Probate Attorney Blog

I love being an estate planning attorney. I get to help people plan for the future and I also get to help them in a great time of need. And sometimes those two worlds collide. And then all sorts of interesting things start happening. Estate planning is a lot like business planning in that way – if you have the opportunity to do it when the end is at most a long way off and at least an event that…

One of the first questions I usually ask people that I talk to about estate planning is “what do you want?” Sometimes people know exactly what they want, and that’s great, but most of the time people have a generally vague idea of what they want. “I want to protect my family.” “I want to make sure the right person is chosen to protect my kids.” Something like that. Today I want to challenge you to think a little bit…

Date nights should be an enjoyable experience. There should not be any underlying stress involved. But, as parents, you know there is always that lingering thought in the back of your mind as to what would happen if something would happen to you while out on date night with your significant other. Would the babysitter know what to do? Is it clear who would take care of the kids until we were okay? Would social services be called in to…

If you’ve lived in Washington State for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard someone mention that it is a “community property” state. And they are right, it is. But, do you really know what that means when it comes to estate planning? And, more importantly, do you know why it’s important? Let me give you a quick little test. Fred and Julie are married. They have two kids together. They decide they want to do a simple estate plan…

I had someone come into my office a while ago with a question. His brother had just passed away and they owned a property together. He thought the property was going to go to him – that’s what the brother wanted – but he wasn’t sure. I told him I’d take a look but that it really mattered how the property was entered, as joint tenancy with right of survivorship or as tenants in common. He wasn’t sure, so we…

Imagine a scenario that happens to you every day. You are driving to work. You pull out of your driveway just like you do every day. You get on the highway just like you do every day. You think about the coming day, the soccer practice you have to take the kids to that night just like WHAM… Next thing you know you wake up in the hospital with friends and family all around you. You’ve been in a coma…

Equal does not always mean fair. That’s what we’re here to talk about today, to think about your family dynamics when you are thinking about how you are going to pass down your assets so everyone in the family has the best chance to succeed. When it comes to dividing up your business at death, it’s important to think about who is invested in the business, who is interested in the business, and who is most likely to do with…