Mary Anne Vance's Guides

Guardianships FAQ

What is a Guardianship? A Guardianship is a Court approved arrangement that is useful when a person cannot manage their own financial or personal affairs. The Court sees Guardianship as a last resort and favors the use of a Durable Power of Attorney or other less restrictive alte...

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Wills and Estate Planning FAQ

What is a Will? A Will is a written document explaining how you want your possessions and assets to be distributed after you die. A Will is put into effect at your death. You can change your Will at any time, as long as you are legally competent to do so. Your Will is filed with ...

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Physicians' Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment

Your physician can now use a new form to write orders that indicate what type of life-sustaining treatment you want or do not want at the end of life. The Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form, recently introduced for physicians use, is available from the Was...

The Vulnerable Adult Statute

This statute allows an interested person to get a court hearing relatively quickly if they think an adult is being victimized by another person. This law gives definitions of abandonment, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It allows the Department of Social and Health Services to ...

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Guardianships

Washington State has a detailed guardianship law designed to protect incapacitated persons. There are many safeguards in this process and attorneys are generally involved as the procedure is complex and can be expensive. For persons who have no resources or family, Adult Protecti...

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Revocable Living Trusts

When you create a Revocable Living Trust, you must transfer ownership of all your property, including all real estate, personal property, bank accounts, and pension accounts to the name of the Trust while you are alive. This is very different from a Testamentary Trust, which is c...

Last Wills and Testaments

A Will is a written statement signed by you and two adult witnesses who do not inherit under the Will. The Will typically names people or organizations who will inherit your assets after your death. It is a good idea to have a notary public also sign the Will. You are free to lea...

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Washington State Living Will Registry

Each of us can now register our Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney with the State Department of Health. This is a free service which maintains records of Health Care Directives, Medical Powers of Attorney, Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment, and Mental Health ...

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Health Care Directives (Living Wills)

You may have heard Health Care Directives popularly referred to as Living Wills. They are not a Will, which is a document that directs who should inherit your money if you die. The Health Care Directive is your statement as to whether you want certain types of life sustaining med...

Medical Powers of Attorney

Washington law gives a limited Power of Attorney by statute to certain family members. The best practice is for each of us over the age of 18 to write a Medical Power of Attorney and name the person we want to make medical decisions for us when we are incapacitated. We can name o...