What is a Probate Disclaimer? The other day I had a potential client call me up with some very sad news. His grandmother had recently passed away and he needed help probating her estate… but there was a twist. The grandmother had raised the grandson from birth and later in life the grandson had returned the favor by taking care of his grandmother. But she died without a will, so under the law the grandson didn’t stand to receive much…
Do I even need probate? When someone in your life passes away one of the first questions that’s going to come up is “Do I need a probate to take care of my loved one’s property?” The answer is “it depends.” And, hopefully, by the time we are done today, you’re going to have a better idea as to whether or not your specific circumstances require a probate. Here’s how this is going to go. I’m just going to run…
What is a Personal Representative? First, let’s just get this out of the way – in the context of probate “Personal Representative” and “Executor” are the same thing. In Washington State for some reason we’ve just decided to call them Personal Representative. So, when you hear that term, that’s what it means. Now that that is settled, let’s move on to the important stuff – what, exactly a Personal Representative does. At the end of the day the role a…
What is Probate? I think that everyone kind of knows what probate is. But, until we actually have to deal with it we don’t REALLY know what it is. If you are here then you’re probably at a point in your life where you’re trying to figure out the ins and outs of probate, or at least more than “it’s what happens when someone dies.” Before I even get going, though, I want to say one thing – I am…
What Are You Willing To Invest? This is a little bit of a ranty kind of an episode. I see so many people making bad decisions when it comes to their family and protecting their legacy because they fail to have the proper perspective when it comes to the money that is used for estate planning, for financial planning, for life insurance, for disability insurance, and for many other things that are critical to the long-term success of your family….
Cost of NOT Choosing a Guardian for Your Kids When you have kids something changes in your mind. Priorities change. Thoughts change. Actions and reactions change. The fulcrum of this change is your new child. Something biologically drives us to want to do whatever we can to keep them safe and give them the best chance to succeed in life. It is this amazing transition that also creates chaos in the context of estate planning. People come into my office…
Should I Use My Full Federal Estate Tax Exemption Now? At the end of 2017 some pretty significant tax legislation was passed. It changed around the income tax brackets, changed the way businesses were taxed, and significantly increased the federal estate tax exemption. And when I say significantly I mean SIGNIFICANTLY. If you died in 2017 you had an exemption of $5.43MM. If you die in 2018 and beyond you have an exemption of $11.1MM Sounds pretty good, right? For…
