Recent News

The “applicable exclusion amount” is the amount of a deceased person’s estate that passes free of 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 an applicable exclusion amount for federal estate tax… Read More

The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, issued its decision in the Matter of the Estate of Karl O. Molck, agreeing with the arguments made by Beresford Booth.  The Court decided the issues in favor of the estate and awarded the estate and its personal representative their costs and attorneys’ fees from the appellant.… Read More

In Washington State, when someone passes away, their estate will need to be administered.  In general the process of estate administration accomplishes three basic purposes: 1) gathers together all of the Decedent’s assets; 2) pays all of the Decedent’s debts; and 3) distributes the net remaining estate to the Decedent’s heirs and beneficiaries.  Though these… Read More

What happens to my estate in Washington State if I die without having executed a Last Will and Testament? When someone dies without having executed a valid Last Will and Testament, they are said to have died intestate (without a Will).  I am frequently asked whether dying without a Will means your Estate will be… Read More

Washington is joining several other states in allowing the use of a Transfer on Death Deed to transfer real property to a designated beneficiary at the time of death. This nonprobate transfer tool will become effective on June 12, 2014. A Transfer on Death Deed is a new method in Washington for leaving your real… Read More

The internet and television have numerous ads for pre-printed estate planning forms, such as wills, powers of attorney, etc. Sometimes, such forms may be specific to a particular state, sometimes they may not. The selling point of such forms is that you can complete them yourself, often “in the privacy of your own home”, and… Read More

When borrowers die owing more on their real estate than it is worth, their heirs often let the property go to foreclosure. In those cases, the same heirs often do not commence probate for the deceased borrower because such borrowers often have small estates. Typically, the bank elects judicial foreclosure (i.e. “foreclosure by lawsuit”) rather… Read More

A trustee is an individual or entity whose function is to administer the terms of a trust. This can involve acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, selling, transferring, controlling, dividing, and otherwise managing the trust’s property. The trustee often has a wide range of actions it can take in performing this function. But the trustee is held… Read More

In 2013, the State of Washington enacted law to change the “applicable exclusion amount” for Washington’s estate tax.  The “applicable exclusion amount” is the amount that passes free of estate tax.  For the past several years, Washington’s applicable exclusion amount has been $2,000,000.  So, the first $2,000,000 in value of an estate passed free of… Read More