Probate Attorney Blog

Succession 1/1: 5 Estate Planning Takeaways A new show recently debuted on HBO called “Succession” and it combines two things I love: Estate planning and business. I thought it would make a great topic for the show, and give me something to break up the content from just talking straight estate planning all the time. HBO’s succession is a story about the succession of the second generation to take over the business of the first – the patriarch of the…

Happy Monday to you! I’ve decided, after about a three month hiatus, that it’s time to get back on the weekly newsletter horse. I have too much to say, and by holding back from you I’m really doing you a disservice. If you don’t remember (or if you’re pretty new to my world), Rich Life Letter is an outlet for me to talk about some of the higher lever concepts I’m constantly thinking about. It’s less “check out this new…

Tax Implications of a Revocable Living Trust When people think about avoiding taxes they often think of using trusts as shelters. Unfortunately, those assumptions about trusts as tax shelters are wrong. Today I wanted to clear the air and lay out precisely the tax implications of a revocable living trust. It’s probably best to just start at the beginning and talk a little bit about what a revocable living trust is and what it does. The way I usually describe…

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…