Top Probate Lawyers in Seattle | 79 available

WMAC Certified Mediator

With over 15,000 clients served, chances are good that we’ve seen your situation before.. Gain Clarity and Take Control of Your Legal Options. Estate Planning | Probate | Real Estate. Why Us?. EXPERIENCEDWe are experts in our practice areas, which means we can explain all of your options, not just the obvious ones.. PRACTICALLegal issues don’t exist in a vacuum. We understand that you have families, finances, and other responsibilities to consider, so our advice is pragmatic and realistic.. EFFICIENTWe know exactly what questions to ask and how to resolve your issue quickly and permanently so you can get on with your life.. COMPASSIONATEOur clients trust us with their personal and family planning matters, and we do not take that lightly.

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Robbie counsels individuals, families and businesses on matters involving income, estate and gift tax planning. He represents many businesses in transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, succession planning and organization strategies. Robbie also handles probate and trust matters and designs estate plans for clients of all financial means. His tax background cements his relationship with clients for both business and estate planning purposes.

Richard P. Matthews, a principal, joined Carney Badley Spellman, P.S. in May 2003. Before joining the firm, Mr. Matthews was a partner and chair of the Real Estate Practice Group in the Seattle office of Holland & Knight. He serves a broad range of corporate and individual clients, and local private businesses. He has represented national and local clients in projects involving business growth, reorganization, divestiture and acquisition. He has worked closely with owners and developers with respect to their real estate acquisition, leasing, mortgage financing, and property disposition. In addition, Mr. Matthews has handled numerous private placements and offerings for companies. He also has worked closely with company management to formulate and foster personal and corporate objectives.. Mr. Matthews has practiced law in the Seattle area since 1973. His areas of practice are real estate and land development law; business planning and counseling, including mergers and acquisitions; health law; and securities and corporate finance. He also enjoys working with individuals in addressing their estate and financial planning needs.. Mr. Matthews has served on or chaired several local and state bar committees. He is a frequent speaker on real estate and health law, as well as corporation, business, and estate planning topics. He has been a speaker-instructor for the Washington State Bar Association, the Seattle-King County Board of Realtors, the The Washington Mortgage Lenders Association, the National Business Institute, the University of Washington Medical School Residency Program, UBS Paine Webber Wealth Preservation Attorney Network and the Washington State Bar Association Skills Training Institute.. Mr. Matthews is a past board member as well as committee chair of various committees of the Rainier Club; the past President and a Paul Harris Fellow of the Shoreline Rotary Club; past President and board member of the United Church of Christ Northwest Regional Housing Council; a member of the Inglewood Golf Club; a trustee of the Shoreline Community College Foundation; a founding board member and officer of Forward Shoreline (a local economic development group) and is an active member of Calvin Presbyterian Church.. Mr. Matthews has been recognized by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine as being among the top lawyers in King County in Business and Commercial law.

Richard Furman joined Aiken, St. Louis & Siljeg, P.S. in 2007 after nearly 7 years with Hertog & Coster, PLLC. Richard's practice includes trust and estate administration and litigation and civil litigation, including all aspects of motions practice, trials, and appeals of guardianships, trusts, probates, will contests, powers of attorney, vulnerable adult proceedings, and general civil litigation. He is frequently appointed by courts to serve as guardian ad litem, guardian, probate administrator, and special master in guardianship, probate, and trust matters. Prior to entering private practice, Richard served as the first Guardianship and Probate Facilitator for the King County Superior Court.

Quentin combines laser-focused attention to client goals with his outstanding courtroom talent. By doing this, he is able to achieve significant success in resolving disputes for his clients.

Patrick attended MIT, Whitman College, Bastyr University (masters in counseling), Seattle University (law school), and received an LLM in taxation from the University of Washington. Patrick works on estate planning, tax controversies, probate, and trusts and estates. Before law school he worked as a family and mental health therapist. He lives in Seattle with family, including his rambunctious 3 year old son.

My practice is limited to estate administration and related estate litigation.  I accept appointments as a professional fiduciary for difficult estates or when the previous fiduciaries have been disqualified during the course of litigation within the estate.  I also serve as an expert witness in fiduciary litigation.

Mary Anne Vance focuses her practice on estate planning, trusts and probate. She is the co-author of the Probate and Estate Planning Chapters of the "Washington Civil Practice Deskbook". She chairs and speaks at legal seminars sponsored by the Washington State and King County Bar Associations. She was voted "Super Lawyer" by Washington Law and Politics Magazine and voted one of Seattle's Top Attorneys by Seattle Magazine.

