Wills, Estate Planning, and Probate

Take time today to plan for tomorrow.

As a full service law firm with lifelong clients, we often help our clients with their long term legal needs. Estate planning today for tomorrow's eventualities can save headaches and heartaches for family members because you have made your wishes known.

You don't need to be a millionaire to need estate planning services. Any special bequests or gifts you want to make should be spelled out in your estate plans, because this is the instrument with which you can direct the distribution of your assets.

Experienced Estate Planning Services

Our law firm offers the following estate planning services for individuals and small business owners:

• Wills — both simple and complex
• Trusts — an option sometimes used to minimize tax liability and, more importantly, when properly and timely executed can protect assets from attachment
• Gifts — to minors or other family members
• Guardianships or conservatorships — for the elderly, for children or vulnerable adults
• Medicare and Medicaid planning — to spend down assets
• Living Wills and Healthcare Directives — to make your wishes known about end   of life medical care.
• Probate.

Mr. Brody also has litigation or trial experience in the case of contested wills or breach of fiduciary duty on the part of a trustee or administrator.

Making Probate Less Intimidating

Somehow, many people have come to believe that probate should be avoided at all costs. In some states, such as California where the Executor may collect 5 to 10 percent of the estate, probate is a good thing to avoid. However, this is not the case in the state of Washington.

At Brody Law, located in Port Orchard, WA, we have been taking care of estate planning needs and offering probate services  for over thirty years. Most often, if a spouse passes away, probate will not be needed if the proper steps to avoid probate have been taken. If probate is needed, it is essentially three steps .

1. File a probate petition
2. Prepare information of all assets and value as of the date of death
3. File a Declaration of Completion after paying all expenses and distributing all the   assets of the estate.

An Experienced and Common Sense Approach to Estate Administration

            On occasion, probate litigation will be required, and should that happen, at Brody Law, we are skilled litigators and can represent a family member or members if there are multiple wills, contradictory wills or will contests.  The common sense approach our attorneys take can save you money in the long run. Because we value you as a lifelong client, it is in our best interest, as well as yours, that we handle your probate and estate administration issues in a timely and sensitive manner.

Call 360-876-6858 to schedule an initial free 30 minute consultation