This couple hadn’t redone their estate plan in 15 years. Their kids are now grown and their number one goal was to ensure that all the assets they’d collected over nearly two decades passed to their kids without the headache of probate and more estate taxes than necessary.

Based on their needs they chose to do the foundational/trust/tax trust package, which includes:

– Credit Shelter Trust;
– Wills;
– Powers of Attorney;
– Medical Powers of Attorney;
– Health Care Directive;
– Disposition Instructions; and
– Quit Claim Deeds moving real estate into the trust

The Credit Shelter Trust is a special type of Revocable Living Trust married couples can use to double their WA state estate tax exemption amount from $2.2m to $4.4m and avoid probate.

The Will names a personal representative (i.e. executor) of the clients’ estates and ensures all assets get into the trust, even those the client failed to allocate.

The Power of Attorney names people to manage the clients’ finances if they are ever incapacitated.

The Medical Power of Attorney nominates people to manage the clients’ health care if they are unable to do so themselves.

The Health Care Directive tells the client’s Medical Power of Attorney what to do if they are in a vegetative state (i.e. pull the plug or not).

The Disposition Instructions state what the clients would like to happen to their remains after they are gone.

The Quit Claim Deeds transfer the clients’ interest in real property to their trust, so it will avoid going through probate.

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