Minnesota is implementing changes to the laws that govern trusts, estates, and powers of attorney, with most of the changes effective August 1, 2025. These legislative updates modernize long-standing rules, streamline the trust administration process, provide clarity to areas of ambiguity, and introduce new tools for trust planning.

Whether you have existing trusts or are just considering getting started with your estate planning, these changes may impact how your estate plan operates and how your wishes are carried out. Now is the time to review your estate plan to ensure it aligns with the new legal framework.

1. Long-Term Trust Planning: Trusts Can Now Last 500 Years

Under the new law, Minnesota increased the vesting period for trusts to 500 years—a major change from the previous 90-year limit.

Why it matters: This expansion now allows Minnesota trusts to exist for up to potentially 500 years, which fits a trend that we have seen with other jurisdictions in extending the rule against perpetuities. This now makes Minnesota a more attractive state for those interested in establishing long-term, multi-generational “dynasty trusts.” These dynasty trusts are a tool that can be used to:

  • Preserve wealth in the family;
  • Minimize estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes owed by each generation; and
  • Protect assets from creditors and divorcing spouses for centuries.

This change also encourages keeping administration of trusts within Minnesota, as Minnesota residents with these types of trusts have increasingly selected other states with more favorable laws in which to establish these types of trusts. The new rule applies to trusts created on or after August 1, 2025.

2. Protection Against Unintended Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries

Two important changes provide greater protection against unwanted beneficiaries and fiduciaries:

  • A parent of an adult child can now be disqualified from inheriting from the child’s estate if the parent and child were estranged in the year preceding the child’s death and the parent’s rights could have been terminated while the child was a minor.
  • Former in-laws are now automatically removed as a beneficiary from wills, trusts, and other beneficiary designations and fiduciary appointments after a divorce or annulment—unless the documents are intentionally updated to keep them in place.

Why it matters: These provisions help align default inheritance rules with the general expectation of what most individuals would want in these types of situations, but they are no substitute for a well-maintained estate plan. We still recommend reviewing your plan after any major life changes.  For example, if an in-law is named as a fiduciary in your documents and is automatically revoked on divorce, you still should execute a new document naming a new individual in that fiduciary role, or it may leave you with no individual named at all in that role.

3. Defined Roles for Trust Advisors and Protectors

Minnesota’s revised law clears up the definitions of the duties and responsibilities of investment advisors, distribution advisors, and trust protectors named in directed trusts.

  • Investment and distribution advisors are considered fiduciaries by default unless otherwise stated in the trust.
  • Trust protectors are not fiduciaries unless the trust expressly states that such roles are to be fiduciaries.
  • The law also makes other default rules applicable to trustees also applicable to directing parties.

Why it matters: These revisions give trustees, advisors, and beneficiaries a clear understanding of the responsibilities of each role. It also provides clarity to a long-standing issue for professional advisors in that it clarifies whether they need to act in a fiduciary capacity. Many attorneys, CPAs, and advisors have historically been hesitant to take on these advisor roles in trusts due to the ambiguity in their duties, and these laws aim to clear that up.

4. Deadlines for a Trust Contest

The law continues to permit a trustee to enforce a 120-day deadline to contest the validity of a revocable trust after the settlor’s death—but only if certain requirements are met. The amendment clarifies the content of the notice, which currently requires:

  • A copy of the trust
  • Notice of the settlor’s death
  • The trustee’s name and contact information
  • A statement of the deadline to file a challenge

Why it matters: This provides certainty for trustees and reduces the risk of delayed litigation. Proper notice is essential to get the clock ticking on the 120 days. Trustees should consult counsel to ensure compliance with the notice requirements.

5. Power of Attorney Clarification: Express Language Now Required to Grant the Power to Amend Trusts

Agents acting under a Power of Attorney cannot revoke, amend, or consent to the modification or termination of a trust unless that authority is explicitly stated in the Power of Attorney document or in the trust itself.

Why it matters: Under previous law, it was unclear whether this power was given, and often agents were taking actions in this area that were not expressly permitted by the power of attorney document. The modification to the law aims to make it clear that there is no authority to amend or revoke trusts unless explicitly stated in the document itself. The standard Minnesota Statutory Power of Attorney form does not grant an agent the power to amend or revoke a trust.  There may be times when a principal may want to grant the agent the power to amend or revoke trusts, and the pros and cons of granting this power should be discussed with your estate planning attorney.

6. Streamlined Termination of Small Trusts

The threshold for terminating a “small” or “uneconomic” trust without court approval is increased from $50,000 to $150,000.

Why it matters: Trustees now have a much easier process to close small trusts without costly and time-consuming court proceedings or tracking down signatures from qualified beneficiaries. Trusts under the $150,000 threshold typically have administrative costs that are difficult to justify for the amount of assets that the trust holds, and therefore, the trustee and beneficiaries desire to terminate the trust and distribute the funds outright to the beneficiaries. We often see documents that fund trusts with less than $150,000 for a specific beneficiary. Now is the time to discuss eliminating these trusts or alternative options with your estate planning attorney.

7. Additional Technical and Administrative Updates

The updates include several other technical revisions that aim to streamline the trust administration process, resolve ambiguity or uncertainty surrounding various provisions in the Trust Code, and modernize the laws.

What Should You Do Now?

These revisions bring Minnesota’s laws in line with national trends, offer new planning opportunities, and give trustees and estate planners new tools to ease the trust administration process. At the same time, older documents may now fall short of your current goals or the updated legal standards.

We recommend you:

✔ Contact your estate planning attorney regarding any updates in this alert that you feel may apply to your situation.
✔ Review and update as needed your Trust, Power of Attorney, and other estate planning documents to ensure that you have the appropriate beneficiaries and persons named in your fiduciary roles.
✔ Continue to re-visit your estate plan on a regular basis, and particularly after major life events such as marriage, divorce, estrangement, a birth or death of a family member, or a change in health.
✔ If you are named as a trustee or other fiduciary in an estate planning document, discuss your duties and responsibilities with your attorney to explore what tools may be available to assist you in your role.

If you have questions about how these changes affect your estate plan or your responsibilities as a trustee, agent, trust beneficiary, trust protector or advisor, contact a member of our estate planning team for assistance.

July 31, 2025