Recent News

In Washington, one way a real estate owner can grant another real estate owner the right to use the first real owner’s real estate for a particular purpose is for the first owner to grant the second owner an easement.  Under Washington law, an easement is an interest in real estate.  It is a non-possessory… Read More

In 1967, Washington enacted the Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act, Revised Code of Washington (“RCW”) Chapter 24.03. After several years of review and study, Washington enacted a new Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act, RCW 24.03A. The new act became effective January 1, 2022. RCW Chapter 24.03 was repealed effective that date. The new act applies to all… Read More

Federal law imposes a tax on gifts made in excess of a specific amount in a calendar year to a specific recipient (known as a “donee”).  That tax is usually paid by the donor (the giver) of the gift.  The specific amount is known as the annual gift exclusion.  For the past four years, the… Read More

The “basic exclusion amount” is the amount of a deceased person’s estate that passes free of federal estate tax.  This differs from the unlimited marital deduction that applies when one spouse dies and transfers all of his or her interest in property to the surviving spouse.  There is a basic exclusion amount for federal estate… Read More

As I described in the previous post, Washington enacted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RCW Chapter 11.120) (the “Act”) that allows a Washington user of digital assets (such as e-mail, social media, etc.) to provide directions giving, limiting, or denying a designated fiduciary access to their accounts.  The user can allow… Read More

Many people have one or more social media accounts.  Many people have one or more e-mail accounts.  These accounts are used to communicate with others in one way or another.  Online banking is another type of account.  Often, the user of the account does not want anyone else to have access to their account.  But,… Read More

The answer to that question is maybe, maybe not.  Most durable powers of attorney are written to be very broad in their coverage.  For example, they may include language such as, “my attorney-in-fact shall have all powers that I would have if alive and competent to act” or “the attorney-in-fact shall have all the powers… Read More

In my previous post, I discussed acknowledgment of a durable power of attorney by a notary public versus attestation before two or more competent witnesses.  In this post, I discuss the contents of an attestation by witnesses.  Under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act adopted by the state of Washington in 2016, RCW 11.125 (the… Read More

In the past, documents granting a power of attorney were often signed by the Principal, the person granting the power, and acknowledged by the Principal in front of a notary public.  The Uniform Power of Attorney Act adopted by the state of Washington in 2016, RCW 11.125 (the “Act”), provides more flexibility.  It allows for… Read More