Christopher D. Luehr
Areas of Practice: Estates + Trusts, Probate + Estate Administration, Cannabis Law, Business + Corporate Law, Business Succession Planning, Prenuptial + Postnuptial Agreements
Office Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Direct: 612.336.9351 / Email: cluehr@lommen.com
Chris Luehr / Biography
Chris Luehr is a husband, father, and Estate Planning Attorney dedicated to helping individuals and families navigate the complexities of wills, trusts, probate, and asset protection. He works closely with clients to develop comprehensive estate plans that provide peace of mind for the future.
He also provides legal counsel for entrepreneurs, investors, and commercial real estate professionals, assisting with business formation, compliance, and investment strategies. This work includes working with those in the cannabis industry.
Beyond his legal work, Chris is committed to racial justice and community equity. He proudly serves with organizations like the Great North Innocence Project and the Volunteer Lawyers Network, working to promote fairness and access to justice in the Twin Cities and beyond.
In his free time, Chris enjoys making music, biking with his family, and camping. His wife, Avivah, and their three children—Lilly, Luthan, and Maverick—are the cornerstone of a life built on family, fun, and faith.
Estates + Trusts
Chris will assist you in getting your legal affairs in order in the event of your incapacity or death.
- Drafting Wills, Trusts, Financial Powers of Attorney, & Health Care Directives
- Titling Assets
- Gifting Assets
- Naming Death Beneficiaries
- Advising on Guardianship & Conservatorship Matters
- Minimizing Estate Tax Exposure
Probate + Trust Administration
- Navigating Probate Proceedings
- Trust Administration
- Asset Inventory and Valuation
- Beneficiary Representation
- Asset Distribution and Final Accounting
Business Succession Planning
- Developing Customized Succession Strategies
- Drafting and Implementing Buy-Sell Agreements
- Structuring Ownership Transitions
- Minimizing Tax Implications
- Facilitating Family Business Governance
Leadership + Activities
-
Financial Planners Association of Minnesota, Director, Membership Committee
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Minnesota State Bar Association, Diversity and Inclusion Council
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Twin Cities Estate Planning Council, Member
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hopkins Early Learning Center, Board Member
- Story Arts of Minnesota, Board member & organizer of Storyfest
Community + Pro Bono Work
- Volunteer Lawyers Network, Volunteer Attorney
- SMRLS, Wills for Seniors, Volunteer Attorney
- Wills for Heroes, Volunteer Attorney
- The Advocates for Human Rights, Volunteer Attorney
- Great North Innocence Project, Speakers Bureau
- Sanctuary Covenant Church, Hospitality Team Volunteer
Feedback
- “Chris made the estate planning process approachable and easy to understand. We had a wonderful experience as he took the time to explain everything clearly and made us feel comfortable every step of the way. He explained complex issues in a way that made sense, and he was thoughtful, knowledgeable, and incredibly easy to talk to. What could have felt overwhelming instead felt organized and manageable. We definitely recommend working with Chris!” – Timothy and Heidi C.
- “When it came to estate planning, we didn’t even know where to start. We knew it needed to be done to ensure our kids were covered, but it felt overwhelming on our own. Chris made the process simple and easy to understand. Now we can breathe easier, confident in our family’s plan for the future!” – Kelly & Mike M.
- “Chris made the estate planning process efficient and easy. I feel like there is a weight off my shoulders knowing that everything is in place, and the people I care about and love are going to get what I leave them.” – Jeanne T.
Presentations
- “AI & Estate Planning: Tool, Threat, or Both?”, Twin Cities Estate Planning Council, March 2026
- “Estate Planning Moves That Protect the Business and the Family”, Financial Planning Association of Minnesota, January 2026
- “Cheating Death: Estate Planning for a Peaceful Future,” November 2024
- “A Family is A Family is A Family: Estate Planning for Foster & Adoptive Families,” February 2024
Published Articles
- “Red Banking: Chinese State-Owned Commercial Bank Reform and the Basel II Accord,” Minnesota Journal of International Law, Spring 2011
Experience
-
Estate Planning
a. Type of client: Young married couple with minor children.
b. Issue: Ensuring their children’s financial security and emotional care if something were to happen to the parents.
c. Chris’s approach: Designed a clear and practical estate plan that appointed guardians and trustees, created protective trusts, and established successor decision-makers, while also building in future distribution provisions so the children would receive assets at ages when they could manage them responsibly.
d. Result: The clients left the signing meeting with tremendous peace of mind, knowing their children, assets, and legacy were protected by a thoughtful and easy-to-follow plan.
