"Gift Lists"

Washington and Idaho law both allow you to incorporate what is commonly called a “gift list” into your Will. Once your Will references this gift list, you can create or change this list at anytime in the future. In making this list, you can give specific items of tangible personal property upon your death without having to name these items or the recipient in your Will. Examples of “tangible” personal property are: clothes, jewelry, household furnishings, sporting equipment, art objects, automobiles, pleasure boats, etc. “Tangible” personal property does not include real estate or “intangible” personal property such as savings or checking accounts, stocks, bonds, etc. For your list to be effective, it must be in your handwriting or signed by you. Your list must describe “with reasonable certainty” each item listed and to whom each item is to be given. If you prepare such a list, make sure it is dated so that it can be determined when your list was prepared. If more than one list is found, the most recently prepared list will govern. You should keep the most recent list with the copy of your Will.

If you have any questions about creating a "gift list" as part of your Will and general estate plan, give us a call at 253.858.5434.

Musicians Need Lawyers Too!

Musicians need lawyers too! When should you consider consulting an attorney?

* You need a contract with a manager, booking agent, or producer;
* You need to formalize your internal band agreement (e.g., expenses, song splits, voting rights);
* You receive an offer for use of your song(s) in a film, commercial, videogame, app, etc. and need a licensing agreement;
* You need to register your copyrights (songs, recordings) or trademarks (band name, logo);
* You want to form your own publishing company;
* You need help affiliating with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, or SoundExchange;
* You find out someone is using the same band name;
* You discover that someone is using your song without permission;
* You want to record a cover of someone else's song;
* You need an exit agreement with a band member who is fired or quits;
* You have a record label interested in signing you or your band;
* You want to use someone else's music on your website or in a video;
* You co-wrote a song and want to establish your rights to freely exploit the song;
* You teach music lessons and need a services contract with your students;
* You perform at private functions and need a performance contract;
* You are running a festival and need contracts with the performers;
* You want to perform or shoot a video on someone's property; or
* You commissioned artwork for your album cover or merch and need to make sure you have all the rights you need to use the artwork.

Give us a call at 253.858.5434 to see if we can help.

Wills for Heroes

Wills for Heroes programs provide volunteer attorneys and FREE estate planning documents, including Wills, Powers of Attorneys, and Living Wills, to cops, firefighters, paramedics, corrections and probation officers, and their spouses. But we don't have any in Washington. Any of my lawyer friends want to join me in approaching either the WSBA, KCBA, T-PCBA, or one of the law schools' pro bono clinics to see about implementing a Wills for Heroes program in Washington?

Meetings on Thursday

Clients and Colleagues - I'll be working in Seattle all day tomorrow (Thursday, August 15) and still have a couple time slots for meetings available in the morning. Give us a call at 253.858.5434 to set something up.

Who needs an estate plan?

Do you have kids? Do you own a house? Do you want to make gifts to charities? Do you want to make gifts or provide for your grandchildren's education? Do you own a small business and want to learn more about passing it on to your children or grandchildren? Do you have a child or grandchild or even a parent with special needs or extraordinary medical expenses? A well thought out, creative, current estate plan should be on your To Do list. Give us a call at 253.858.5434 to set up an appointment to discuss how we can be of service.