Latest Blog Posts

• Creating a ‘Bridge’ Estate Plan – Why Spouses should Update their Estate Plan During a Divorce or Separation While many people consider updating their estate planning documents following a divorce, it is best to update these documents when planning for a divorce or separation process, or risk potentially disastrous results. Washington law automatically overrides some, but not all, existing estate planning documents upon the filing of a marriage dissolution or legal separation action. Powers ... Read full article
• Congratulations to Smeraldo Restaurant! In 1984, Carmine Smeraldo opened Il Terrazzo Carmine becoming a staple of Pioneer Square in Seattle. After his sudden passing in 2012, no one was sure what would happen to this main stay, but his sons, Carmine Jr. and Phillip along with their mother stepped up to keep the doors open. Since 2012, the family ... Read full article
• Think Twice Before Reimbursing Your Employees Under the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”), as of January 1, 2018, employees are no longer able to deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses on their individual tax returns for tax years 2018- 2025. Previously, any qualified expenses that employees incurred while on the job could be deducted on their individual tax return subject ... Read full article
• The Keys to Blended Family Estate Planning More and more often, families define themselves as “a blended family” when one or both of the parents have children from a prior marriage. This creates unique issues in the area of estate planning, as one of the most common goals in blended family estate planning is to provide for both the current spouse of ... Read full article
• The Disappearing Non-Competition Clause There are big changes on the horizon for non-competition agreements in Washington State. On May 8, 2019, Governor Inslee signed House Bill (“HB”) 1450 a new statewide law restricting the use of non-competition agreements in employment contracts. Non-competition agreements are often used as a means of restricting a former employee’s ability to work for a ... Read full article

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