Recent News

Many people have heard of a health care directive, sometimes referred to as a living will.  It expresses an individual’s wishes for certain treatments if the person is in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition.  A different Washington law provides for the use of a mental health advance directive, which allows an individual to express… Read More

In 2023, the Washington Department of Revenue began collecting a state capital gains tax, which is  separate from the federal capital gains tax, on capital gains occurring after January 1, 2022. The state did not collect the tax until after the Washington Supreme Court upheld the tax’s constitutionality in a March 2023 decision. It was… Read More

May 2nd, 2024 Beresford Booth attorney Emily Y. Tyson-Shu talks about Joint Accounts in Probate: Is it my money or the estate’s money? Read More

Have you ever wondered whether and how much you are entitled to from your deceased spouse’s estate if they have left little or nothing to you? As a surviving spouse (or a surviving state registered partner, or a surviving dependent child), you are entitled to an award for family support, which is also called basic… Read More

April 4th, 2024 Beresford Booth attorney Per E. Oscarsson talks about Transfer on Death Deeds in Washington. Read More

The purpose of this article is to summarize the process of probate and to introduce ideas that we will explain in greater detail in later posts.  In its simplest terms, probate is a process where a court gives a person the authority to act on behalf of an estate to administer the estate.  Administration of… Read More

March 7th, 2024 Beresford Booth attorney Emily Y. Tyson-Shu discusses nonintervention powers and the probate process. Read More

Since the Uniform Electronic Wills Act took effect on January 1, 2022, allowing a Will to be executed in electronic form, the Washington State Legislature is further pondering during this year’s legislative session on the possibility of having other estate planning documents to be executed in electronic form.  The Senate Bill 5787 (2023-24) (now, the… Read More

The short answer is yes, but there are requirements. A person who is legally entitled to control the disposition of human remains by scattering may do so without a permit. That person could be the person whose ashes are involved if they signed a document, properly witnessed, that expressed their wishes. If that person did… Read More