News from the Desk: April 2022

By April 12, 2022 April 18th, 2022 No Comments

April showers bring May flowers! That’s the saying, and it always holds true in Seattle. We endure a lot of rain here in the Northwest, especially in the spring, but it’s worth it when everything starts to bloom. We hope you’re enjoying the spring beauty wherever you are.
 
Both Sherry and I enjoyed presenting for the Washington State Bar Association’s (WSBA) Washington Law and Practice Refresher Series on March 23 and 24. Joined by WSBA Senior Professional Responsibility Counsel Jeanne Marie Clavere, I provided recommendations on how lawyers can participate in social media while complying with our Rules of Professional Conduct (RPCs). I focused on ways that attorneys violate their clients’ confidentiality through online comments. In Sherry’s presentation, entitled Professional Responsibility and Client Communications, she joined Sandra Schilling, WSBA Professional Responsibility Counsel, to explain how legal ethics impact attorney communications with clients. This presentation included a discussion of how the RPCs might guide the actions of a hypothetical attorney under various scenarios, such as when an attorney represents multiple clients in the same matter and a dispute breaks out, or whether it is possible for the attorney to take protective action on behalf of a client with diminished capacity without violating the attorney-client privilege.
 
In March, Sherry published an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) entitled Your Digital Footprint After Death, part of the PSBJ 2022 Estate Planning and Charitable Bequests Guide. In an interactive session called Drafting Wills for Families on April 27, she’ll again be a group leader at the King County Bar Association’s (KCBA) CLE Personal Estate Planning for the 99%. Next month, she’ll join a panel discussing her PSBJ article and the Guide at the May 18 Estate Planning Council (EPC) of Seattle’s Quarterly Dinner Meeting. If you’re not sure how your digital assets, such as your social media accounts, bank accounts, or anything else you store online, should be handled after your death, read more from Sherry on this important topic or check out the EPC of Seattle’s May dinner meeting!

As always, I would love to hear your questions and comments. If you have any questions about our firm and the work we do, please contact us or visit our website.  

Recent Updates from Our Blog

estate planning not a good gift

Flowers & Chocolates Make Lovely Gifts. Estate Planning? Not So Much.

Your parents are getting older and don’t have their estate planning done. You need to call an attorney and get that taken care of for them. But can you? Stacey answers that question in her latest blog post.

Probate Lessons from The Gilded Age: Part 1 – Nonprobate Notice to Creditors

In the HBO drama The Gilded Age, the main character is catapulted into the dramatic social world of 1880’s New York after her father’s death. Sherry discusses The Gilded Age in highlighting estate administration issues that come up frequently for the heirs of an estate.

Has Your Spouse said “I Do” to Estate Planning?

In a marriage, most spouses share everything—a home, a pet, a car, and their estate planning wishes. But what if one spouse refuses to be involved in the estate planning process? Stacey delves into the complexities that can arise if only one-half of a marriage completes their estate planning.

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