Eden Prairie Lifestyle typically avoids reminding readers that they will die someday. As tidbits go, it’s not the cheeriest.
What happens to you after you die? That is not for this magazine to say, although you would be well advised to be as kind as possible to others so long as you’re here.
What we can say for certain is that you will be missed. Immensely. The world will have lost one of its greatest treasures – an Eden Prairie Lifestyle reader – and your loved ones will have lost you.
Don’t compound their grief by darkening their lives with needless strife, expense and confusion. Do them a kindness. Put your affairs neatly in order with Andy Gregory’s help.
“I started working for the federal government fresh out of undergrad,” said Andy. “Over twenty years of public service provided the perfect crash course for becoming an estate planning and probate attorney – and I’m not just talking about practicing law. I learned how to navigate sensitive and terribly stressful situations. To sympathize with others during their darkest hours. To meet everyone at their level, and make byzantine legal matters crystal clear to them no matter their prior experience.”
Andy hadn’t known he was training for his future career throughout his time with the government. He wouldn’t realize his true calling until tragedy struck home.
“My wife’s grandmother and grandfather both passed away without an estate plan,” Andy continued. “I looked on with great sadness as family dysfunction ensued – lovely people, who would have been spared so much strain and tension if grandma and grandpa had had a little more foresight.
“It’s not their fault, of course. They simply weren’t aware of how much harm their inaction would eventually cause.”
Eager to help others avoid so much discord, the Mitchell Hamline alum founded his own law firm in 2022. “Most attorneys in my field focus on the before or the after. I chose to become one of the rare few who specializes in both: wills, trusts, and incapacity planning on one side, and trust administration and probate on the other,” Andy recounted. “I knew doing so would give my clients the peace of mind that only comes from knowing and trusting the same attorney who will one day serve their beneficiaries.
“Sadly, many of my clients only come to me after a loved one’s passing. For example, I recently represented a woman whose mother had sold her house two months before her death. My client had no idea how to access the hundreds of thousands of dollars still inside her mother’s bank account. I guided her through the probate process and to the happiest resolution possible, although I spent that entire time wishing I could have shared even the briefest moment with her mom before the fact.
“Many estate planning challenges are far more unpredictable, yet no less avoidable. I’m reminded of another case in which a woman had been caught stealing from her mother while the latter was going through early-onset Alzheimer’s. She wasn’t caught until her mother was in hospice, which is when her brother sought my help. Once again, I stood by him, but I also couldn’t help but imagine how much better off everyone would have been had mom only known about the necessity of incapacity planning.
“Some of the messiest cases of all involve small business ownership. Too many great mom and pop shops have been destroyed once mom learns she can’t access the bank accounts.
“Hindsights like those are what motivate my pro bono work. I volunteer for Wills for Heroes, which provides free estate planning services to first responders and their spouses in Minnesota, as well as the Minnesota State Law Library's Probate Clinic for which I give free legal advice to the general public – many of whom live right here in Eden Prairie. I also give back by teaching reduced-cost estate planning educational courses in local school districts throughout the southwest suburbs. And thanks to my extensive involvement with the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota State Bar Association, and Rotary International, I’m able to reach even more people in pressing need of legal aid.
“I’m proud to say those efforts have made me a North Star Lawyer: one who provides fifty or more hours of pro bono services per year.
“But that still leaves me with plenty of time for new clients. Reach out today if you want an estate plan that is perfectly tailored to your needs, or representation that secures your interests in the wake of a loved one’s passing. It’s never too soon or too late for my services.”
Visit AndyGregoryLaw.com or call (612) 562-9130 to book a virtual or in-person consultation.
"...the peace of mind that only comes from knowing and trusting the same attorney who will one day serve your beneficiaries."
“Some of the messiest cases of all involve small business ownership. Too many great mom and pop shops have been destroyed once mom learns she can’t access the bank accounts."