As the year winds down, but the flurry of holiday preparations hasn’t quite hit home, now is a great time to review your estate planning to ensure it's current and correct. Remember one key point that your will and trust don't typically direct the distribution of assets that already have designated beneficiaries. This includes IRA accounts, 401(k), annuities, life insurance, pay on death accounts, transfer on death deeds, and property titled as "joint tenancy with right of survivorship".  

In our practice, we recently experienced a case where an individual named both children as equal beneficiaries of an IRA, but subsequently left everything under a will to only one child.  The will did not control the IRA distribution (correctly, under the law), but is that what the decedent really intended?  If a child was excluded under one document, wouldn't the decedent want it to be consistent? Or perhaps it was intentional. The beneficiary spent more money than otherwise necessary on the probate and administration to clarify the decedent's intent. We have seen this more than once.  However, if the plan had been up to date and indicated that the intent was to treat those assets differently (not that the will controlled everything), the family would have been able to approach the death as an opportunity to connect, not to continue past conflict.

So when you take your documents to your estate planning attorney to discuss any current changes in your life (divorce, disease, deaths, etc.), be sure to also have her review the beneficiary designations you've made.  Sometimes the designations are made on the fly without realizing how the whole plan will come together as a whole or your intent changes regarding how assets should be distributed.  Sometimes that is exactly what you want, but still need to make sure it's clear to those you leave behind. If you have made designations different than the distribution of assets under your will or trust, you may want to include an acknowledgement of that fact in your will or trust using a trust amendment or codicil to your will.  However, the language used can create its own problems if not done correctly, so be sure to receive professional advice on the issue.

For assistance with Washington state estate planning, probate and trust administration, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 or complete our contact form.  Our office provides local service for Spokane estate planning and can provide online virtual web and phone conferencing for estate planning in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham and other areas of Washington state.

Unmarried adult children of divorced parents are in particular need of Powers of Attorney and Wills. When a person dies without a will, one of the default laws is that the parents, second to spouses, are among those with a right to act as personal representatives (executors) of the deceased's estate.  However, both parents have an equal right to administer the estate unless the child has directed otherwise through Powers of Attorney and Will. 

A Power of Attorney will function to give authority over assets and health care choices during life and a Will gives authority over assets after death. Even when an individual doesn't have a great deal of assets to manage, there are still accounts to close, bills to pay off, vehicles to sell, and other issues. If the asset level is significant, the need is more apparent. If the parents are married, they are obviously likely to act jointly or simply decide who will be in charge.  However, if divorced, the likelihood of smooth agreement is much less and can lead to delays in administration, confusion, conflict and litigation. 

In order to avoid legal battles, unmarried adult children of divorced parents should make it a priority to have Health Care Powers of Attorney, Durable Powers of Attorney and Wills in place to direct which parent will be in charge, or to name a significant other, sibling or friend to act instead. These documents are necessary, even if your parents are married, if you don't want either of them to act in these roles.  Many adults would rather their siblings, friends, boyfriends or girlfriends act for them rather than parents.

For assistance with Spokane estate planning including Powers of Attorney and Wills, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 or complete a contact request. ​Our office provides local service for Spokane estate planning and can provide online virtual web and phone conferencing for estate planning in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham and other areas of Washington state.

We set goals in life and work to attain them. We plan for a bigger brighter future, climbing the career ladder, buying a bigger house, moving to a better neighborhood, getting kids through school and careers of their own, taking vacations, becoming more financially secure, and even retirement. We consider our path for each of these steps. We find higher paying jobs, save money, pay off mortgages, and dream of retirement goals.

However, we often fail to envision the other end. We want to ignore our shifting purpose in life, ceasing hobbies and activities, moving back into an apartment or townhouse, giving up our cars, or living in an assisted living facility and especially the final process of dying.  We value our independence. We fear burdening our friends and family or losing control and self-determination.  Of course, who wouldn't, but what does that REALLY mean to you? What do you really value about being independent? What do you really value about your home? When will it be acceptable to receive assistance? If you can't drive anymore, where would you want to live? Who will realistically help take care of you? Have you built and fostered your family relationships to the point that people will give up time, energy, money, and sometimes their own emotional health to care for you? Do you have funds to pay for in home care on a limited or full-time basis? What kind of care will you need and at what stage?

If you don't have help nearby, you may need to move to where help is available. You may be in great general health, but with aging still need help with housekeeping, yard work, and meals.  Maybe you can downsize homes much earlier than you prefer, to allow yourself to remain more independent for longer.  Also consider the longevity of your spouse and his or her needs currently and in the future once you have passed away.

