Bellevue Estate Tax Lawyer

Trusted Bellevue estate tax lawyers with over 10 years of experience.

Washington has one of the lower estate tax thresholds in the country, and Bellevue real estate values alone push many families above the line. If you have a home, retirement savings, and life insurance, you may owe state estate tax even if you don't think of yourself as wealthy. A Bellevue, WA estate tax lawyer can structure a plan that reduces or eliminates that exposure, particularly for married couples who have planning options unavailable to single filers. Robert Franco founded Eastside Estate Planning and holds an LL.M. in Tax Law. We work on a flat fee, so the cost of the plan is set before drafting begins.

Estate Tax Lawyer Bellevue, WA

Washington imposes its own estate tax, separate from the federal one. The federal estate tax exempts a large amount per person, which keeps most estates from paying anything to the IRS. Washington's exemption is significantly smaller, which is why families who never expected to face an estate tax can find themselves planning around one.

A Bellevue estate tax attorney looks at what you own, how it's titled, how it passes at death, and what tax structures fit your situation. The work involves more than drafting documents. It involves coordinating ownership of real estate, retirement accounts, life insurance, and business interests so the plan actually reduces tax liability rather than just looking good on paper.

Types of Estate Tax Cases We Handle in Bellevue

Estate tax planning takes different forms depending on family circumstances, asset mix, and stage of life. Below are the matters we regularly handle for Bellevue clients.

• Credit Shelter Planning for Married Couples. The single most common estate tax structure for couples involves trust provisions that use both spouses' exemptions rather than letting one go to waste. The structure has to be in place before the first death to work.
• Disclaimer Trust Planning. A flexible structure where the surviving spouse can decide after the first death whether to disclaim assets into a credit shelter trust. This works for couples who want to defer the structuring decision until they see the situation at the time.
• QTIP and Marital Trust Structures. For blended families or situations where the first spouse wants to control where remaining assets go after the surviving spouse's death, qualified terminable interest property trusts provide income to the surviving spouse while preserving the remainder for chosen beneficiaries.
• Lifetime Gifting Strategies. Annual exclusion gifts, lifetime exemption gifts, and gifts to trusts can all reduce an estate during the donor's lifetime. We help clients think through what to give, when, and how to document it correctly.
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts. Life insurance proceeds are includable in the estate if the deceased owned the policy. An irrevocable life insurance trust holds the policy outside the estate, so the proceeds pass to beneficiaries without adding to estate tax exposure.
• Charitable Planning. Charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and direct bequests can reduce estate tax while supporting causes the client cares about. The choice of structure depends on whether the client wants income during life and whether the charitable goal is immediate or future.
• Real Estate Basis Planning. Property held until death gets a stepped-up basis for income tax purposes, which can be valuable for appreciated real estate. Coordinating this with estate tax planning requires attention to who owns what and how it's titled.
• Business Succession Planning. Family business interests carry both valuation issues and tax exposure that need to be addressed in advance. We work with business owners on transfer strategies, buy-sell agreements, and trust structures that align with succession goals.
• Retirement Account Coordination. IRAs and 401(k)s pass by beneficiary designation, and the tax treatment of inherited accounts has changed significantly in recent years. We coordinate retirement account beneficiaries with the rest of the estate plan to avoid accelerated distributions and the tax consequences that follow.

Why Choose Eastside Estate Planning for Estate Tax Work in Bellevue, WA?

Tax Law as a Foundation, Not an Afterthought

Most estate planning attorneys treat tax as one consideration among many. Robert Franco's training puts it at the center. After completing his J.D. at Lewis and Clark Law School in 2013, he went on to earn an LL.M. in Tax Law at the University of Washington in 2018. The LL.M. is a graduate-level legal degree focused specifically on tax law, and it's uncommon among estate planning attorneys. In a state where the estate tax catches families well below the federal threshold, that depth of tax training makes a real difference in how plans get built.

Robert is admitted in Washington and serves on the Tax Section of the Washington State Bar Association. He's also a member of the Cardozo Society of Washington State. As an estate planning lawyer in Bellevue, WA, he applies that tax background across the firm's work, with particular focus on estate tax planning for married couples, families with significant real estate, and clients with business or retirement-heavy estates. The firm also tracks ongoing Washington tax changes, which the legislature has revisited in recent sessions and which directly affects how plans should be structured today.

Flat-Fee Pricing on Tax Planning Work

Hourly billing leaves clients hesitant to ask questions and uncertain about the final cost. We don't operate that way. Our flat-fee model puts the price on paper before drafting begins, and pricing is published openly on the website. Follow-up calls and document revisions are part of the engagement, not separate line items.

Understanding Estate Tax Cases

How Washington's Estate Tax Works

A few framework points help most clients orient before getting into specifics.

• Washington's estate tax is separate from the federal estate tax, with a lower exemption.
• The tax is owed by the estate, not by the beneficiaries who receive distributions.
• The tax is calculated on the value of the taxable estate after deductions, including the marital deduction for assets passing to a surviving spouse.
• The federal estate tax may also apply for larger estates, and federal exemption rules have changed significantly over the past decade.
• Lifetime gifts can reduce both state and federal estate tax exposure, though gift tax rules vary between the two systems.
• Charitable bequests are deductible, which is why charitable planning shows up in many high-tax estates.

Important Aspects in Your Estate Tax Case

Several factors drive the design of an estate tax plan. Two Bellevue clients with similar net worth can end up with very different structures depending on the answers.

• Whether you're married, single, or in a blended family
• The composition of your estate, including real estate, business interests, retirement accounts, and life insurance
• Whether you've made significant lifetime gifts and whether they've been reported
• Whether you own assets in more than one state
• Your charitable goals and how you want them carried out
• Your tolerance for ongoing administration of irrevocable structures versus simpler approaches

Estate Tax Case Timeline

Tax planning generally moves from first meeting to signed documents within a few weeks for standard structures. More complex situations, including business interests or charitable structures, take longer.

• Initial consultation to review the estate and identify tax exposure
• Detailed asset review and tax projection
• Discussion of structural options that fit the situation
• Drafting based on the strategy we agree on
• Review meeting to walk through each document
• Signing appointment and implementation steps

What to Bring to Your Estate Tax Consultation

You don't need to come with an elaborate file. A few items help us give you better answers in the first meeting.

• A general inventory of assets and approximate values
• Recent statements for retirement accounts and brokerage accounts
• Real estate addresses, with rough current values if known
• Life insurance policies and current death benefit amounts
• Any existing estate planning documents
• Records of significant lifetime gifts if any have been made

By the end of the consultation, you'll have a clearer sense of your likely tax exposure, the structures that could address it, and what the planning would cost. There's no expectation of a same-day decision.

Washington Legal Resources for Estate Tax Cases

For Bellevue residents who want to research Washington estate tax on their own, several state and federal resources offer reliable starting points. These don't replace working with an attorney, but they help with general background.

• The Washington Department of Revenue maintains the official page on the state estate tax, including filing requirements and current exemption information.
• The IRS estate tax overview covers the federal framework that runs alongside Washington's tax.
• The IRS gift tax overview explains how lifetime gifts interact with the federal estate tax system.
• The Washington State Legislature publishes the Revised Code of Washington, where the estate tax statutes are searchable.
• The Washington State Bar Association offers public legal resources and a lawyer referral service.

Reach Out to Eastside Estate Planning to Schedule a Consultation

We offer free initial consultations and flat-fee pricing on estate tax matters. The first meeting covers your family, your assets, and what your tax exposure looks like. You leave with a clear picture of options, cost, and next steps. Contact us when you're ready to begin.