Reconsider Adding Children to Your Bank Account
You’ve likely heard the conventional wisdom many times. Your friends or family or even at times the bank teller will counsel you that you should add your child to your…
Preparing for College – Funding with a 529 College Savings Plan or a Testamentary Trust?
At this time of year when high school students apply to the colleges of their dreams and matriculates return to their studies, it is important to consider your own situation…
Empty car parking lot with white mark
Short Term Excess Cash – Where do we park it?
Sometimes our clients come into excess cash. They sell an asset or a business. They receive an inheritance or gift. They receive a large bonus or award. And, though the…
Business Succession Strategy – Gift followed by a Redemption
Let’s assume that the patriarch of a local manufacturing business is ready to determine the best way to transition ownership of the business to his daughter. The patriarch, John, and…
The Value of Gifting
The concept of gifting is simply that you give something to someone or something for no value in return. That is, the donor gives something worth value to the donee…
Happy family in corn field. Family standing in corn field an looking at sun rise
Business Succession Strategy: The Family Farm LLC
As the center of Washington’s agricultural empire, it is important to recognize the planning opportunities afforded the Washington farmer in the Tri-Cities. This article explores the use of the family…
Strategies to Avoid Probate
Few words evoke such strong negative imagery as the term “probate.” For most people, they are not sure exactly what probate entails, but they know they want to avoid it…
Lending Money to Family and Friends – The Rules
Times can get financially rough. People go through difficult periods in life and might be strapped for cash and need an additional source of funds. Perhaps the cash is needed…
Estate Planning Strategy: The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust for Business Owners
Business owners are particularly sensitive to cash flow and liquidity needs. This can be especially true of the business owner’s estate after death. The estate needs cash to continue business…
Cohabitants Can Acquire Property Rights as if They Were Married
Popular culture instills in us Washingtonians the concept of “common law marriage.” The concept goes something like this: if a man and a woman live together for more than seven…
