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Elder law attorneys in Minnesota focus on the legal issues facing aging adults and their families: Medicaid planning for long-term care, drafting and updating durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, special needs trusts, and asset protection. Many also handle probate and estate planning, but elder law is the specific subset focused on care planning and benefits eligibility. See the Minnesota healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney forms.
Federal law (and Minnesota's implementation) imposes a 5-year lookback period for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. Any uncompensated transfers (gifts, transfers to family members, transfers to a non-Medicaid-qualified trust) within the 5 years before applying for Medicaid can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid won't pay for nursing home care. This is the main reason Medicaid planning needs to start years before care is actually needed — and the main reason elder law attorneys exist as a distinct practice area.
Estate planning attorneys in Minnesota average $345 per hourClio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jan 1, 2025 for wills and estates work. Flat-fee packages run roughly $1,035–$2,070 for a simple individual will and $3,530–$5,295 for a basic revocable trust. Online and DIY services cost $30–$300 for the same documents — see the will cost calculator for a side-by-side comparison.
Minnesota allows estates under $75,000 to use a simplified Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property procedure, which is a form rather than a court case and typically doesn't require an attorney. For larger estates, formal probate is involved enough that retaining counsel is usually practical — the procedural work is what they're there for. Use the Minnesota probate calculator to estimate the costs.
In Minnesota, the situations where retaining counsel is typically worth the cost are: blended families with children from prior relationships; ownership of a business, rental property, or significant investment assets; special-needs dependents who need a special-needs trust to preserve benefits; estates near or above the Minnesota estate tax threshold; substantial property held in multiple states. If none of these describe your situation, the simpler online and DIY tools are often enough.
Search 4,045 estate law firms across 51 states.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.
16 firms
Serves Duluth and northeastern Minnesota, with virtual meetings for clients elsewhere in the state. Handles estate planning, probate, and elder law matters. Attorney Amy Kuronen is a Certified Financial Planner with over 30 years of experience and offers a complimentary initial consultation.
Location
306 W Superior St, Suite 300Duluth, MN 55802
Phone
(218) 464-1459
Serves Mower and Freeborn counties from Austin, near the Iowa border. Handles wills, revocable and supplemental-needs trusts, probate and estate administration, estate tax planning, and contested trust and estate matters for families across south-central and southeastern Minnesota. The firm has practiced continuously in Austin since 1908.
Location
108 North Main StreetAustin, MN 55912
Phone
(507) 433-2393
Established
1908
Service Area
2 counties
For over 55 years, BSKK Law has provided legal representation to individuals, businesses, and area municipalities in the Brainerd Lakes and surrounding areas. Their estate planning practice covers simple wills to complex trusts, estate tax planning, Medicaid planning, and full probate administration.
Location
302 S. 6th StreetBrainerd, MN 56401
Phone
(218) 829-1451
Established
1970
Service Area
5 counties
Serves Kittson, Marshall, and Roseau counties from Hallock, the Kittson County seat, with a second office in Argyle. Handles wills, trusts, and probate and estate administration, along with the real estate transfers, Medical Assistance planning, and family-farm succession common to Red River Valley families. The firm has practiced in Hallock since 1934.
Location
234 Birch Ave SHallock, MN 56728
Phone
(218) 843-3686
Established
1934
Service Area
5 counties
Serves Beltrami County and the surrounding Headwaters region from Bemidji, with a second office in Fosston reaching into Polk County. Handles estate administration after a death along with wills, trusts, and the real estate transfers that accompany settling an estate. Also practices elder law for area families.
Location
312 America Ave NWBemidji, MN 56601
Phone
(218) 759-1673
Service Area
4 counties
Brainerd general practice firm established in 1989, serving Crow Wing County and surrounding Brainerd Lakes communities. Practice areas include probate, trusts and estates, wills, elder law, guardianship and conservatorship, real estate, business law, and family law. AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Location
718 Front StreetBrainerd, MN 56401
Phone
(218) 829-7365
Established
1989
Service Area
2 counties
Files probate and administers estates through the Aitkin County courthouse and surrounding communities including Hill City, McGregor, and Tamarack. Drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives, and guides personal representatives through estate administration. Handles cabin trusts and Medical Assistance planning for lake-country property owners.
Location
122 2nd Street NWAitkin, MN 56431
Phone
(218) 927-6913
Service Area
2 counties
Serving Central Minnesota since 2000 with over 150 years of combined legal experience. Handles estate planning, wills, probate, guardianship, and conservatorship cases throughout the St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, Cold Spring, Big Lake, and surrounding areas.
Location
803 W St. Germain StreetSt. Cloud, MN 56301
Phone
(320) 240-9423
Established
2000
Service Area
3 counties
Serving West Central Minnesota since the early 1950s from offices in Fergus Falls and Pelican Rapids. Licensed in both Minnesota and North Dakota with over 20 areas of legal practice including estate planning, elder law, and agricultural law.
Location
213 South Mill StreetFergus Falls, MN 56537
Phone
(218) 739-4623
Service Area
2 counties
Attorney Dominic M. Smith focuses specifically on estate planning and farm succession in Southwest Minnesota. Licensed in both Minnesota and South Dakota, with particular strength in agricultural estate planning for the farming-heavy region.
Location
203 Jewett StreetMarshall, MN 56258
Phone
(507) 337-2590
Service Area
9 counties