Estate Planning

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...

Twenty-five percent of U.S. adults live with a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts claim that those with intellectual and developmental disabilities lack long-term plans for loved ones, particularly when family members can...

There are many unfamiliar terms and concepts to learn when you first start thinking about planning your estate. You may not know where to begin. This may be especially true if you are thinking about creating a trust in order to preserve your property for yourself and...

You may have heard stories about people receiving a huge alimony award in their divorce that they may or may not have deserved. These stories are often exaggerated, and do not reflect how Washington courts address alimony -- also referred to as maintenance -- in a...

While the conversation on estate planning is deeply disturbing, especially for parents, we need to have it. And, if you have not had that discussion, you need to have it soon because we never know when it is our time to go. Our job, as parents, is to make sure our...