Who We Are

The University of Minnesota Extension Service provides unbiased, research-based education as an outreach arm of the University of Minnesota. Our researchers and educators developed the Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?^TM educational resources to help families make more informed decisions.

• Why a Families and Inheritance Project?
• Project Development Team
• Project Development Process
• Project Advisory Committee

Why a Families and Inheritance Project?

The Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?^TM educational materials and programs were created in response to the following needs:

• There are powerful messages in "who gets what" in times of inheritance, including personal possessions. Personal property may or may not have much financial worth, but often has a great deal of sentimental or emotional value.

• Families often find inheritance decisions about non-titled personal property more challenging than titled property.

• While many are familiar with the need to have a legal will before they die, few have planned ahead to include non-titled property in the decision-making process.

• When families fail to make informed decisions about personal possessions, misunderstandings and conflicts can lead to damaged family relationships and costly court battles. Planning ahead allows for more choices, the opportunity for better communication about what "fair" means, and results in fewer misunderstandings and conflicts.

• As baby boomers and their parents and parents-in-law age, more and more families will be faced with inheritance decisions. Almost everyone will be faced with this issue at some point in their lifetime.

• When the project began in 1994, few resources existed to help family members make informed decisions. There was also very little research about families and inheritance decision-making, especially regarding non-titled property.

Original Project Development Team

This project was originally developed by a team of eight researchers and educators from the University of Minnesota Extension Service. The University of Minnesota Extension Service provides unbiased, research-based education to help family members make more informed decisions as an outreach arm of the University of Minnesota. This project serves as a model for how research can help address critical issues facing today's families, a goal of the land-grant University Extension System.

The lead researcher and author for the project is Marlene S. Stum, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Family Social Science on the St. Paul campus. Marlene's research and teaching through the Minnesota Extension Service focuses on understanding economic well-being issues facing later life families. She has developed numerous educational resources to help people make more informed decisions about inheritance, financing long term care, and end-of-life issues, including the Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?^TM materials.

Marlene's background includes a Ph.D. in Adult Education and Social Gerontology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.S. in Family Economics from Kansas State University. Her expertise includes more than thirty years of teaching in higher education, primarily in family economics and social gerontology.

Seven of the original team members were Extension educators with financial management expertise and many years of adult education expertise. These team members were located in the network of county Extension throughout Minnesota and included:

Claire J. Althoff, Wilkin County
Mary J. Anderson, Wright County
Shirley L. Barber, Ramsey County
Christy A. Bubolz, Koochiching County
Sharon S. Knutson, Norman County
Charles L. Leifeld, Washington County
Elizabeth H. Russell, Chippewa County

Project Development Process

Materials Developed Based on Research
This project is based on the real-life experiences of family members, attorneys, and other professionals who help family members make inheritance decisions.

• We began by conducting qualitative research to learn about the decision-making issues confronting families when faced with personal property decisions and inheritance. Our findings suggest six key factors that are important to successful property transfer decisions. These factors provide the guiding framework for the workbook and video. A discussion of this research can be found in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues Vol. 21(2) Summer 2000 in the article by Stum, M. titled "Families and inheritance decisions: Examining non-titled property transfers."

• Our research also provides in-depth insight into the meaning of "fairness." These findings helped us develop practical worksheets to help family members sort out the meaning of fair inheritance processes and outcomes. More about our research on fairness can be learned about in Stum, M. (1999), "I just want to be fair: Interpersonal justice in intergenerational transfers of non-titled property," Family Relations, 48(2), 159-166.

Collaborative and Thorough Materials Development
This project was not only guided by our research findings, but by the expertise of a Project Advisory Committee. The individuals listed below were involved in clarifying education needs and approaches, identifying relevant research, and reviewing and developing written and video resources. The Project Development Team and Advisory Committee worked together to conduct extensive piloting and materials development before our educational resources were made available nationwide.

Project Advisory Committee

Todd Andrews, Attorney, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education

Betty Berger, Attorney, Minnesota Board on Aging

Timothy Blade, Professor, Design, Housing and Apparel, University of Minnesota

Steve Brand, Attorney, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Minneapolis, MN

Richard Hawke, Attorney, Richard D. Hawke's private practice, Roseville, MN

Rosalind Keppler, Attorney, Kuehn & Keppler, St. Paul, MN

Francis Long, Attorney, Long & Collins, Minneapolis, MN

Kris Maser, Attorney, Maser, Amundson & Crist, Minneapolis, MN

Patricia Miller, Attorney, P.J. Miller Law Offices, St. Paul, MN

Jane Plihal, Associate Professor, Vocational Technical Education, University of Minnesota

Paul Rosenblatt, Professor, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota

Michael Scherschligt, School of Law, Hamline University, St. Paul, MN

Lloyd Stern, Attorney, Hessian, McKasy & Soderberg, Minneapolis, MN

Patti Sullivan, Attorney, Ulvin & Sullivan, St. Paul, MN

Mary Ward, Attorney, American Banks Trust Department, St. Paul, MN