All of these issues and decisions should be part of your estate and financial planning process, some addressed with your estate planning lawyer, some by your financial planner, and others just between family members.  Complete "estate" planning should help guide you in these issues sometimes thought of as senior planning, retirement planning, elder planning, or other buzzwords. The appropriate helpers need to have their rights and duties lined out. Your wishes need to be in writing in a way that will make it easiest and most likely they will be carried out.  Your instructions would be included in various documents including financial powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney, health care directives, funeral/burial directives, wills, trusts, caretaking agreement with family members, and others.

For assistance with Washington state estate planning, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 or complete our contact form.  Our office provides local service for Spokane estate planning and can provide online virtual web and phone conferencing for estate planning in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham and other areas of Washington state.

Don't assume that since you've been together "forever", you're magically considered "married".  Whether you use the term significant other, life partner, long-term boyfriend/girlfriend, or fiance, if you are not legally married you generally have no rights when it comes to making decisions for your partner regarding health care, finances, or estate management.  You also don't have the right to inherit any assets from your partner, no matter how long you have been together, since Washington has no common law marriage.  Property owned by a person with no will or trust would be inherited by that person's children, parents, or siblings, depending on the situation. There are legal concepts that may support a claim that the surviving significant other owns part of the assets, was in a "meretricious relationship" and assets were "quasi-community property" and as such should go to the surviving partner in some fashion, but these claims often require court involvement, disputes with other family members, and a great deal of time and money to resolve.

The solution is estate planning.  Single (unmarried) people should work with an attorney to draft appropriate plans using durable powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, health care directives, burial directives, wills, transfer on death deeds, and other tools to put their goals into action. The default laws of Washington may not give unmarried partners easily accessible rights, but individuals can proactively make their own choices with proper estate planning.

For assistance with Washington state estate planning, probate and trust administration, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 or complete our contact form.  Our office provides local service for Spokane estate planning and can provide online virtual web and phone conferencing for estate planning in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham and other areas of Washington state.

If you already have estate planning documents in place (great job, for being on top of your game at some point), the general recommendation is to review them at least every 5 years.  Even if you don't meet me to review them for you (because, yes, there is a charge), you should pull them out for yourself, sit down with a beverage of your choice and check for the following:

• all people named in your documents to assist you when you become elderly or disabled are still living and mentally competent,
• your assets have not significantly increased or decreased,
• your children haven't grown from being minors to adults with different needs and abilities,
• you haven't become a grandparent with a desire to provide for your grandchildren,
• you haven't gotten divorced, remarried or widowed,
• your general wishes are still the same regarding who gets how much of your assets (and again, everyone is still living),
• your wishes for your end of life care haven't changed or become more clear with a specific risk or diagnosis,
• your risk of dementia, Alzheimer's, or other incapacitating diseases, is low or you have your assets in a trust with appropriate transfers of administrative power from yourself to the next trustee, or
• major estate tax, power of attorney, trust or probate laws haven't changed (Hint: these do change regularly).

Chances are, you have been lax in this kind of housekeeping (10 years? 15 years? 20 years? Haven't started?), and it's time to get after it, or put a date on the calendar to do it in the next month or two as spring fever sets in.  If everything looks current and in line with your goals, then you could put your plans away for another few years. If circumstances have changed, you should come in for an official review and update.  You may be unaware of changes in law (just a few include a new federal estate tax exemption level, power of attorney statute (WA), transfer on death deed statute (WA), and directed trust statute (WA)), the general approach to planning may have changed over time, new tools may be available, and you may have something more or less complex than necessary to most efficiently achieve a conflict-free transfer (probate or trust administration) of your assets to your loved ones after your death. 

Inaccurate planning can be worse than no planning.

If you need assistance with updates, or new planning altogether, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 for estate planning and probate in Spokane or virtually by email, phone and Skype in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham, and across Washington state.

This is a stressful career. Laws are always changing, personalities are tough to deal with, and as a solo practitioner, the buck stops here. I feel such a sense of responsibility to my clients to use all the tools in my estate planning, probate, business and tax toolbox to make their lives and the lives of their loved ones easier. Sometimes my resolve waivers, the technical and administrative aspects overwhelm me, or I have too many projects going at once, but then a new client walks in the door with a story about someone who just died and the house is already on the market with a buyer and they were told they have to open a probate before they can sign as the seller. My heart goes out to my clients on a daily basis because these concepts and legal requirements are so foreign to most people who don't deal with it every day. 

