Estate Planning

If a person is creating a trust, one of the most important decisions they can make is who will act as trustee. There are several characteristics that are helpful to consider, as well as options to address situations where the trustee is not meeting their...

A will can help avoid a lot of confusion and frustration after someone has died. However, simply having the document might not be enough to answer all questions. In some cases, a relative is left out of the will and they do not understand why. It might have been done...

It’s hard to watch the decline of a loved one’s health. This can be especially true if you have a parent who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This condition can negatively impact your loved one’s cognitive functioning and reduce their memory, and they might also...

Estate planning isn’t just for individuals who have reached the later years of their life. In fact, if you wait that long, you put your estate and your loved ones at risk. After all, if you suddenly pass away without an estate plan, then your assets will be passed...

In Washington State, people are loyal to their pets and vice versa. While many understand the value of creating an estate plan, they do not consider what might happen to their pets if they are not around to care for them. Increasingly, people are weighing their...

South King County residents who are thinking about estate planning may have heard people promote trusts as a great estate planning tool. While they are not necessary or even appropriate for everyone’s situation, Washington residents should be aware of the benefits...

Many of our readers in Washington know that any given estate plan typically addresses how assets are passed on to others after the planner’s death. But, an estate plan can – and should – do so much more. Debt, for example, can be a crucially important part of an...

Estate planning is one area of the law that most people in Washington know a bit about, even if it is just from looking into getting started on this process. For those who actually have an estate plan in place, congratulations. You, unlike millions of Americans, have...

Estate planning comes with all sorts of unfamiliar terms that are worth parsing out and understanding. You may hear phrases such as “pour-over will” and “testamentary trust” and wonder, how can these documents help me? In truth, pour-over wills and testamentary trusts...

Estate planning is a deeply personal process where we decide who will make decisions for us, take care of our affairs and take care of our kids. And, it can lead us to select friends or family members to act as trustees. However, this is rarely the right move. Not...