Lynnwood Law Blog

There is an old saying familiar to many in Seattle: "nothing lasts forever." While it may seem like a tired cliché to you, it is nevertheless true as it relates to a trust. As the grantor of a trust, not only do you have some say as to how and when the trust comes to an end, you also have a responsibility to determine what happens afterward. 

According to FindLaw, there are three different ways that a trust can come to an end. The grantor can stipulate that the trust will end upon a beneficiary meeting a certain condition. For example, you could arrange for the trust to end once your beneficiary graduates from high school or college. The grantor can also designate a specific date on which the trust is to end, such as a beneficiary's 18th or 21st birthday. The third way that a trust may end is if the property held in trust becomes exhausted. In other words, there is only a finite amount of property within a trust, and once your beneficiaries have received all the assets, it means the trust is at its end. 

Washington State was one of the first states in the country to legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. While this has been legal now for a few years, there are still situations that arise in which people may be unsure about what might be legal or what might not be legal. In fact, these situations may be happening in any of the states that have legalized recreational pot.

Among the situations that might arise includes the wafting of smoke from a joint being smoked at one home to a neighboring property. As explained by Politifact.com, enjoying marijuana on private property is completely legal. However, if a neighbor finds the aroma or the smoke to be offensive, the issue may need to be dealt with.

Estate administration proceedings often may not play out the way that you or other interested parties may have anticipated. Those looking in on your situation from an outside prospective may view any questions you or others have about the decedent's will as simply being sour grapes. Yet typically, your concern about your loved one potentially being manipulated outweigh any disappointment you feel regarding your share of their estate. Many in Seattle have come to us here at Riach Gese Jacobs, PLLC with the same concerns, and want to if any recourse is available to address them. 

Section 11.24 of the Revised Code of Washington states that if you believe the terms of your loved one's will were developed under undue influence from another, you are allowed to submit a petition to the court stating your objections to its validity within four months of the will being probated (or rejected from probate). This may come as comforting news to you, but be prepared to have to support your claims. The burden of proof falls to you to prove how whatever party you suspect unduly influenced your family member or friend actually did so. 

Residents in Washington State who have established estate plans in place might feel that they have done their work in this area and no longer need to be concerned about this part of their lives. While certainly, it is better to have a plan than to not have one at all, every estate plan is in need of review on occasion. The start of a new calendar year can be a great time to do just this.

Many life events may warrant some changes in a person's estate plans. As explained by Forbes, one of these is the relocation to a new state. A person who has an estate plan that was made when they lived in Texas or Florida, for example, should be updated after they move to Washington State as each state has its own laws that may lead to different estate planning decisions.