"Esau held a grudge against Jacob, because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, 'The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.'" - Genesis 27:41
Estate planning has been tricky for a long, long time.
It's not enough to ask a client, "What do you want to happen to your estate?" We'll also ask, "Who is really going to be unhappy about this?" And that's when the true estate planning begins. A good part of estate planning is "lawyer-proofing" your Will. While it is impossible to protect against the most imaginative (and often misguided) legal minds, we often add provisions to Wills that we hope will make the most obtuse lawyer hired to fight the Will say, "That might be a problem." In this situation, there is no substitute to having been in these fights for over 20 years and knowing what works, what doesn't, and knowing to what judges will pay attention. Any old lawyer can write a Will. You want a lawyer who can write you a Will or Trust that the courts will enforce. Part of that is identifying the potential problems and dealing with them up front.
If you have kids or own a house, you should have an estate plan in place, and you should hire a lawyer with experience in preparing Wills and Trusts that not only accomplish your goals but are also designed to avoid family disputes in the future. If we can be of service to you, your family, friends, neighbors, or co-workers, give us a call at 253.858.5434 to set up an appointment. We proudly serve clients throughout Washington and Idaho and are available to meet in person, by phone, or via Skype or FaceTime.