Experienced Estate & Trust Litigation Attorneys

Kirstin E. Helmers Attorney Photo

Kirstin E. Helmers

Practice Areas:

  • Probate Disputes
  • Trust Disputes
  • Will and Trust Contests
  • Fiduciary Litigation
  • Power of Attorney Litigation
  • Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults
  • Disputed Business Succession and Inheritance Issues
  • Contested Guardianships and Conservatorships

Biography

Since starting her practice, Kirstin Helmers has focused exclusively on probate and trust litigation. Inheritance disputes often involve high-tension, high stress situations. Kirstin utilizes a firm, creative, and thoughtful approach to help clients navigate these emotionally charged situations and achieve optimal results in court, at mediation, or in informal negotiations.

Kirstin also writes and teaches about probate and trust litigation and helps plan the annual Minnesota Probate and Trust Section Conference. She is an officer of the Minnesota State Bar Association Probate and Trust Section and was Co-Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Probate and Trust Section Litigation and Dispute Resolution Committee from 2018-2023.

Kirstin graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Russian History and obtained her law degree from the University of Minnesota. In law school, she clerked at the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, taught legal writing, and was the head writer for the Theater of the Relatively Talentless, the law school's annual musical. Since law school, Kirstin has enjoyed spending time in court, first as a law clerk for Hennepin County Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum (ret.), then as an associate with Rodney J. Mason, Ltd., and now at Mason & Helmers.

Education

  • University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Columbia University, New York City, New York

Bar Admission

  • Minnesota
  • U.S. District Court District of Minnesota

Classes & Seminars

  • Trust & Estate Litigation in 2023 – We Are Not Alone, Minnesota CLE, March 28, 2023 (course chair)
  • May the Fourth Be with You: Practice Pointers from the Hennepin County Probate Bench, Probate and Trust Section Conference, June 14, 2022 (moderator)
  • Litigating Probate & Trust Disputes in 2022 – Let’s Get Technical, Minnesota CLE, March 29, 2022 (course chair)
  • Litigating Probate and Trust Disputes in 2021 – A Brave New World, Minnesota CLE, March 18, 2021 (course chair)
  • Just, Fair, Reasonable, and Necessary: The Current Landscape of Attorneys’ Fees in Probate Court Proceedings and Legal Quick Sheet, Probate and Trust Section Conference, October 16, 2020 (moderator and author)
  • Probate Litigation Lessons for Real Estate Lawyers, Minnesota Real Estate Institute, November 1, 2019 (with Spencer Butts)
  • Just, Fair, Reasonable, and Necessary: The Current Landscape of Attorneys’ Fees in Probate Court Proceedings, Minnesota State Bar Association Probate and Trust Section, October 24, 2019 (moderator, with Susan A. King, Kim Ruckdashel-Haley, and Alan I. Silver)
  • Probate and Trust Disputes: The Litigator’s Guide to the Galaxy, November 28, 2018 (course chair)
  • Homestead Sweet Homestead: A Guide to a Surviving Spouse’s Exempt Property Rights under the Minnesota Probate Code, Minnesota Real Estate Institute, November 1, 2018 (with Anton Cheskis)
  • Litigation in Estate, Probate, and Trusts, Minnesota CLE The Complete Estate, Probate, and Trust Lawyer book and seminar, September 25, 2018 (with Pamela D. Steinle)
  • Beneficiary Designations: Uses and Abuses, Probate and Trust Section Conference, June 4, 2018 (with Susan A. King)
  • Special Proceedings and Probate, Minnesota CLE Webcast, May 7, 2018 (with Karen Cole and Thomas J. Radio)
  • Protecting the PR’s Assets: An Overview for Lawyers, Minnesota State Bar Association Solo-Small Section, April 24, 2018 (with Rodney J. Mason)
  • Undue Influence and Capacity Issues in Real Estate Conveyances, Minnesota Real Estate Institute, November 3, 2017 (with Anton Cheskis)
  • Beneficiary Designations: Uses and Abuses, Ramsey County Bar Association, October 12, 2017
  • The Capacity Panel – Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Capacity but Forgot to Ask, Minnesota Probate and Trust Section Conference and Legal Quick Sheet, June 12, 2017 (with Susan A. King and Jennifer A. Lammers)
  • Balancing Rights of Inheritance: Exempt Property, Family Allowances, Premarital Wills, and other Legislative Changes in 2016, Ramsey County Bar Association, March 29, 2017 (with Rodney J. Mason)
  • Litigation in Estate, Probate, and Trusts, Minnesota CLE The Complete Estate, Probate, and Trust Lawyer book and seminar, March 28, 2017 (with Pamela D. Steinle)
  • When Family Love Turns to Family Feud: The Judges Speak, MSBA Probate & Trust Law Section Litigation Committee CLE, February 14, 2017 (co-moderator with Steven M. Sitek)
  • Important Considerations for End-of-Life and Incapacity Planning panel, Minnesota Probate and Trust Section Conference, June 7, 2016
  • Trusts 101: Ethical Considerations, National Business Institute, May 17, 2016
  • Powers of Attorney: Uses and Abuses, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Planning and Drafting for Small Estates Seminar, December 1, 2015

Professional Associations

  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Member
  • Ramsey County Bar Association, Member
  • Hennepin County Bar Association, Member
  • Probate and Trust Law Section, Minnesota State Bar Association – Vice-Chair (2023-2024), Secretary (2022-2023), Ramsey County Representative (2022-2023), Litigation and Dispute Resolution Committee Co-Chair (2018-2023)
  • Minnesota Probate and Trust Section Conference, Planning Committee Member