Hennepin Probate / Mental Health Court

Probate Court has jurisdiction over cases involving the disposition of property owned by people who have passed away; administration of court-supervised trusts; and proceedings to create guardianships or conservatorships for minor children, incapacitated or incompetent adults.

Different Types of Estate Procedures

• Affidavit of Collection of Personal Property
• Informal Probate
• Formal Unsupervised
• Formal Supervised
• Summary
• Descents
• Special Administration

The following is a list of some of the laws and rules that relate to Probate cases. We encourage you to talk with a lawyer to get advice on how the laws and rules may affect your case.
 

• MN Statutes Chapter 524
• MN Statutes Chapter 525
• MN Rules of Civil Procedure

Probate Court Forms »

The MN Judicial Branch publishes some statewide probate forms, but not every probate form. You could also get forms at a law library, from a legal forms publisher, or from an attorney. You should get advice from a lawyer to decide which forms to use in your case.

Formal Probate Forms:

• PRO603 Petition for Release of Funds
• PRO602 Receipt for Deposit of Restricted Funds into Protective Account

All Formal Estate Letters (supervised and unsupervised) are issued by the Presiding Judge or a Referee.

To complete the process of getting Letters more quickly, please submit the following documents to the court before the hearing:

• Preapproval of any demand for bond;
• Acceptance and Oath;
• Email proposed Orders to the hearing officer assigned to your case.

To check the status of getting Formal Estate Letters, go to the online case records system and view the Register of Actions for the case.

If the Order Appointing the Personal Representative is not yet entered, please contact the law clerk for the judicial officer in your case:

• Judge Julia Dayton Klein - (612) 322-6563
• Judge William H. Koch - (612) 322-6587
• Referee Joel Olson - (612) 348-5484
• Referee Lori Skibbie - (612) 322-6608
• Referee Danielle Mercurio - (612) 322-6604

If the Order Appointing is entered, but the Letters have not been issued, make sure that all qualification documents (Acceptance and Oath, Bond, etc.) have been filed with the court.

If both the Order Appointing and all qualification documents have been filed, but the Letters have not been issued, call court administration at (612) 348-6000 to check on the status of the Letters.

You can get certified copies of court documents filed in a case at the District Court Records Center.