Estate Planning Lawyer Everett, WA
Planning for the future isn't something most people look forward to. But when the time comes to actually sit down and do it, the process tends to be far less complicated than people expect, especially with the right legal representation at your side.
Our Everett, WA estate planning lawyer works with individuals and married couples throughout Snohomish County to build estate plans crafted around what you own, who you're protecting, and what you want to happen when you're no longer here to say so.
Eastside Estate Planning offers a free initial consultation. If you've been putting this off because you don't know where to start or what it will cost, that conversation is the right first step.
Why Choose Eastside Estate Planning for Your Everett Estate Plan?
Robert Franco, Attorney and Founder
Robert Franco built Eastside Estate Planning around a single focus: estate planning and probate. He earned his J.D. from Lewis and Clark College in 2013 and an LL.M. in Tax Law from the University of Washington School of Law in 2018. Before founding the firm in 2022, he spent years working in-house where complex tax and planning questions were central to the work. He is licensed in Washington, is a member of the Washington Bar Association's Tax Section, and holds membership in the Cardozo Society of Washington State. Robert is laso top rated on Avvo.
Flat-Fee Pricing, No Hourly Surprises
Every estate planning matter is handled on a flat-fee basis. That kind of predictability matters when you're already making difficult decisions about the future.
Communication That Actually Makes Sense
Legal documents are dense, and estate planning decisions carry real consequences. Robert's approach is to walk clients through the documents, explain the purpose of each provision, and make sure clients understand what they're signing before they sign it.
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"Robert is amazing at his job. I recently created a trust which involves a lot of moving parts and even though the laws and rules, and all of the paperwork seemed daunting at first Robert made the process super clean, clear, and easy to check the boxes on to make sure all of my assets are safe, my healthcare directives are clear, and everything is well secured. I feel much more content knowing this process is completed now. I highly recommend Robert and Eastside Estate Planning to anyone who needs a will, trust, or any matters of an estate settled for themselves or a loved on. This process could easily have been difficult but now that it's done it seems like the most simple and essential steps I could have taken. Thank you, Robert!"
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
What Is Estate Planning and Why Does It Matter for Everett Residents?
Estate planning is the formal process of directing what happens to your property, your finances, and the people who depend on you when you die or become incapacitated. It involves a coordinated set of legal documents, not just a will.
Without a plan, Washington's intestacy laws decide who inherits your assets. Those defaults reflect a generic framework, not your actual wishes. Your estate also passes through probate, a court-supervised process governed by Title 11 RCW, which takes time, costs money out of your estate, and makes your financial affairs part of the public record. For many Everett families, that outcome is exactly what proper planning is designed to prevent.
Estate planning also addresses incapacity. A durable power of attorney and a health care directive allow you to designate who makes decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them yourself. Under RCW 11.125, Washington's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a durable power of attorney remains effective even after the principal becomes incapacitated, which is precisely when it's needed most. Without one, your family may face a costly court guardianship or conservatorship proceeding just to manage your affairs.
And for married couples in particular, Washington's separate state estate tax under RCW 83.100.040 creates planning considerations that don't exist at the federal level. The state exemption threshold is lower than the federal exemption, and without proper trust planning, a married couple can lose the benefit of one spouse's exemption entirely.
Estate Planning Services We Provide to Everett Clients
Our firm handles estate planning and probate work for individuals and married couples. Below is an overview of our core services. If you have a specific situation in mind, a free consultation is the best way to understand which documents and structures apply to your circumstances.
- Revocable Living Trust. A revocable living trust is the most common alternative to passing assets through probate. The trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your beneficiaries at death without court involvement. It is private, efficient, and flexible. Under Washington law, you can amend or revoke it at any time as long as you have capacity.
- Last Will and Testament. A will names your beneficiaries, designates guardians for minor children, and appoints the person who will handle your estate. Even when a trust is the primary vehicle, a pour-over will serves as a backstop for any assets not transferred into the trust before death.
- Power of Attorney. A durable power of attorney authorizes a designated agent to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated. The scope of authority depends entirely on what the document actually says. Standard forms frequently miss critical situations;we create custom protections to meet your specific needs.
- Health Care Directive. Under Washington's Natural Death Act, an adult may execute a directive specifying wishes for medical treatment in a terminal or permanently unconscious condition. Combined with a health care power of attorney, this document protects your autonomy and removes an enormous burden from your family.
- Irrevocable Trust. An irrevocable trust removes assets from your taxable estate and can serve specific purposes, including asset protection, Medicaid planning, and long-term care strategy. Unlike a revocable trust, changes require beneficiary consent. These structures are not appropriate for everyone, and getting the drafting right matters significantly.
- Tax Planning. Washington's estate and tax-planning landscape is genuinely distinct from that of other states. The state estate tax applies independently of the federal tax, with its own exemption levels and rate schedule. Our founder holds an LL.M. in Tax Law and brings that background directly to planning for Everett clients whose estates may be subject to the Washington tax.
