Recent News

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

Maybe you’re preparing for your college student son or daughter to return from a semester of college for Thanksgiving or winter break. Or maybe you’re planning ahead to send your newly accepted student to his or her freshman year of college next year. Whether your child is attending college in Washington State or out of… Read More

In a Washington probate, the personal representative of the estate usually publishes a notice to creditors of the deceased in a newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks.  However, the personal representative may also give creditors “actual notice”.  “Actual notice” is given by mailing a copy of the notice to the creditor’s last known… Read More

Here is one solution to close an estate in Washington State when you cannot locate an heir or beneficiary. A Personal Representative or the Administrator (sometimes called the Executor) of an Estate is charged with locating the beneficiaries of a Will or the heirs of someone who has died. Sometimes this is an easy job,… Read More

The state of Washington has long had a policy that no person will be allowed to profit by their own wrong, wherever that wrong is committed.  One area in which that policy has been expressed is inheritance rights.  For many years, Washington has had a “slayer statute”, RCW Chapter 11.84.  The statute provided that no… Read More

While opening probate may be beneficial or required in some instances, not every death may trigger the need to open a probate case to administer an estate. For smaller estates, a “Small Estate Affidavit” may be sufficient. If the value of the decedent’s estate is not more than $100,000, then personal property (like vehicles, furniture,… Read More