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Estate Affidavit Guide

What to Do If a Bank or Clerk Refuses Your Minnesota Decree of Descent

Minnesota's Decree of Descent runs through a court proceeding under Minn. Stat. §§ 525.31-525.313, and the points where it slows or stalls are specific ones — a required clearance or filing, a notice step, an institution's follow-up request. Below are the 3 points Minnesota families run into most and what the statute or the court's own instructions say about each. This is informational only and is not legal advice.

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Where a court-filed process slows or stalls

Decree of Descent in Minnesota runs through a court under Minn. Stat. §§ 525.31-525.313, so delays here are rarely a teller's unfamiliarity — they are specific steps the statute or the court's own instructions require: a clearance, complete notice, a complete list of interested persons, or an institution's follow-up request once the order is in hand. Each is covered below, with what resolves it.

The 3 refusals Minnesota families hit most

Here's what's actually going on with each, and exactly what resolves it.

Refusal 1

County Medical Assistance clearance is slow, or shows a claim

Minn. Stat. § 525.313 sets the sequence. After the petition is filed, the petitioner applies to the county agency in the county where the petition is pending (the court points to application form DHS-6165A); the county "shall mail the completed clearance ... within 15 working days after receiving the application without cost." A clearance either states no claim exists or states a claim and its total. The court cannot enter the decree until the clearance is filed and any claim has been "paid, settled, or otherwise finally disposed of" (§ 525.313(a)). If a claim exists, the county may "collect, compromise, or otherwise settle" it (§ 525.313(d)(4)), and an heir or devisee may ask for a partial decree to sell a specific interest free and clear of the claim, with the net sale proceeds held to pay it (§ 525.313(e)). A clearance is not required where the estate was previously probated in Minnesota and the property was simply omitted from that probate (§ 525.313(i)).

Document to bring: The DHS-6165A application (with a copy of the notice of hearing, per § 525.313(b)), the decedent's and any predeceased spouse's name, date of birth and Social Security number, and the heirs' and devisees' names and addresses.

Refusal 2

Court continues or rejects the petition because an interested person or a notice step is missing

The court's own form warns that "Not including all interested persons may delay the probate." The petition must list every spouse, child, heir and devisee and any other interested person (PRO1402 ¶ 10), state that all other heirs and devisees are eliminated (¶ 12), and be followed by mailed notice at least 14 days before the hearing and publication once a week for two consecutive weeks, the second at least ten days before the hearing (§ 525.312; § 524.1-401). The affidavits of service (PRO1403) and the publisher's affidavit of publication go on file with the court. A separate PRO905 notice goes to the Commissioner of Human Services, with a PRO903 affidavit of service filed with the court (not the notice itself).

Document to bring: A complete list of interested persons with addresses, proof of mailing for each (PRO1403), the publisher's affidavit of publication, and the PRO903 affidavit for the Commissioner notice.

Refusal 3

Bank, motor vehicle division or title company asks for more than the decree

The court's instructions say certified copies of the decree may be needed to present to banks to close accounts, to transfer title to real estate, and to the motor vehicle division to transfer a vehicle. For real estate they add that "for certain real estate transactions, you may have to take additional steps with the county recorder's office in the county where the real estate is located" and that court staff cannot answer questions about real estate transactions. No named, dated Minnesota account of an institution rejecting a decree of descent was found during this research, and no recorder requirement was independently read; confirm the recorder's and the title company's requirements with each before relying on the decree.

Document to bring: Certified copies of the decree of descent from court administration (there is a charge for each), and the legal description of any real estate.

If the court or an institution still won't proceed

Ask the court administrator or the institution to identify, in writing, the specific item still missing, then compare it against the statute and the court's instructions cited above. For anything the instructions say court staff cannot answer, a licensed attorney is the right call.

Before you file

A court-filed process slows on specific steps, and each has a specific answer. Free one-pager: what to have ready at each step, emailed now. Then a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

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Common questions

What if county Medical Assistance clearance is slow, or shows a claim?
Minn. Stat. § 525.313 sets the sequence. After the petition is filed, the petitioner applies to the county agency in the county where the petition is pending (the court points to application form DHS-6165A); the county "shall mail the completed clearance ... within 15 working days after receiving the application without cost." A clearance either states no claim exists or states a claim and its total. The court cannot enter the decree until the clearance is filed and any claim has been "paid, settled, or otherwise finally disposed of" (§ 525.313(a)). If a claim exists, the county may "collect, compromise, or otherwise settle" it (§ 525.313(d)(4)), and an heir or devisee may ask for a partial decree to sell a specific interest free and clear of the claim, with the net sale proceeds held to pay it (§ 525.313(e)). A clearance is not required where the estate was previously probated in Minnesota and the property was simply omitted from that probate (§ 525.313(i)).
What if court continues or rejects the petition because an interested person or a notice step is missing?
The court's own form warns that "Not including all interested persons may delay the probate." The petition must list every spouse, child, heir and devisee and any other interested person (PRO1402 ¶ 10), state that all other heirs and devisees are eliminated (¶ 12), and be followed by mailed notice at least 14 days before the hearing and publication once a week for two consecutive weeks, the second at least ten days before the hearing (§ 525.312; § 524.1-401). The affidavits of service (PRO1403) and the publisher's affidavit of publication go on file with the court. A separate PRO905 notice goes to the Commissioner of Human Services, with a PRO903 affidavit of service filed with the court (not the notice itself).
What if bank, motor vehicle division or title company asks for more than the decree?
The court's instructions say certified copies of the decree may be needed to present to banks to close accounts, to transfer title to real estate, and to the motor vehicle division to transfer a vehicle. For real estate they add that "for certain real estate transactions, you may have to take additional steps with the county recorder's office in the county where the real estate is located" and that court staff cannot answer questions about real estate transactions. No named, dated Minnesota account of an institution rejecting a decree of descent was found during this research, and no recorder requirement was independently read; confirm the recorder's and the title company's requirements with each before relying on the decree.