- Business Client
a. Type of client: Sole proprietorship small business owner.
b. Issue: The city threatened to raze her commercial property while she was out of state, putting the future of her business at risk.
c. Chris’s approach: Sent a detailed letter to the city council outlining the legal and practical reasons to halt the raze order and negotiated directly with the city attorney, council members, and the mayor to reach a workable solution.
d. Result: Secured a new agreement that preserved the building and allowed the owner to rebuild and continue operating her business—saving her hundreds of thousands of dollars while keeping a thriving local business in the community.
- High Net worth Estate Planning Client
a. Type of client: Ultra-high-net-worth individual with an approximately $70 million estate.
b. Issue: Transfer and restructuring of complex assets—including alternative investments—into a newly created private individual trust.
c. Chris’s approach: Worked through each issue methodically, maintaining close communication with the client, presenting practical options, and coordinating with trusted professionals such as wealth managers and technology advisors to address related estate and asset-management concerns.
d. Result: Successfully negotiated and transferred the client’s interests into a new trust structure designed to minimize tax consequences and thoughtfully distribute assets among friends, charitable beneficiaries, and other chosen recipients.
- Cannabis Business Client
a. Type of client: Cannabis business operator and private commercial property owner.
b. Issue: Structuring lease agreements that would allow a cannabis-related business to operate while protecting the property owner and complying with Minnesota’s evolving cannabis regulations.
c. Chris’s approach: Drafted and revised lease agreements while carefully explaining the regulatory landscape, helping the client understand the legal risks alongside the potential business opportunities so they could make informed decisions.
d. Result: Developed a well-structured agreement that protected the property owner while allowing the cannabis business to operate successfully and position both parties for long-term growth.
- Estate Planning Client – Couple without children
a. Type of client: Married couple approaching retirement with no children.
b. Issue: Determining who should serve in key fiduciary roles—personal representative, trustee, power of attorney, and health care agent—and how their assets should ultimately be distributed.
c. Chris’s approach: Guided the clients through several drafts of their estate plan, helping them evaluate trusted individuals and corporate fiduciaries for key roles while connecting them with other professionals in his network for additional planning support.
d. Result: Developed a comprehensive estate plan that clearly appoints fiduciaries and directs the couple’s assets to friends and charitable organizations in accordance with their wishes, providing long-term clarity and peace of mind.
Education
- Macalester College, B.A., cum laude, 2001
- Columbia University, M.A., cum laude, 2005
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2011
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 2019
- North Dakota, 2011
News + Articles
Estate Planning for Family Businesses: Succession, Taxes, and Long-Term Planning
Family businesses are unique in many ways. Mostly because they’re never just businesses. A machine shop started by a grandfather in the 1970s. A lakeside resort run by siblings who still argue about whose turn it is to buy bait. A second-generation HVAC company where...
What Investors and Entrepreneurs Should Know About Financing a Minnesota Cannabis Business
Minnesota’s cannabis industry feels a little bit like the Wild West right now—in the best and most stressful ways possible. There’s excitement everywhere. People are sketching out business plans at breweries, talking cultivation strategies over coffee, and trying to...
Will vs. Trust: What’s the Difference—and Which One Do You Need?
I’ll be honest—when people hear “estate planning,” most of them picture a stack of dense documents, a lot of legal jargon, and maybe a vague sense that they should get around to it… someday. And inevitably, the same question comes up: “Do I need a will or a trust?”...
Why Funding Your Trust Matters More Than Creating It
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation: “Great—we signed the trust. So we’re done, right?” I always pause for a second, because this is the part nobody really talks about. The truth? Creating the trust is only half the job. Funding it is where the...
Role of Children in Business Succession Planning
There’s a moment that comes up in almost every family business conversation, and you can feel it before anyone says it out loud. We’re sitting around a table—sometimes a conference room, sometimes a kitchen—and someone says, “Well, I want to treat all the kids...
AI in Estate Planning: The Tool Everyone’s Talking About (But Few Are Using Well)
Last week, I stood in a room full of sharp advisors, attorneys, and planners and asked a simple question: Is AI a tool… a threat… or both? You could feel the hesitation. Some people leaned forward—curious. Others leaned back—skeptical. And a few probably...