James T. McNary
Jim has been practicing law for more than 30 years. Throughout most of his career he has limited his practice to the areas of estate planning, business succession planning, probate, and trust administration. That focus has allowed Jim to intensively study those areas of the law. He has taught many courses and written many papers for fellow lawyers and has published articles on estate planning, probate, and trust administration.
Licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, Jim can assist you with the preparation of your power of attorney, health care directive, will, or trust. He prepares everything from transfer-on-death deeds and simple wills to complex tax-saving trust instruments. Jim can assist you with the transition of your farm or business to the next generation. And he can assist your heirs with the administration of your estate after you are gone.
Whether your estate is worth millions of dollars or is more modest Jim has the experience and knowledge to customize an estate plan to meet your unique goals and objectives.
Professional Credentials
Recognized on Minnesota Super Lawyers® list, 2019-2022 (Minnesota Super Lawyers® is a designation given to only 5 percent of Minnesota attorneys each year, based on a selection process that includes the recommendations of peers in the selection process).
Continuing Legal Education Classes
- Disclaimers: When It’s Better to Give (Sort of) Than to Receive (2007)
- Representing the Individual Trustee of a Family Trust (2008)
- Estate Planning in Uncertain Times (2009)
- Estate Planning in 2011 & Beyond: Critical Issues in Planning, Administration & Drafting – Course Co-Chair (2011)
- Ten Statutes of the Probate Code Every Scrivener Should be Familiar With (2011)
- From King Lear to 1,000 Acres: The Problem of Estate Planning for the Farm & The Family (2012)
- 2013: An Estate Planning Odyssey – Critical Issues in Planning, Administration & Drafting – Course Co-Chair (2013)
- TED Talk: The Passionate Planner (2015)
- Drafting After the New Trust Code (2016)
- Is There a Place for Powers of Appointment in Your Estate Plan? (2016)
- Finding Fiduciaries: Considerations for Choosing Trustees, Agents & Personal Representatives (2016)
- Finding Fiduciaries: Considerations for Choosing & Using Trustees, Directed Trustees & Trust Protectors (2017)
- Probate: Administering the Estate Effectively (2017)
- Probate: Maintaining an Ethical Probate Practice (2017)
- Probate: Tax Reporting & Post-Mortem Tax Matters (2018)
- Ten Statutes of the Uniform Probate Code & the Uniform Trust Code with Which Every Scrivener Should be Familiar (2018)
- Revocable Living Trusts (2018)
- Trusts Used for Tax Reduction (2018)
- Charitable Giving (2021)
- Estate Planning for Retirement Accounts & Social Security, Course Chair (2022)
Presentations
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Identifying & Mitigating Potential Flashpoints in the Estate Plan (2020)
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Planning & Administering Trusts for Difficult Beneficiaries (2021)
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Tax Fundamentals for Estate Planning Attorneys (2021)
Publications
- Best Practices for Scriveners –Trusts & Estates (2011)
- The WandryWay: A Better Approach to the Disclaimer of Hard-to-Value Assets –Probate & Property (2013)
- Finding Fiduciaries: Considerations for Choosing & Using Trustees, Directed Trustees & Trust Protectors – Bench & Bar (2018) – Read Here
