James Whittingham Spencer's Answers

Medically assisted suicide

Your mother will absolutely want to ensure that she has a Health Care Directive (also known as a Directive to Physicians or Living Will) that states that in the event that she doesn't have the ability to make decisions for herself, and she needs to be on life support, she would want life support withheld. A hospice or hospital may be able to provide these forms, or she can engage an attorney to draft one up for her.

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My 90 year old mother's estate is approx. 200k comprised of cash, stock & mutual funds.

It sounds like you are pretty well-versed in gift and estate tax matters. As you seem to know, if your mother gifts the stocks to you while she is living (inter-vivos), you get her original basis. If she gives the stocks to you in her will (testamentary), you'll get a stepped-up basis, valued at the time of her death. If your mother's estate is worth about $200,000, then she has no federal estate tax concerns. I am not licensed to practice in Georgia, so I cannot address whether there...

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What are the procedures for filing a community property agreement in WA state

If you and your spouse have just completed and signed a community property agreement, you will want to file it with the King County Recorder's office (as your listed as living in Auburn, Washington). You will find plenty of information on their web site about how to file documents: http://www.metrokc.gov/recelec/records/. If you are exercising a community property agreement after the death of a spouse, you may need to record the agreement in any county where real property subject to the...

Discrimination for age/race?

Unfortunately (well, okay, more likely fortunately) bad behavior is not always actionable. It does sound like you were mistreated, but proving that it was based on age or race sounds nearly impossible, and even then it is likely not something that would give rise ot a cause of action. I concur that you should vote with your wallet, write a letter to the company about your experience, and scream from the rooftops to everyone you know just how poorly this particular company treated you.

Legal terminology

I echo what was said above. It is also important to consider whether a power of attorney is effective upon signing or disability. A durable power of attorney can be effective either upon signing or upon the occurence of some later event (for example, your incapacity). A power of attorney that is not "durable" does not have the required language under Washington law to be effective beyond your own capacity, and having it "spring" into effect on your incapcity would be fruitless. As always,...

Probate requirements

I echo Ms. Suissa's comments, and would also like to recommend Richard Wills's fantastic self-help web site, www.wa-probate.com. The small estate affidavit procedure is not for everyone, and there may be very good reasons to open probate even on a very small estate. As such, I believe it is always in your best interest to at least consult with an attorney.

Bills received after father's death

Another option you may want to consider is simply contacting each creditor as claims or bills come in. An example might be: "Thank you for contacting me regarding my father's estate. My father's estate is insolvent, and satisfaction of any creditors’ debts is very unlikely. As such, writing off any outstanding debt may be more efficient for you than pursuing payment. If you do choose to write off this debt, please forward any zero-balance statements to...." I do recommend that you discuss...

Wills

I also confirm all that has been said above. I would recommend that you find the case number for the probate or admisration (search for the Washington Courts web site). All going well, you may retrieve a copy of the will that was probated. It is also likely that any provisions that were in his will when it was drafted are mirrored in yours, so you may first want to start with your own will that was drafted while you were married to see just what it said.

Power of Attorney

In the end, the important question will be, what does the bank want. Some financial institutions are notoriously difficult to work with in this area (and probably not without good cause). Be open-minded about meeting whatever the bank's particular requirements are, remembering the old addage that you attract more bees with honey (or something like that). If, however, the bank becomes unreasonably difficult, don't hesitate to remind them of the RCWs regarding powers of attorney (see the post...

Wills

First, it is not unusual for it to take more than a year to settle an estate. There are a variety of factors that can contribute to this, but it is possible that the estate may still reasonably be "unsettled" after a year has gone by. Start by determining in which county your aunt's probate or administration is occuring. It will likely be the county in which she died, but it also could be the county in which the personal representative (also perhaps called an executor or administrator)...