Amanda Kruse

Amanda Kruse focuses her practice on assisting clients with estate planning, charitable giving, business succession planning and estate and trust administration. She drafts wills and trusts, advises clients on tax minimization strategies, and guides families through the estate administration process. Amanda also provides pro bono work for the Volunteer Lawyers Network, Criminal Expungement division. 

Prior to joining the firm, Amanda worked as a Senior Financial Analyst where she provided business and financial support including general ledger accounting, financial reporting, analysis and budgeting.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Administered an estate worth approximately $20 million by setting up and funding trusts for the benefit of the surviving spouse and children, filing estate tax returns, and ensuring that the estate is passed to the intended beneficiaries.
• Helped a family navigate the estate administration process after the unexpected loss of the patriarch of the family; included helping the family with the probate and estate settlement process, preparing estate tax return, and working to resolve trust and estate controversies.
• Sophisticated estate planning for high-net-worth individuals including structure and documentation of LLCs, gifting programs, generation-skipping tax planning, and grantor trusts.
• Counseled an individual regarding the succession of his family business. Structured the business succession plan for transition of the business to the next generation, including tax planning, and estate planning to ensure equalization with other family members and control issues.

• Co-presenter, "Your First Probate: How to Manage Important Timelines and Deadlines," Minnesota CLE 2024 Probate and Trust Law Section Conference, June 11, 2024
• Co-presenter, "Estate Planning Basics – Top Ten Things to Know About Estate Planning," Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) New Lawyers Section Webinar, May 16, 2024
• Co-presenter, "Estate Planning Basics for the Business Lawyer," Minnesota CLE 2023 Business Law Institute, May 1, 2023

• Co-author, "Tax-free Rollovers of 529 Plan Funds to Roth IRAs Allowed Under Secure 2.0," Tri-Bar Trust & Probate Section Newsletter, April 25, 2023
• Co-author, "Michael Jackson’s Estate and the Challenge of Valuing Intangible Assets,” Financial Advisor, July 30, 2021

• American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust, and Estate Section
• Hennepin County Bar Association, Probate Section, Vice Chair, 2022-2023
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Ramsey County Bar Association
• Washington County Bar Association

• Wills for Heroes, Volunteer
• Volunteer Lawyers Network, Board Member and Criminal Expungement Volunteer
• Hennepin County District Ethics Committee Volunteer Investigator, 2022-2024
• Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Pro Bono Attorney

• Hennepin County Bar Association, "Excellence Award - Providing Pro Bono Services," 2023
• Minnesota State Bar Association, "North Star Lawyers," 2021-2024
• Lathrop GPM 2022 Pro Bono All-Star of the Year Recipient