It is with great honor that we recognize the attorneys at our firm who have been selected as Super Lawyers or Rising Stars in Washington for 2022!
COVID19 and Your Health Care Directive
While the risk of ending up on a ventilator from coronavirus is fairly low for most people, this article in the Seattle Times highlights the importance of considering what kind of life sustaining treatment you would want if you were facing dire circumstances. A properly crafted Health Care Directive gives your health care providers and […]
SECURE Act
On December 20, 2019, the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act, otherwise known as the “SECURE Act” was signed into law. The SECURE Act brings changes to the tax treatment of Traditional IRAs and other types of qualified retirement accounts. These changes impact clients who are using retirement accounts to transfer wealth to […]
Estate Planning Council of Seattle February Meeting
On Wednesday, February 19, 2020, Attorneys Michael Longyear and Carla Calogero attended the Estate Planning Council of Seattle dinner at The Rainier Club in Seattle. At the dinner, Ashley Velategui of Bernstein’s Wealth Strategies Group gave an informative presentation on issues to consider on existing plans that include trusts funded by retirement accounts. Clients who […]
Helping Your Aging Parents
The Seattle Times recently published an article titled Parenting Your Aging Parents–When They Don’t Want Help. This article contains many important considerations that family members should be thinking of when addressing the needs of aging parents, though we may not want to. When families are at the stage of life where parents have reached an […]
What Do I Do With My Possessions When I Die?
Washington State law provides for the disposition of personal property like dishes, silverware and other family heirlooms in wills or trust documents. However, a recent article in the Seattle Times discusses a cultural and social change to consider when planning your estate – younger family members are now less inclined to want family heirlooms when […]
Pitfalls When Accessing the Phone and Computer of a Loved One
A recent New York Times article titled I Needed to Save My Mother’s Memories. I Hacked Her Phone discusses the plight of a woman who has just lost her mother. The article discusses how her mother’s history and personal information was only accessible through her iPhone or apple accounts. However, she did not have her […]
What Can I Do With My Body After I Die?
You may have heard that Washington just passed a new law that allows human composting (officially called “natural organic reduction”). This law also allows another option called hydro cremation (officially called “alkaline hydrolysis”). This means we now have four options for disposing of our remains in Washington that include: burial, cremation, composting, and hydro cremation. […]
With Funeral Home Rules Due for an Update, There’s a Push for Online Prices
Check out this article from the New York Times regarding the concept of pricing for funeral homes being available for consumers online. Excerpt: “Shoppers routinely use the internet to compare prices, whether for appliances, cars or hotel rooms. But online pricing remains scant for funeral services, putting bereaved and vulnerable people at a financial disadvantage […]
Join Us for PERSONAL ESTATE PLANNING FOR THE 99%
Join us April 19, 2019 for a CLE regarding Personal Estate Planning for the 99%, including an interactive session on drafting wills for families. The program is located at the Motif Hotel, 1415 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, from 8:15am to 4:30pm. Our attorneys Michael Longyear, Mary Anne Vance, and Anton Cauthorn will be speaking at this […]