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Federal Way estate planning attorneys at Elise Buie Family Law Group bring 50+ years of combined experience helping Washington families protect what matters most through thoughtfully built wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.

Key Takeaways:

• A will directs who receives your assets and names a guardian for your minor children; without one, Washington state intestacy law makes those decisions for your family.

• A revocable living trust transfers assets to your beneficiaries privately and without probate, saving your family significant time and court involvement.
• Elise Buie Family Law Group offers estate planning statewide, and our Federal Way estate planning attorneys tailor every plan to the specific people and assets involved.

Most families in Federal Way plan for everything except the one thing that quietly affects everyone: what happens when they cannot make decisions for themselves. A serious illness, an unexpected accident, a death without a will in place. These situations do not announce themselves. What they leave behind is a family trying to sort out finances, property, and guardian arrangements through courts that had no way of knowing what you would have wanted. 

Estate planning is about answering those questions before they become someone else’s emergency. It is one of the most considerate, practical acts of love you can take for the people who depend on you. 

At Elise Buie Family Law Group, our Federal Way estate planning attorneys work with Washington families at every stage of life: young parents who need a plan in place before something happens, professionals whose assets have grown more complex over time, and families navigating the intersection of estate planning and family changes like divorce or remarriage. Our team brings 50+ years of combined experience and a whole-family perspective to this work, which means we understand not just the documents but the people behind them.

Book a consultation with our team to start building a plan that reflects your life.

Building an Estate Plan

An estate plan is not a single document. It is a coordinated set of legal tools that work together to protect your assets, relationships, and wishes. Here is what a complete plan typically covers:

Last will and testament. A will names who receives your property, designates an executor to carry out your wishes, and, for parents of minor children, appoints a guardian. In Washington, assets that pass through a will still go through probate. That is not necessarily a reason to avoid a will, but it is a reason to understand how it works alongside a trust.

Revocable living trust. A trust holds assets during your lifetime and transfers them directly to your beneficiaries after your death, without court involvement. This keeps the process private and moves faster than probate. It becomes especially valuable as your assets grow or if you own real property in Washington. You remain in full control of the trust while you are living.

Durable powers of attorney. This document designates someone to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Without it, your family may need to go through court to gain authority over your accounts, even if your wishes are obvious to everyone involved. A healthcare directive works alongside this to document your medical preferences and name a healthcare proxy.

Beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain bank accounts pass outside of probate by beneficiary designation. These designations override your will, which means they need to be reviewed and updated as your life changes. A complete estate plan accounts for these alongside your core documents.

Choosing the Right Plan for Your Family’s Situation

There is no single estate plan that fits every family. The right combination depends on your assets, your family structure, and what you are most concerned about protecting. Estate planning that works is built around real life, not templates.

A will-only plan is a reasonable starting point for younger families with modest assets, especially when the immediate priority is naming a guardian for minor children and giving the family clear direction. It does not avoid probate, but it does address the most essential questions.

A will and trust combination is typically the right structure for families with significant assets, real property, or specific wishes about how and when beneficiaries receive their inheritance. The trust handles the assets that benefit most from avoiding probate, while the will captures anything not titled in the trust and makes guardian designations for children.

A comprehensive plan adds durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives to the core will and trust. For families with blended family dynamics, children with special needs, or complex financial situations, this approach provides the broadest protection and the clearest direction. It also accounts for incapacity, not just death, so your family is covered across a range of scenarios.

Our Federal Way estate planning attorneys will walk you through exactly which combination fits your situation and make sure every document is drafted correctly and legally sound under Washington law.

What Our Federal Way Estate Planning Attorneys Do Differently

Working with Elise Buie Family Law Group means working with attorneys who bring genuine investment in your family’s future to every plan they build.

1. 50+ years of combined experience. Our team of attorneys has helped Washington families at every stage of life build estate plans that stand the test of time. We have seen what goes wrong when plans are incomplete and how much smoother things go when they are done right.
2. A whole-family perspective. Because we also handle family law matters, including divorce, blended families, and parenting plans, we understand how life changes intersect with estate planning in ways that a documents-only approach often misses. If your family structure has shifted, your estate plan may need to shift too.
3. Plans tailored to your life, not a template. We take time to understand your specific assets, your family, and what you want to protect before we draft a single document. Our estate planning practice serves clients statewide across Washington, and every plan we build is as individual as the family behind it.
4. White-glove service throughout. Our devoted hospitality coordinator keeps the process smooth and responsive from first consultation through final signing, so you always know where things stand.

An estate plan gives your family the clarity they need when everything else feels uncertain. The Federal Way estate planning attorneys at Elise Buie Family Law Group are ready to help you build one that reflects exactly what matters most to you. Book a consultation and take the first step toward a plan your family can count on.

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