For authors, artists, musicians, and songwriters, estate planning involves more than deciding who inherits the house, bank accounts, and other traditional assets.

For authors, artists, musicians, and songwriters, estate planning involves more than deciding who inherits the house, bank accounts, and other traditional assets. Your creative works may continue generating income, attracting attention, and increasing in value long after you’re gone. Copyrights, publishing rights, music royalties, licensing agreements, original manuscripts, artwork, master recordings, and other intellectual property require special consideration when preparing your estate plan. Who will manage your copyrights, collect royalties, negotiate licensing agreements, or decide whether unpublished works should ever see the light of day? You may also want to appoint a trusted artistic advisor to work alongside your Personal Representative or Trustee to ensure that your creative legacy is managed according to your wishes. Without thoughtful planning, your heirs could find themselves fighting over intellectual property rights, making decisions they aren’t qualified to make, or inadvertently allowing valuable assets to go unprotected. Washington estate planning law provides several tools, including Wills and Revocable Living Trusts, that can help protect both the financial and artistic value of your life’s work. At the Law Offices of P. Stephen Aita, PLLC, we can help creative professionals develop estate plans that protect their intellectual property, provide for their loved ones, and preserve their artistic legacies for future generations. Contact us today at 253.858.5434 to schedule a consultation.