Letty Van Ert | Estate Planning

Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC

Letty Van Ert | Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC

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Firm Summary

Letty M-S Van Ert is a shareholder at Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC. She focuses her practice on helping North Metro families through many of life’s challenges, including leading families with children through custody and divorce proceedings, guiding families through the probate process when they experience the death of a loved one or setting up estate plans for families with small or disabled children.

Ms. Van Ert has a breadth of experience researching, drafting, conducting discovery, negotiating, counseling clients, and litigating matters. In addition, she is a Rule 114 qualified neutral and enjoys helping parties come up with creative solutions to disagreements or disputes.

Living with her husband and two children of her own in the North Metro, Ms. Van Ert knows first hand the joys and struggles families can face. She appreciates that when children are involved, special care and consideration are needed to protect the children’s interests. Ms. Van Ert finds third-party custody cases particularly satisfying. In those cases, a child often has neither a mother nor a father providing care, and someone else, sometimes not even biologically related to the child, steps up to fill the role as parent, giving the child the love and support he or she otherwise would not receive.

Not only has Ms. Van Ert experienced life with children, but she has also faced the loss of both of her parents after long illnesses. The experience of losing her parents along with her work with clients have given her a depth of understanding and empathy, which she provides to her clients who are experiencing loss, whether the loss be in the form of a loved one’s death or the loss of a spouse through divorce.

Ms. Van Ert received her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law, where she graduated cum laude and served as an editor of the Law Review. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish/Portuguese, English, and International Relations from the University of Minnesota, graduating magna cum laude.

She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and has received recognition for public service, most notably for her work with prisoners, the elderly and victims of domestic abuse. She is a present member of the Coon Rapids Rotary Club and has volunteered with Wills for Heroes, Tubman, and the Pro Se Clinics in both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Ms. Van Ert has published articles regarding family caregiver legislation, deathbed deeds and estate planning for digital assets. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 Ms. Van Ert was recognized as a “Rising Star” attorney by Minnesota Super Lawyers® and recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2020, 2021, and 2022. She has been named to the list of Best Lawyers in America® since 2018.

Ms. Van Ert is originally from North Dakota and is now a long-term resident of Minnesota. She enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening, working out and being with her family.

Current Employment Position:

Shareholder/Attorney
Qualified Neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice
Parenting Consultant

Bar Admissions:

2008 Minnesota Supreme Court
2013 United States Tax Court

Education:

Juris Doctor, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, cum laude
B.A., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, magna cum laude (Phi Beta Kappa)

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Minnesota State Bar Association (Elder Law Section)
Hennepin County Bar Association (Family Law Section; Trusts and Estates Section)
Ramsey County Bar Association (Family Law Section Co-Chair 2015; Probate and Trust Law Section)
Family Law League
Minnesota Women Lawyers
Qualified Neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice
Coon Rapids Rotary Club (Secretary, 2017-2018; Treasurer, 2018-2019, President Elect 2020-2021, President 2021-2022, Past-President 2022-2023)
Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, Board Member 2020
AFCC, member of the Membership Committee, 2020

Honors and Awards:

Named to the list of Minnesota Super Lawyers®, 2020, 2021, 2022
Named to the list of Minnesota Rising Star attorneys by Minnesota Super Lawyers®, 2012, 2017, 2018
Named to the list of Best Lawyers in America®, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
William Mitchell Law Review Editor (2007-2008)
William Mitchell Law Review Staff (2006-2007)

Courses Taught/Presentations:

Wills and Probate, Maplewood Community Education, 2016
Child Custody, Standby Custodial Agreements, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Ramsey County Bar CLE, 2009
Guardians Ad Litem in Family Court and Ethical Considerations in Employing Minn.R.Civ.P. 17.02, Ramsey County Bar Association, Family Law Section, November 2019
Presentation to the Coon Rapids Rotary Club on child support, child custody, parenting time, divorce, and spousal maintenance, 2018
Presentation to the Coon Rapids Rotary Club on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives and the probate system, 2019
New Lawyers Panel, Probate & Trust Law Section Conference, October 2020
Minnesota CLE, New Lawyers Panel, Probate & Trust Law Section Conference, June 2021 and June 2022
Minnesota CLE, Your First Client: Using the Initial Client Interview to Inform the Estate Plan, June 2021 and June 2022
Minnesota CLE, Divorce A to Z – Contempt and Closing a Divorce File, December 2021 and May 2022

Published Works:

Looking Back on the First Couple of Years of Practice, Hearsay (Fall 2013)
Estate Planning for the Digital Afterlife, Minnesota State Bar Association Probate and Trust Law Section E-Newsletter (Spring 2013)
Top 10 Tips for New Lawyers to Work and Play Well with Others, Hearsay (Spring 2013)
Deathbed Deeds, Bench & Bar of Minnesota (March 2012)

Volunteer/Pro Bono Activities:

Volunteer Lawyers Network (2012-present)
Ramsey County Volunteer Mediation program (2009-present)
Wills for Heroes (2009-present)
Vulnerable Adults Committee (2009-2010)
Tubman (2008-2011)
Ramsey County Family Court Pro Se Clinic (2008-2011)
Hennepin County Pro Se Clinic (2016-present)
Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) Clinic (2007-2008)