Rep. Linda Slocum
STATEMENT
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 50A | 651-296-7158 | rep.linda.slocum@house.mn
415 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Matt Privratsky
(651) 296-6860
December 30, 2013
“Recently, updates were sent out on new bills going into affect on January 1, 2014. I wanted to provide a brief clarification about the bill that went into place regarding estate sales.
Earlier this year, you may have read in the Star Tribune about a family in Bloomington, which was cheated by an estate sale company following a family member’s death. After selling items on behalf of the family, the estate sale business never gave the family their rightful share of the sale. The family did obtain a court judgment against the company, but unsurprisingly, the judgment turned out to be uncollectible. During a period of grief, no family should have to endure this additional hardship.
After consulting with the Attorney General’s office, I found that many Minnesotans have experienced this problem. My legislation (HF 131) requiring businesses conducting estate sales to post a $20,000 surety bond was recently signed by the governor. Surety bonds ensure the family receives payment, even if the estate sale business defaults. It does not require a guarantee of $20,000 in proceeds from any given sale. It simply provides that amount of protection should anything happen throughout the estate sale process.
Hopefully, this legislation will help protect families in this unfortunate situation without causing an undue burden on estate sale businesses.”
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