Probate Attorney Blog

New Trustee? Do This First. People are rarely ready to become the trustee of a trust. It’s not something that usually has a specific start date. For that reason, when it does happen one is often thrust into a new role. There is often little guidance, little help, and very little idea of what to actually do. If you are a new trustee and you are wondering what to do first, this post is for you. Before I get into…

3 Reasons to Use a Professional Trustee Whenever a client decides to create a trust we talk about who they’d like to name as the successor trustee (the person that becomes the trustee after they die). Often people aren’t sure who to name. They consider naming a family member but aren’t sure if they have anyone that is up to the job. They consider naming a professional trustee but aren’t sure if the fees are too high or if they…

The Biggest Estate Planning Mistake I See I am a huge golfer. HUGE. And my enthusiasm for the sport tends to rub off on people. That means I get to hear about their lessons. Remarkably, often their experience dovetails nicely with people’s meetings with estate planning attorneys. A lot of jargon. Fast talking. Too many possibilities. Too man options. And THAT is your biggest estate planning mistake: getting too complicated to fast. Your estate plan should be an ever evolving…

 Protecting Your Kids While You’re on Vacation (and they’re at home) As I write this post I am flying over California with my wife on the way to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate my brother-in-law’s 40th birthday. And we are alone! This is our first vacation alone without our kids (5, 3, and 1), and I must say so far it’s quite nice (except that we are both literally looking around for someone to give a snack to, console,…

The Hard Truth About Estate Tax Planning Believe it or not a lot of people come to me to ask me estate tax advice and I end up telling them to do nothing… That is the hard truth about estate tax planning (at least the first one). You would think as an estate planning attorney I’d be all for people wanting to reduce their estate taxes, which, in Washington State, start at just $2.193MM right now (2018). And I do!…

How to Make 2018 Your Best Year Ever This is one of those episodes that isn’t directly related to my role as an estate planning attorney. This is related to my role as someone that actually cares about you and your life and your ability to get the most out of your life. I want to show you how to make 2018 your best year ever. This might sound a little woo woo, but for me it all starts with…

How to Choose a Guardian When You Can’t Agree From the moment you have a kid one thought tends to inhabit your mind: Who will take care of my kids if something happens to me? It’s such an overwhelming thought and the feelings to protect our kids are so strong that it can literally fill the back of our minds all day. Knowing how strong that desire is and how important making sure the right people are in place to…