When a single individual purchases real estate in “fee simple,” which is outright ownership of the land, they hold a 100% interest in the property. When more than one person owns property together, a “tenancy” situation is created. “Tenancy” here does not mean how it is most commonly used today; no one is renting property…

A trust is a separate legal entity for holding and investing property. One or more persons holds property, usually real estate or investments, for the benefit of another or several other people.

A review of the top six ways claims can be barred and often are barred during Estate or Trust Administration.

A life estate is an interest in property than exists only during the life of the owner, and no further. A future interest is created in the heirs.

One of the most commonly employed estate planning devices is the Power of Attorney. This document generally comes in two varieties; a financial agency and a health care agency.

HIPAA, was enacted in 1996, to address concerns over unfretted access to individual medical information.

If you remember having this conversation some 30 years ago, and at the advice of you brother-in-law, got a Will drafted, it’s time to pull it out, dust it off, and give it a read.

Everyone is interested in minimizing their taxes. This is especially true with Estate Planning, where inheritance can create a taxable event for your heirs. For tax purposes, Washington employs a Step-up-in-Basis Rule. This rule is important for minimizing the amount of capital gain taxes to your heirs. Here are the basics of the Rule. ‘Basis,’…

The topic of the Presidential Debate on Wednesday was the domestic economy. The umbrella was supposed to contain such issues as taxes, Medicaid/Medicare, healthcare costs, financial regulation, and jobs. And we heard a considerable amount from each candidate on these topics. Among this hemming and hawing however, one conversation was noticeably missing, at least for…

The day of the friendly “handshake” is over, but the world nowadays seems controlled by documents; leases, licenses, contracts, waivers, disclaimers, assumptions, warnings, and wills.