Estate Planning and Probate

Our Estate Planning Services include…

Estate Planning: Our talented and knowledgeable attorneys can help you create a comprehensive estate plan that outlines your wishes for asset distribution, medical care, guardianship of minors, and more. We'll assist in drafting essential documents such as wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives.

Trust Creation and Administration: Galloway Law Group can establish both simple and complex trusts tailored to your goals, whether for asset protection, minimizing taxes, providing for loved ones, or charitable giving. We also assist in the proper administration of trusts to ensure assets are managed and distributed according to your intentions. Some trusts Galloway Law Group can write for you include:

·         Revocable and Irrevocable Living Trusts

·         Special Needs/Supplemental Needs Trusts

·         Spousal Savings Trusts

·         Charitable Trusts and Charitable Remainder Trusts

·         Family Trusts (AKA Bypass Trusts or Credit Shelter Trusts)

·         Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)

·         Perpetual Dynasty Trusts

·         Spendthrift Trusts

·         Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and Grantor Retained Unitrusts (GRUTs)

·         Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trusts (QTIPs)

·         Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)

Estate and Trust Modification: We can assist you in properly and legally modifying your existing will or trust documents due to changing circumstances, ensuring that they remain up to date and aligned with your wishes.

Pet Care: Our lawyers can help you create a legally binding trust document specifying the care, funding, and instructions for the well-being of your pets after your death or incapacity.

Lifetime Gifting: We can advise on tax-efficient gifting strategies, helping you navigate gift tax rules and ensure proper documentation for gifts.

Personal Property Memorandums: Galloway Law Group often creates a supplementary document to your will, specifying the distribution of personal items with sentimental or monetary value.

Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs) and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs): Let us assist you in creating business entities to control your family’s assets, drafting partnership or operating agreements, and ensuring compliance with legal formalities.

Charitable Planning: We can help you create charitable trusts or foundations to support causes you care about while enjoying potential tax benefits.

Business Succession Planning: Galloway Law Group assists business owners in creating plans to transition their businesses to successors, ensuring a smooth transfer of ownership and management.

Estate "Freeze" Techniques: Our attorneys can create complex trusts, such as GRATs or IDGTs, to transfer your assets to your heirs at a reduced value while minimizing gift and estate taxes.

Digital Estate Planning: Our tech-savvy lawyers can help you compile an inventory of your digital assets, draft instructions, and establish legal authority for accessing and managing digital assets after your death.

Family Retreats and Shared Properties: Our extensive experience in Real Estate gives us the expertise necessary to properly outline your wishes for the use, management, and succession plan of your property to avoid potential disputes.

Equity Stripping: Galloway Law Group can help structure an equity stripping arrangement in compliance with local and federal tax laws, while also ensuring control and access to the encumbered assets.

Estate Tax Planning: We provide you strategies to minimize estate and inheritance taxes, ensuring your assets are preserved for your beneficiaries.

Guardianship and Conservatorship: Galloway Law Group can assist you in establishing legal guardianship for minors or individuals who are unable to manage their affairs due to incapacity. See our Family Law and Guardianship page for more information!

Our Probate Services include…

Probate Opening and Guidance: Our attorneys help you open probate and obtain your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. We carefully guide executors and administrators through the probate process, ensuring legal compliance and efficient administration of the deceased person's estate. We help file required documents, pay debts, and distribute assets to beneficiaries.

Special Needs Planning: We can help estate administrators create trusts and plans to provide for the financial security of individuals with special needs without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefits.

Estate Inventory and Asset Distribution: Let us help you identify and value your loved one’s assets, negotiate with their creditors, and distribute their property to their beneficiaries according to the terms of their will or applicable laws.

Estate Litigation: Our talented attorneys represent clients in disputes related to estates and trusts, including will contests, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and disagreements among beneficiaries.

TEDRAs: A TEDRA, which stands for Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act, is a legal framework in the state of Washington that provides a structured process for resolving disputes related to trusts, wills, estates, and other matters involving probate and inheritance. Our lawyers can help you navigate this complex alternative to traditional litigation by promoting alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation and arbitration, to resolve disagreements among family members, beneficiaries, and interested parties.

Will Contests and Disputes: Galloway Law Group regularly and expertly handles disputes over wills, representing beneficiaries, heirs, or executors in cases involving contested wills, undue influence, or lack of capacity.

Beneficiary Representation: We represent beneficiaries to ensure their rights are protected during estate administration, including receiving their entitled inheritances.