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Estate Planning & Probate
Estate Planning & Probate
Simply put, Estate Planning is the process by which you plan for the disposition of your assets upon your death and Probate is the legal process that takes place after your death to ensure that your Estate Plan is carried out as intended. Estate Planning generally involves preparation of a Will, Community Property Agreement, Revocable Living Trust, or any combination of the three. Special consideration and possible additional planning needs to be considered for estate that may be subject to Washington State or Federal Estate Tax. Depending on the client's situation, we are able to recommend a variety of
specific options to best accomplish our client's objectives by the most efficient and effective means possible.
Probate is a multi-step process intended to insure that the decedent's creditors are paid, and the remaining estate assets dispersed to the heirs without the risk of ongoing creditor's claims arising in the future. Although many people associate the probate process with an expensive, time consuming endeavor that should best be avoided at all costs, a most probates can be relatively brief and hassle free when effectively administered. If no unforeseen difficulties arise during administration, the probate may take as little as four to five months to complete where Notice to Creditors has been published, and provides an efficient and final means to distribute an individual's estate upon death. In some cases, the personal representative elects not to publish Notice to Creditors and the process can be substantially shorter.