Free Estate Planning!
Did you know that you can get estate planning for free? That’s right, the Washington State Legislature has done your estate planning for you. Here is all you have to do to take advantage of this benefit of living in Washington State – Nothing.
Now, the default rules created by the Legislature in RCW Title 11 might not be a good estate plan for you, but it is free. Free is only a good price if what you are getting fits your needs. Here are a few things to think about:
Do you want your spouse to co-own your home with your kids after you pass away?
Do you want your estate to pay estate taxes instead of your assets going to your loved ones?
Do you want to create a quagmire of legal troubles if you become incapacitated?
Do you want your loved ones to have to make the difficult decision about continuing or removing life-sustaining care?
If any of the answers to these questions was “no,” then the free estate planning provided by the State of Washington might not be right for you. Taking the time to consider your estate planning goals and getting educated on the tools that can help you achieve those goals is a good investment in time and money. This is especially important if your goals are not met by the default rules in the law.
For example, if you are married and you die without a will and you owned your home as your separate property, it will be inherited by your spouse and your children together. This result is typically undesirable and can easily be changed by having a Last Will and Testament, a Community Property Agreement, a Revocable Living Trust or other types of estate planning.
Without a Durable Power of Attorney, your family will need to become your legal guardian if you become incapacitated. Providing this type of help to someone is stressful enough without navigating the complex, time-consuming and expensive process of guardianship. A Durable Power of Attorney allows someone to easily step in and provide care when it is needed, and it can also allow someone to assist you before you are fully incapacitated.
The motivation for many clients to do their estate planning is instructing their doctors regarding end-of-life care, so a family member does not have to make that decision. The law allows a spouse and then a majority of adult children to make the decision to remove life-sustaining care, but this decision can be difficult to make and can cause family disputes. Completing a Healthcare Directive is a way for you to instruct your doctors about what care you want or don’t want at the end of your life, removing this decision from your family members.
Proactive estate planning has many benefits. It can help avoid estate taxes, streamline the process of administering your assets after you pass away, reduce family disputes by clearly identifying who you want to be responsible for certain aspects of your care and communicate your wishes to your loved ones in a time of grief and stress. Sometimes estate planning is primarily to make sure your goals and desires regarding your care and assets are met, but it can also be a way of showing your loved ones that you understand and appreciate the hard work that they may have to undertake in handling your healthcare and finances while you are living and administer your estate once you are gone.
As an attorney who does estate planning and probate, I have seen estate planning that was done in a very thoughtful and complete manner. I have also seen cookie cutter estate planning documents used in circumstances that required a more nuanced approach. My recommendation to everyone is to carefully think about your estate planning and make sure you have done what you need to do and have the documents that you need to have to make sure you are as prepared as possible. We never know what circumstances we will face, but we can make sure we do our best to prepare.
To learn more about Washington’s Estate Planning, please contact Beresford Booth at info@beresfordlaw.com or by phone at (425) 776-4100.
