Estate Planning & Settlement

Our attorneys are highly experienced in helping you sort through the specific and personal issues that require an approach that is unique to your estate plan.

It is advisable to review your estate plan at least every five years. To give one example, the trust you established for a grandchild when the grandchild was 16 years old might require a longer or shorter duration when viewed five years later.

We also advise that you review your estate plan whenever significant events occur in your family, including the following births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and drug or alcohol problems.

Community Property Agreement

The community property agreement is an instrument often well suited for married couples because it enables them to avoid probate at the death of the first spouse.

Although a community property agreement is a powerful document, it might not be the most appropriate tool in certain situations. Our attorneys can provide an individualized analysis of your needs and situation to determine whether a community property agreement is the best choice for your goals.

Guardianships

Also called a conservatorship, a guardianship is a legal relationship created by court order to care for minor children or incapacitated adults. Guardians must not benefit at the expense of their ward, which is the minor child or incapacitated adult in their care. Guardians are required to produce periodic accounting of the ward’s affairs for the court.

Guardianships of Minor Children

In Washington, a guardianship for a minor child is often established to safeguard a child’s inheritance. This type of guardianship is not a substitute for a non-parental custody action.

Guardianships of Incapacitated Adults

Guardianships for disabled adults protect the ward physically and financially. A central goal of this type of guardianship is to maximize the disabled person’s self-reliance and quality of life. Adults need not be completely incapacitated to qualify for, and benefit from, a guardianship. Guardians can be granted the limited powers necessary to assist the ward in living as independently, safely, and happily as possible.

With these nuanced dynamics in mind, the attorneys at Tuohy Minor Kruse craft guardianship documents best suited to each individual situation. Over time, as the ward’s situation changes, you can modify the terms of the guardianship during a periodic review.

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney gives another person legal authority to act for you. Your Power of Attorney can cover simple tasks like writing or endorsing checks, or it can involve more complex matters, like selling real estate. The person to whom you grant the power is called your attorney-in-fact.

You can determine the scope of your Power of Attorney. You can authorize just one task, like selling a car. You can also limit the Power of Attorney to a certain timeframe. In certain instances, it makes sense to name two persons to serve jointly as your attorney-in-fact. In other situations, people name one person to act as attorney-in-fact in the area of healthcare decision-making and another person to function in the financial arena.

Typically, when the power of attorney is part of an estate plan, you do not limit it in duration, and you give consideration to granting broad powers to allow your attorney-in-fact to do much that you could do for yourself.

Before preparing your Power of Attorney, the attorneys at Tuohy Minor Kruse will help you determine if certain extraordinary powers should be included in your instrument. Examples of those extraordinary powers are to:

1. Make gifts of your property;
2. Change beneficiary designations on life insurance policies;
3. Create and fund a revocable trust;
4. Disclaim assets (to decline to take ownership of another person’s assets); and
5. Make transfers for purposes of qualifying for public assistance.

It is a mistake to think that “one size fits all” when it comes to your Power of Attorney. At Tuohy Minor Kruse, we will tailor the Power of Attorney to fit your needs. With a soundly written Power of Attorney in hand, you will limit disputes amongst your loved ones regarding these key decisions because you already will have made clear who you wish to take legal control.

Probate

Probate is the process of administering the estate of a deceased person. Key elements of the process include marshalling assets, paying proper creditors’ claims and disputing bogus claims, and ultimately distributing the assets in accordance with the will. If the decedent does not have a will, distribution is in accordance with the law of intestate succession.

The attorneys of Tuohy Minor Kruse have more than 30 years of experience in probate and estate administration matters. In addition to establishing your estate correctly, we can see your will through the probate process. The probate process in Washington can be straightforward and relatively inexpensive. We have the professional experience to assist you in making it so.

Trusts

Many types of trusts are useful to have as part of your estate plan. These include:

• a special needs trust for a disabled person;
• an irrevocable trust designed to transfer assets out of a taxable estate;
• an irrevocable trust that holds life insurance (ILIT) designed to provide cash to pay death taxes;
• a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) that is a specialized way to transfer your home out of your estate to minimize death taxes; and
• a revocable living trust (or simply “revocable trust”) that is designed to avoid having your estate subject to the probate process. A revocable trust can accomplish more depending on your needs.

A trust can possibly be a complex document. Our attorneys are experienced in handling estates of different sizes, and we will always tailor your estate planning documents to best fit your needs and goals.

Wills

When it comes to estate planning, wills and trusts are essential tools. At a minimum, a will should accomplish the following:

• identify who will manage your estate after your death;
• make provisions for the distribution of your estate after payment of all expenses;
• shield your estate from death taxes as allowable under state and federal law; and
• create a trust that becomes effective only upon your death (a “testamentary trust”)—an example is a trust that takes effect after the death of both parents for the benefit of their minor children.

A prevailing misconception regarding estate planning is that wills and trusts only concern the wealthy. However, the fact is that estate planning is necessary for all people. An estate plan provides the legal mechanism for transferring property upon your death in a manner which recognizes your wishes and addresses the needs of your survivors. For many people, it also involves creating a plan that will take care of essential obligations and affairs in case of disability and critical personal medical choices, which sometimes must be made toward the end of life. In short, estate planning involves much more than the division of assets. The attorneys at Tuohy Minor Kruse can help.