You Can’t Take It With You

You've signed your estate planning documents - awesome work! But you're not done. Your plan is only good if it continues to accurately reflect what is going on in your life. Spoiler alert - we think you should look at your plan every 3-5 years. We have a nifty new program for our estate planning clients called The Bridge Club, which is kind of like a "club" that provides free sma...

Did you know that Washington is one of only twelve states that has an inheritance/estate/death tax? Liiiike . . . a tax that applies to your estate after you have died? Did you also know that the federal government also has an estate tax? So - there are two for us Washingtonians! Hot tip - the WA estate tax is one of the most aggressive in the country. Join us while we chat about the estate tax an...

Did you know you can add a beneficiary to your house? It's pretty cool but can be a real mess if you don't do it right. But Mom seems to be remembering a few more things about estate planning this year, which is pretty exciting for us!

Truthfully, not everyone needs a Living Trust, but they're pretty cool when they work the right way. In this episode, we talk living trusts, remind Mom that she has one (she'll forget again), and why you might want one. Hint: it's not only for the 1%!

Learn a little about our entrepreneurial family and how we know the importance of succession/estate planning for your business. The biggest problem we see with closely-held businesses is that they don't have an agreement in place, which outlines what happens when one of the owners dies (among many other things). It's so important and deserves consideration during your planning meeting with...

First of all, what is "EP"? Bonus points if you know what we're talking about. Second of all, we actually made a conversation about storing documents kinda funny, thanks to mom. Listen to this episode if you're wondering how/where to store important legal documents, like EP. Also listen if you want to know how little mom has retained from past podcasts. ;)

The three of us might not agree on what it should be called, but we know ya need one! A love letter is a non-legally enforceable document that you leave to say "things that need to be said", like how to take care of your pets, your kids' favorite book to read at night, where the safe combination is, etc. These are not legal things we want to say, but things that are important to us t...

Everyone seems to know that Washington is a "community property state", but do you really know what that means? And why a community property agreement is nice to have (or really bad to have)? Often referred to as the "golden document", the community property agreement can also backfire if used in the wrong circumstances. Listen to learn more about these awesome/awful documents!

Y'all. Timeshares are so annoying in the estate planning context. We know they can be awesome in real life (assuming you use them!), but make sure you know what happens to your timeshare after you die. Will it require probate in another state? Will it transfer automatically to your kids? Do they even want it? Let's talk about it!

Stuff. We all have it. Some of us have a lot of it. If you've ever had to go through someone else's stuff after they die, you know how helpful it can be if there was some planning (and maybe some divesting?) before death. We're here to talk about the legal side of stuff. You won't believe what people fight about!

Y'all. Pets are our kids. And we need to plan for them just like we do for kids. Who is going to take your pet if you're gone? Will people fight over the pet? Does the ultimate owner need some money to care for the pets? Do you want to create a trust for the pet? Does the pet have specific medical issues that need to be addressed? These are all important issues that can and should be addre...

The three of us took some time out of our recent Italian adventure to talk about how to plan to give money to your minor kids. You'll hear that mom wants to talk about other stuff, but we keep her on track to confirm the best way to get money to your kids if you die before they turn 18. Trusts? Custodial accounts? Outright? Oh my! Please listen if you have kids under 18 - you need to hear this...

For those of you who always think "SHOOT, I should have updated my Will" as you're about to take off and go on a fabulous vacation - you're not alone! Many people THINK about getting their estate planning updated before travel. And guess what?! Some people actually do it! In this episode, we discuss 7 things you should do - estate planning-wise - before you travel. This list is H...

Stuff. It causes lots of drama in families after someone dies. There are a lot of things you can do to help your family deal with your stuff - check out this podcast to hear our musings about what you can do now to avoid drama later. Hannah mentioned Swedish Death Cleaning in this podcast. You can learn more about it anywhere on Google, including this website . Listen and go make your lists!

Mom is back and she is NOT excited about beneficiary designations BUT we really blew her mind when we dove into the exciting world of beneficiary designations and  why they are so important. For example, did you know that a beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy or retirement account SUPERSEDES anything you put in a Will?  Or, did you know that there is a tax benefit to putti...

Our first guest is Rebecca "Becky" Winegarner! And she is awesome! We got to spend a fun morning Becky, who is a death doula and life coach. DEATH DOULA, you say??? Yes, indeed! This is a job that exists and it's SO interesting - more people need to know about it. In this episode, Becky helps us learn what a death doula does and how important a death doula can be in so many situations. We have bee...

A Disposition Authorization is a weird name for a document where you can direct how your body is handled after you die. This is FUN STUFF, y'all!  It actually is pretty fun. We learn a lot of unique things about our clients when they tell us about what they want to happen to their bodies. You have three options in Washington: burial, cremation, composting.  In this episode, we cover lots...

Health care directives are not a ton of fun but they are so important! Learn about the end-of-life choices you can make to alleviate the burden on your family. Bonus: hear Lonna (mom) really get confused about how this works with the health care power of attorney 😂

We're attacking this stuff from three different generations: Lonna - our baby boomer, just turned 70 this year. She is married to Evans and has a blended family full of (awesome) adult children and a handful of (amazing) grandchildren. She owned a business for years prior to retiring in 2015 and is the immediate past President of Midday Rotary Club in Gig Harbor, Washington. Annie - we'll go with...

Powers of Attorney! No one really gets them! But they're so important! Learn all about them and why you need one in this episode :) Links to shows mentioned in episode: I Care A Lot (the Netflix thriller that we mistakenly called "Because I Care" through this whole episode . . . pretttty close) Framing Britney Spears (NY Times documentary about the Britney Spears conservatorship saga) We'd love to...

A lot of people think they don't need Wills. In fact, 65% of Americans do not have a Will even though we believe everyone needs one. Though not required under any state laws, a Will makes things so much easier for your family and is the only way to outline how you want things to be done and who should be involved in your estate. A Will is also the only way to nominate a guardian for your minor kid...