Lake County court notice sets hearing in McMahon estate case

A Lake County probate notice for the estate of Sheila Bridget McMahon set a June 18 hearing in Two Harbors, opening the door for the court to decide who is legally entitled to property left in Minnesota. The filing is a petition for determination of descent, the kind of proceeding used when a person has died and the distribution of estate property still needs a court decree to clear title and assign assets.

The notice says McMahon died more than three years ago and left property in Minnesota. In that situation, the court can determine the descent of the property and direct it to the people entitled to receive it. That matters because probate is not just paperwork: it is the legal step that can move real estate, personal property, and other assets from an estate into the names of heirs or other interested parties.

The hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on June 18, 2026, at the Lake County District Court, 601 Third Avenue in Two Harbors, and it will be held via Zoom. Any objections must be filed with the court or raised at the hearing if they are proper. Under Minnesota law, notice also has to be mailed to interested persons at least 14 days before the hearing date, giving heirs, creditors, and others with a legal stake a chance to respond before the court acts.

Minnesota Statutes section 525.312 provides for this decree-of-descent process and requires publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county, with the last publication at least 10 days before the hearing. Section 524.1-401 also sets out notice requirements for interested persons. The Lake County notice was signed by District Court Judge Shawn Reed and is set to appear again in the paper on June 5, part of the county’s public-notice system for estate matters.

For Lake County residents, the notice also points to where probate business happens. The Lake County District Court has original jurisdiction over probate cases filed in the county, and the courthouse at 601 Third Avenue serves as the local venue for those proceedings. The Sixth Judicial District covers Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties, and the Lake County courthouse page says public-access terminals are available there for people tracking a case or looking up court information. Built in 1905, the Lake County Courthouse remains the place where these property questions are put before the court, and where a notice like this can determine how an estate is finally settled.