- Probate. When a loved one dies, leaving assets that weren't held in a trust or structured to pass by beneficiary designation, those assets typically go through probate. We guide families through the process in Snohomish County Superior Court, addressing creditor notices, personal representative responsibilities, and final distribution.
Washington Legal Requirements for Estate Planning
Each of the core estate planning instruments is governed by its own Washington statute, and the rules are not interchangeable.
Will validity under RCW 11.12.020. A Washington will must be in writing, must be signed by the testator, and must be witnessed by at least two competent individuals to satisfy RCW 11.12.020. Handwritten wills with no witnesses, often called holographic wills, are not enforceable in this state. A will signed in another jurisdiction can still be given effect in Washington if it complied with the laws of the place where it was executed, though anyone who has moved to Olympia from elsewhere should have those documents reviewed under current Washington requirements before assuming the plan still works.
Intestate succession under RCW 11.04.015. RCW 11.04.015 supplies the default distribution rules when an Olympia resident dies without a valid will. The surviving spouse takes all the community property in cases where there are children of the marriage. Separate property is then divided between the surviving spouse and those children according to the statutory formula. The result can depart sharply from what the decedent would have wanted, and in blended-family situations, the division frequently leaves a surviving spouse holding inherited property jointly with stepchildren, an arrangement that creates predictable strain.
Washington estate tax under RCW 83.100. Washington maintains its own estate tax under RCW 83.100, and that tax operates entirely independently of the federal estate tax. The individual exclusion for deaths occurring in 2026 is $3,076,000. Marginal rates rise to 35 percent on taxable amounts that exceed $9 million. The Washington exemption, unlike the federal unified credit, cannot be carried over from a deceased spouse to the survivor. That absence of portability is one of the most frequently overlooked aspects of state-level planning, and for married couples with meaningful asset bases it usually drives the structure of the recommended plan.
Power of attorney requirements under RCW 11.125. RCW 11.125 codifies Washington's Uniform Power of Attorney Act. For any power of attorney signed on or after January 1, 2017, the execution requirements in RCW 11.125.050 must be met for the document to be valid. When a power of attorney is designated as durable under RCW 11.125.020, the principal's later incapacity does not terminate the agent's authority. The document continues to operate at exactly the moment it most needs to.
Important Aspects of an Olympia Estate Planning Case
Selecting the Right Document Structure
A 35-year-old parent of two young children needs something quite different from a 60-year-old couple with a paid-off home and a sizable retirement portfolio. For a single individual with modest assets, a will, a durable power of attorney, and a healthcare directive often does the job. For a married couple whose combined holdings are approaching the Washington threshold, the analysis grows more involved, and the right plan typically includes a revocable trust along with intentional tax planning. The structure should follow from the facts, not the other way around, which is why we work through the relevant questions with each client before recommending a set of documents.
The Real Risk of Skipping Probate Planning
Almost every client wants their estate to reach their family without court entanglement, and that outcome is not the default. A will still requires probate to be admitted and administered. A revocable trust sidesteps probate, but only with respect to assets that have been formally retitled into the trust's name. Real property purchased after the trust was created but never deeded into it, and financial accounts left without current beneficiary designations, can still wind up in probate court. We walk clients through the trust funding process step by step so the structure performs as intended.
Planning for Incapacity, Not Just Death
A durable power of attorney and a healthcare directive answer the question of what happens if you cannot make decisions for yourself. Absent those documents, a family member who needs authority over your finances or your medical care typically has to file a guardianship or conservatorship petition with a Washington court. That process is slow, costly, and conducted on a public docket. The risk is not theoretical; it applies to anyone who has not put their wishes in writing.
Keeping Plans Current After Life Changes
An estate plan should not be filed away and forgotten. Marriage, divorce, the birth of grandchildren, a major real estate purchase or sale, a move into or out of Washington, and changes in state law can all influence how the plan performs in practice. The 2025 amendment to Washington's estate tax law adjusted the rate schedule and increased the exemption, thereby changing the operating reality for more than a few existing plans. Revisiting and updating the documents after meaningful life events is part of keeping the plan effective rather than merely on file.
The Stakes Are Higher for Blended Families
Blended families call for drafting precision that boilerplate plans rarely supply. Without provisions addressing the circumstances, assets earmarked for a surviving spouse may eventually pass to that spouse's children from a previous relationship rather than to the decedent's own children. The reverse error happens too: a plan drafted too restrictively can leave a surviving spouse financially squeezed during their remaining years. Reaching a workable balance between those interests calls for thoughtful trust language and deliberate distribution provisions, not a fill-in-the-blank template.
Get Started With a Free Consultation
Estate planning is not a task that gets easier by waiting. The free consultation is designed to give you a clear picture of what your plan should include and what it will cost, with no obligation. At Estate Estate Planning, we develop personalized estate planning documents that last, so you can face the future knowing that you’ve protected everyone who is important to you.
Contact our Everett estate planning lawyer online or by phone to schedule your consultation.