The death of an individual gives rise to the need to administer the transfer of the decedent's assets via a will, a living trust, or state intestacy laws, and to comply with estate tax laws.
Our firm assists executors, personal representatives, and trustees in carrying out these duties. Specifically, we have extensive experience dealing with ambiguous documents, handling difficult valuation issues, and preparing federal and state estate tax returns. In addition, we calculate and implement funding of trusts for the optimum estate and income tax savings.
To enhance the cost effectiveness for clients and to streamline the burden of administration for them, many of the administrative tasks are handled by our highly experienced paralegals.
Unlike many states, Washington State does not have arbitrary fee schedules based on the size of an estate. Rather, our fees are billed at our normal hourly rate and only for the time actually spent on the administration of the estate or trust.