Probate Attorney Blog

Happy Sunday! First things first, sorry for taking two weeks to get this information to you. I promised to do this last week but forgot (and thanks for those who reminded me! Thanks for reading!). Here’s how you can double your estate tax exemption from $3m to $6m, if you’re married. Before I get into the weeds, the short answer is – you create a specific type of trust called a Credit Shelter Trust that captures both spouse’s $3m exemptions….

Happy Sunday! Today I wanted to talk about what happens when your estate plan isn’t set up properly – and show you in real life how that has consequences that you can’t fix after the fact. Gene Hackman spent a lifetime playing iconic characters (Hoosiers is literally one of my all-time favorite movies). When it came to his estate plan, though, he left the final act unfinished. At 95, Hackman passed away this February. His wife, Betsy, was the sole…

It’s been a long time coming, but Washington State FINALLY updated their estate tax laws.However, as is to be expected, when updates happen, there is a mix of good and bad.The good news is the exemption went UP and it will continue going up every year: Washington’s estate tax exemption is increasing from $2.193 million to $3 million for anyone that passes away after July 1, 2025. That exemption will now adjust for inflation each year. The bad news, however, is once you get over that exemption…

(Spoiler: It’s not good.)A few years ago, a potential client came in devastated. Her mother had passed, and she’d just discovered that her younger brother — 19 years old, a sophomore in college, zero financial skills — was getting a $500,000 inheritance.All at once.Within six months, he had dropped out of school, leased a luxury car, started “investing” in crypto, and generously funded the social lives of half his dorm. By month nine, the money was gone. All of it.She…

I thought it would be fitting to talk about something really uncomfortable for our 100th edition of the newsletter – and what’s more uncomfortable than death? In all seriousness, when someone dies, in addition to the grief felt from the loss, there are other practical things to know and do to make sure the transition is as easy as it can possibly be. So, here are three things to know when someone dies. 1. The Power of Attorney only works…

Happy Sunday! Today I want to talk about a question we get all the time here at the firm – “Why are estate plans so long? It seems like simpler is better.” It’s a great question, and today we’re going to answer it (briefly! No long lawyery answers here!). I’d say there are three reasons estate plans are so long. First, this plan is designed to describe your wishes and appoint people to represent you and your family when you…

let’s talk about taxes… Happy Sunday! Before I get into the fun stuff I have an important announcement to make – we found our new Corina! I mentioned a couple of weeks ago we were in the market for a new office manager – our beloved office manager Corina is moving out of the state for family reasons – and we found someone! Carrie has been with the team for about a week, is learning the ropes, and is going…