Presented by Tessa Mielke and Andrew Benson
The vast majority of what people think of as estate planning work (drafting wills, health care directives, powers of attorney, and trusts) involves opposite-sex couples who are married and who have children and grandchildren, which sparks their desire to get their estate planning affairs in order. Such clients undoubtedly form most of a standard estate planner’s book of business. And, such clients are likely on the minds of our legislators as they draft laws that address estate planning concerns. This mindset results in laws that, prior to same-sex marriage, provided favorable treatment to married, opposite-sex couples. Even with same-sex marriage, such laws still provide favorable treatment for the traditional relationship structure that accompanies marriage. This bias is especially visible in the laws of intestate succession, which govern the distribution of a decedent’s estate when the decedent dies without a will, and in the laws that govern how the government taxes estates and gifts.
As a result of the bias in our laws, and because of unaccepting family members, LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who seek to address their estate planning needs and who do not fit into the traditional marriage mold on which our laws are based face unique circumstances and issues. This CLE will give an overview of estate planning basics and the unique issues facing LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. Topics covered will include emergency health care and financial planning through health care directives and powers of attorney, gift and estate taxes, inheritance issues within non-traditional family structures, and protecting clients’ estates from legal challenges that may be brought by unaccepting family members. The discussion will include practical tips for estate planning for LGBTQ+ clients as well as an introduction to some of the more complex topics to use as starting points for deeper dives in a lawyer’s own research.
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Tessa Mielke
Tessa Mielke is a partner in the Tax, Trusts and Estates group at Dorsey & Whitney where her practice focuses on providing comprehensive estate planning for high net worth clients as well as income tax and retirement planning, lifetime gifting, estate and trust administration, and planning for the formation of public charities, private foundations, and charitable trusts.
Tessa received her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, summa cum laude, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, where she was an Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Review.
After graduating from Harvard, Tessa started her legal career in Boston at the law firm of Ropes & Gray. She moved to Minneapolis in 2013 where she joined Dorsey & Whitney as an associate attorney. Apart from her estate planning practice, Tessa maintains an active bro bono practice that focuses on advising nonprofit organizations.
Andrew Benson
Licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, Andrew is an associate at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he advises clients on complex estate planning, fiduciary, business succession planning, and tax-exempt organization matters.
He is also a proud member of the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association and a member of the MLBA’s conference committee. Apart from serving on the MLBA board, Andrew also serves on the Board of Directors for St. Croix Festival Theatre in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, where he worked for several years prior to attending law school. Andrew received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude, in 2019 and his B.A. from Saint Ambrose University, magna cum laude, in 2011. During his time in law school, Andrew served on the Student Bar Association and was a Managing Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Prior to his career as an attorney, Andrew was a professional theatre artist and worked on nearly 100 productions over the course of ten years. When Andrew is not working or volunteering, he enjoys long-distance running, traveling, and cooking.