I have recently made many trips to and spent many hours at the doctor's office with my physician husband who is battling cancer with surgery, chemo and radiation therapy treatments. While sitting there, I'm often struck by how many different battles we all face every day from so many different directions.  How much information is available to us and how unprepared we all are to sift through it to separate the wheat from the chaff, the fake news from the real, or just the most appropriate from all the rest.  I believe one of the most important services I provide to my clients is education. I make sure to take the time to explain how and why things work, what their options are, and answer their questions. I also love getting to know my clients in the process and learning about their past experiences, present concerns, and future goals. The best parts of this career are the people I meet and the relationships I form.

Happy new year to all of my wonderful clients, their families, and anyone struggling with the inevitable challenges in life.  I wish for all of us a new year that is just a little bit easier, more peaceful, and abundant with all the good things. If I can help achieve that, even if just by checking off that resolution to get your estate planning done, or setting up that business you've always wanted to start, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797.

We've added a new "Resources" page to our website to provide our clients and contacts with helpful information. We focus on estate planning, elder law, probate, trust administration, business formation, business contracts, and tax issues, but there are so many other related issues we don't tackle, so we're hoping this rounds out the information you need. It's a work in progress, so we would love to hear about your favorite resources that haven't yet made the list.  Let us know your "go to" websites when you need timely, accurate information about taking care of your aging family members' health and happiness, as well as starting, running, buying or selling your business. Please call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC with your related legal questions. (509) 557-7797.

Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are tough to deal with for both the person with the disease and the rest of the family. (Alzheimer's Caregivers: Isolated and Needing Help, Forbes, June 1, 2017) Different people react differently, so you may have an Alzheimer's patient who is compliant and easy to guide or you may have a patient who is frustrated, in denial, and resistant to help.  One problem with dementia and related diseases is that once you have it, it can be tough to recognize your own limitations. 

There are ways to make the transition easier for yourself and your family in the future.  Making sure you have powers of attorney, health care directive, funeral directive and either a will or trust is essential. A specific technique to consider is the use of a revocable living trust with language creating a "competency committee" to determine the point at which the trustee (aging individual with dementia) should no longer manage his or her own financial affairs and another person would step in as trustee (family member, friend, or professional trustee).  This committee could include family members, friends, caregivers, health care professionals or whoever the trustee feels will make a reasonable decision about his or her status and truly cares about his or her well-being.  

This can be more useful than a standard power of attorney because often under a power of attorney, the agent has the fiduciary duty to obey the directions of the principal unless the principal has been deemed incompetent by a doctor and assets are still in the principal's name, so he or she still has access to those assets. It's often difficult to get a person who is possibly incompetent to go to the doctor in the first place, especially if they think their competency is at issue. Under a trust, the assets are owned by (in the name of) the trust and once the original trustee is removed, he or she no longer has access. At that point, the new trustee has a fiduciary duty to manage and distribute the trust assets for the benefit of the original trustee (the person with dementia).

There are many variations on this approach and you should work with your estate planning attorney and your family to creatively structure your plan to best fit your situation and support your family connections. Obviously, you need to get the plan in place before you actually need it.  

​For assistance with Washington state estate planning, probate and trust administration, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797 or complete our contact form.  Our office provides local service for Spokane estate planning and can provide online virtual web and phone conferencing for estate planning in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham and other areas of Washington state.

Providence is hosting an estate planning and probate seminar at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane for its employees and it's open to the public. Megan M. Lewis, JD, LLM of Megan Lewis Law, PLLC will present on issues including powers of attorney, health care directives, wills, revocable living trusts, and the probate process while emphasizing the importance of maintaining family relationships in the process.

The seminar is at 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 in the Mother Joseph Room at Sacred Heart Medical Center. No registration necessary.

For Spokane estate planning, probate, and business attorney assistance, call Megan Lewis Law, PLLC at (509) 557-7797.

Don't be that person who passes away without providing for your family. Your death will be hard enough on an emotional level, it doesn't have to be financially, procedurally, and legally burdensome as well. Put all the necessary pieces in place to provide a smooth transition for your family to heal and move forward.  
​The basic elements you may need from an estate planning attorney include the following:

• Last Will and Testament
• Revocable Living Trust
• Community Property Agreement
• Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions
• Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions
• Health Care Directive
• Funeral and Burial Directive

Other elements of a complete plan may include retirement planning, life insurance, and long term care insurance. You should establish good ongoing relationships with your selected professionals who can work together to make sure your plan makes sense for your situation.  These professionals are likely to include an attorney, accountant, financial adviser and insurance professional.

In addition, it's a great idea to bring your teenage or adult children into the conversation to let them know what to expect.  Some issues you should discuss include who has decision-making power, what your wishes are regarding health care, what type of living situation you would like once you can no longer live independently, and what kind of legacy you would like to leave behind. Putting your estate planning in place is essentially providing your family with a roadmap for when you have an emergency or for your inevitable death.