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.

Happy New Year! Time to wrap up last year and usher in new changes with conviction. Many people have estate planning on thier "to do" list or as a resolution for the year.  Others aren't even sure if they need it or what it means.  So a brief recap might be useful.

Who needs estate planning?

• If you are single and want to give power to someone to make medical or financial choices for you if you become disabled.
• If you are married and want your spouse or someone else to make medical or financial choices for you if you become disabled.
• If you have children and want to name their guardians in case you become disabled or die.
• If you want to leave gifts to charities after your death.
• If you want to prevent certain family members from receiving your assets upon your death.
• If you are divorced and you want to remove (or keep) your ex-spouse named as your agent under power of attorney or executor of your will.
• If you want to avoid probate.
• If you want to leave money to somoene with a disability without jeopardizing their government benefits.
• If you want to minimize the stress and grief of your loved ones upon your passing by laying out your wishes ahead of time.

What is "estate planning"?
Estate planning is a term that encompases both a process and a variety of documents.  The process is a discussion between you and your estate planning attorney about your current life situation including:

• family dynamics,
• marrital status,
• asset value (net worth) and type,
• age and needs of children,
• business ownership and structure,
• location of real estate holdings,
• desired custody of children or grandchildren,
• who will care for you or your loved ones if you are disabled or pass away, and
• what kind of legacy you want to leave behind, whether that is financial or emotional.  

Depending on your specific situation, the documents that may result from this discussion include:

• last will and testament,
• power of attorney for finances,
• power of attorney for health care,
• power of attorney for minors,
• health care directive,
• funeral directive,
• community property agreement,
• revocable living trust, 
• transfer on death deed, and/or
  
• life insurance trust.

If you fall in to any of these categories and want to start or revise your estate planning process, give us a call at (509) 557-7797 to schedule an appointment today.  May your year be productive and fulfilling!

Around the holidays every year, we see an uptick in donations, volunteerism, and charitable giving. The season reminds us to look inward and find ways to help our communities.  Part of my estate planning practice is to help my clients find ways to include charities into their legacy through a variety of options.  Individuals can make gifts during their lives, sell property to charities at a bargain, or name charities as the beneficiary of life insurance or retirement accounts.  If you are over 70 1/2, you can distribute IRA minimum required distributions directly to a charity without paying income tax.  If you have real estate holdings that don't produce income or assets that have a high capital gain, there are a variety of other options where you give property to charity,  but receive an annuity back for life or some other period of time or you give the property to charity for a period of time and then it reverts back to you or your heirs.   Most all of these options have some tax advantage, but most importantly ultimately benefit causes that my clients are passionate about.  If you would like more information about charitable giving or would like assistance in putting a plan into action, call me at (509) 557-7797.

Creative v. precise. Artistic v. objective. How often do we find passions or professions that utilize both sides of our brain? I'm lucky enough to have discovered how to get one side to support the other. I have two separate businesses, but they are related enough that what I learn from one directly makes me better at the other.  

A little history first.  My undergraduate degree is in journalism and public relations. During that time, I came across a cassette tape of stories told by my grandmother.  She passed away during my elementary school years.  Hearing her voice brought me right back to the hours spent snuggled up on the couch with her watching TV or reading a book.  I transcribed those stories and turned them into a short book for my family.  That sparked an idea in me that didn't seem to exist at the time, a career as a personal historian capturing stories, experiences, beliefs, and legacies to hand down to future generations (TimesFly, LLC).

Fast forward several years, my love of technical details and in depth analysis led me to law school for my JD and more law school for my LL.M. in Taxation.  Tax law, you can't get much more left-brained than that. My focus has always been in estate planning, probate, business and tax law, especially the intersections of them all, where organization is key.

As an estate planning attorney, the goals and objectives shared with me by my clients spark my curiosity to know more detail about their history.  The histories I've recorded have taught me just how deep family emotions can go and how long they can survive, sometimes resulting in unbelievable disputes after the death of a loved one. I have been a part of many such disputes as a probate attorney. My goal as both an attorney and personal historian is to assist my clients in ensuring that their legacy is passed on according to their wishes.  A legacy isn't just accumulated wealth or assets, it's the values, beliefs, and sacrifices that that created them.  Even if you don't have an impressive net worth, your life and history have a high value.

In this Thanksgiving month, I am thankful to be where I am, doing what I do, for the clients I do it for.  Whether saving estate taxes or fond memories, one side keeps making the other side stronger.