Your Half Sibling Might Inherit More Than You Bargained For

A Half sibling in Minnesota can inherit just as much as your full or whole blooded sibling.  Surprising, right?  For some, yes.  For others, like Prince’s half-siblings, not so much.  In Minnesota, we have statute 524.2-107, which says:

Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.”

Luckily, you can work around this rule by utilizing a will or trust.  When a person dies without a will or trust, the wild wild west of “intestacy” laws kick-in.

Half Sibling Gets No Love

The level of love offered or shared between siblings and relatives makes no difference.  Here in MN, half is as good as whole.  Of course, the rules in other states, like Florida have a different set of rules.

Really though, where we make our death bed does not matter either.  Instead, its where we have our assets that counts.  For those with assets in Minnesota, treating half-blood relatives as whole blooded takers can have unintended consequences.

Half Sibling Workarounds

Like I mentioned above, a purposely planned estate an reduce risk.  Giving away more than we expected or not as much as we hoped is hardly a plan.  Half Sibling

Instead, I like addressing a half-blooded sibling by incorporating the law and expressing my specific wishes.  I like this approach because it is difficult to predict when or if the law on half relatives will change.

Even more significant, in the history of Minnesota, the statute on half-blooded siblings has only been addressed twice with half-blooded relatives showing up about very infrequently.  In case you are looking for additional resources for assistance, check out these cases:

  • McDonnall v. Drawz
  • LamFramboise v. Day
  • Boeing v. Owsley
  • Atwater v. Russell

Unfortunately, these case are so old, the only way to track them down is by visiting Minnesota’s law library.  Nonetheless, they are worth reading.  Nonetheless, an estate plan incorporating a half-sibling calls for exact and specifically expressed intentions.