and how to respond with effective solutions.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, attendees will:

1. Understand why a family cabin is a unique estate planning problem that must be addressed.

2. Learn about largely unknown existing Minnesota case law that can help keep the cabin, “in the family”

3. Be able to counsel clients on the potential solutions to effectively transfer the family cabin to the next

generation

Detailed Content Outline: (50 minutes)

• Introduction and Overview 5 minutes

• Case Study 15 minutes

• Minnesota’s Unique Case Law 10 minutes

• The Solution: The Cabin Trust / The Cabin LLC 10 minutes

• Overview of Various Planning Options 5 minutes

• Wrap Up / Q & A 5 minutes

Course Schedule: Individual Course Schedules were not printed and mailed.

Course Level: Basic

Exam: No Exam

OCTOBER 16-17, 2017

Joel P. Mullen

Joel P. Mullen is a partner with the law firm of Mullen & Guttman PLLC. Joel assists clients

throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding communities with estate planning,

cabin planning, planning for the LGBT community and non-traditional families, estate

administration and probate, special needs planning, elder law & medical assistance planning,

family business succession, and planning for children.

Joel enjoys counseling Minnesotans about the importance of having a good estate plan in

place. Joel frequently presents free public educational seminars to explain the benefits of

estate planning and to help clients decide what type of estate plan (i.e., Will, Living Trust,

Cabin Trust, Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Directives) makes sense for their personal

situations.

Joel is passionate about helping families prevent conflict through prudent estate planning.

He is a frequent speaker on family conflict resolution, and has committed himself exclusively

to estate planning as a practice. Joel has been interviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune

for his work with family cabin owners and hosts the website www.cabin-trust-mn.com (a

resource for MN family cabin owners).

Joel is a graduate of Hamline University School of Law, a former board member of the

Minnesota State Bar Association’s Elder Law Council, and a member of the Minnesota State

Bar Association.

Joel grew up in Excelsior, MN and currently resides in St. Louis Park with his wife Cindy

and their two beautiful daughters. They spend their leisure time on Lake Minnetonka and in

the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

MULLEN & GUTTMAN, PLLC

THE CABIN TRUST SOLUTIONFINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MINNESOTA

OCTOBER 17, 2017

1:50 P.M. – 2:40 P.M.

JOEL P. MULLEN, ESQ.Partner Mullen & Guttman Law FirmAn Estate Planning Law Firm

© Mullen & Guttman PLLC

▪ Attorney Joel Mullen

▪Attorney Matt Guttman

▪Attorney Ane Weiss

▪Attorney Jamie Reff-Wagner

▪Practice areas—Trusts and Estates

Introduction

▪ To prove that an estate plan involving a family cabin is a problem that MUST be solved

▪ To discuss the right and wrong ways to leave a cabin to the children

▪ How to keep the cabin “in the family”

▪ How to protect the cabin from creditors and potential divorces

Goals for this hour

▪ Because multiple owners mean multiple disagreements!

▪ Our children are all differentDifferences are age, income, temperament, marital status, geography, etc.

Why is the cabin a problem?

▪ This doesn’t have to be a problem for the children

▪ The solution will strengthen, not destroy, family relationships

▪ You have to take some action NOW before it is too late

So what’s the good news?

▪ Framing the issue- What we accomplish

through estate planning

▪ It doesn’t matter if a family is worth

$50K or $50M, the goals are the same —

this is not a rich person’s problem

✓ Avoid Probate

✓ Pass and PROTECT assets for the

next generation or to charity

✓ Plan for Incapacity

✓ No Estate Taxes!

Let’s get started

The Getalong estate

▪ Mom and Dad Getalong married in 1960Dad is a salesman; Mom is an educator

▪ Mom and Dad Getalong’s house purchased for $25K in 1965 and now worth $400K

▪ Purchased cabin in St. Louis County for $25K in 1975 and now worth $600K

▪ Mom and Dad Getalong are retired with $500K in “nest egg” and love spending time with their three children and grandchildren

The Getalong children

Joe:

▪ Married, loves to

fish and hunt.

Issues:

▪ Loves the cabin

▪ Struggles with

employment

Pete:

▪Married, accountant

Issues:

▪Controlling wife

▪Does not appreciate the

“party” culture

Sally:

▪Recently married, loves

her brothers

Issues:

▪Shaky marriage due to

creditor issues

▪Lives in Seattle

▪ Mom and Dad Getalong pass away, and have an estate plan that leaves all assets to the kids OUTRIGHT and in equal shares

▪ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Tragedy strikes the family

What do we learn from theGetalong family?▪ Who is the bad guy here?

▪ What went wrong? Mom and Dad Getalong left their estate equally to their children- why did this story play out this way?

▪Use

▪Equity

▪Taxes and expenses

▪Buy-out provisions

▪CREDITOR issues!

What issues

did the

Getalong

children have?

How this story could have

ended if Mom and Dad

Getalong had a Cabin

Trust?

The ‘Getalong’Family trust

▪Allows your children to control their own assets while also protecting those assets in the future

▪Protects against creditors

▪Protects against divorces

The Asset Protection Trust

1. Force the sale

2. Leave cabin outright to the kids

3. Protect it with a “Asset Protection Trust”

4. Update your plan with a Family Cabin Trustand/or LLC

What are the options?Any cabin owner has only four estate options:

Questions?

THANK YOU

Presenter:Joel P. Mullen, Esq.Mullen & Guttman PLLCAn Estate Planning Law Firm6600 France Avenue South, Suite 210Edina, MN 55435612-756-7272joel@mullenguttman.com

FPA MN Coordinator: Bonnie Stanley

Financial Planning Association of MN3900 Main Street NE

Columbia Heights, MN 55421bonnie@fpamn.org

763-781-1212© Mullen & Guttman PLLC