Marcia chairs Graham & Dunn's Wealth Management Team and is a former member of the firm’s Board of Directors. She has over 25 years of experience counseling individuals about wealth transfer and succession planning, including estate planning and administration, probate, trusts and related tax matters.. Marcia is a frequent speaker at professional and community conferences about estate planning and administration. She was the chair of the 51st Annual Estate Planning Seminar in 2006, and she chaired the WSBA task force on the 2005 Washington Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act.

Liv Wernecke is a shareholder with more than 30 years experience at Betts Patterson Mines, he heads the Estate Planning and Probate practice area and also is a member of the firm’s Business Transactions Practice Group.. Mr. Wernecke’s practice covers estate planning, succession planning for closely held business, real estate and investment entities, compensation and retirement arrangements, probate, trust creation and administration, individual, estate and entity taxation, guardianships, and certain aspects of international trade.. He was co-counsel of a successful Washington Supreme Court case upholding the application of the equal protection clause to state taxes and has lectured at Golden Gate University in taxation of S Corporations, partnerships and estates.

Karl Flaccus’s practice focuses on estate planning, trusts, probate, and litigation involving wills, probates, and guardianships. He has guided thousands of families in successfully structuring important personal documents and plans, and the successful resolution of trust and estate conflicts.. Karl has an extensive background in the legal field predating his 2023 merger with Brothers & Henderson. Before attending law school, he practiced tax accounting and representing clients in audits before the IRS for 11 years in Alaska. During law school, he interned with Judge Hugh Bownes of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, and clerked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Concord, New Hampshire. After receiving his Juris Doctor, he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein, and for Judges Marshall Forrest and Jack Scholfield of Division I of the Washington State Court of Appeals. In 1994, he opened his own private law practice in Seattle, Flaccus Law, where he served thousands of clients in the successful structuring of important personal documents and plans. He understands the heavy emotional and financial costs of litigation for his clients.. Beginning in the late 1990’s, Karl ran a free monthly legal clinic at the Shoreline Senior Center for almost 20 years, where he offered pro bono legal advice to hundreds of seniors and their family members. Outside of work, Karl enjoys a myriad of outdoor activities. During his time in Alaska, he kayaked thousands of river miles and built two cabins outside of Fairbanks. He has run a number of marathons, including the Boston Marathon. Nowadays, he likes to ski, hike, and spend time with his family. The Flaccus family also spends a lot of cabin time in the Cascades throughout all the seasons.

Kameron L. Kirkevold’s practice focuses on elder law and trust litigation arising out of trust, probate and guardianship matters. He joined Helsell Fetterman in 2010 after two years as an associate in his father’s firm of Kirkevold Law Offices, Inc. In addition to trust and estate planning, Kameron works with individuals and families dealing with simple and complex disputes arising out of Trust, Estate, Probate and Guardianship Litigation. Such disputes often involve a wide variety of issues related to Intimate Committed Relationships, Prenuptial Agreements, Will Contests, Community Property Issues, Family Trust Disputes, Contested Guardianships, and a myriad of legal matters related to property dispositions and TEDRA. Kameron is a native of Washington, having grown in up Yakima before moving to Seattle for college and law school.

I have more than 25 years of experience in the legal profession. I enjoy helping individuals and families find the peace of mind that comes from having an estate plan in place. Our boutique law firm in the Ballard neighborhood offers our clients personal attention, flexibility, and reasonable rates. I am happy to arrange meetings that work with your schedule, including evenings and early mornings. I also make housecalls. More information is available on our website at .

I want to provide my clients with the best legal service available at an affordable price.

I take great pride in developing meaningful relationships with my clients. Whether handling due diligence matters related to the acquisition, financing, permitting and construction of a 300,000 sf mixed-use project or organizing the small estate of a couple married for 60 years and counting, I strive to provide every client with practical and effective service.

I have been practicing law in Seattle since graduating with honors from Seattle University School of Law in 1998.  My practice focuses primarily on estate and tax planning, probate, trust and estate litigation, trust administration, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, domestic partnership agreements and succession planning and business transactions.  I also co-founded and partnered a local tax, business and estate planning firm in Seattle.. Over the years, I have represented a wide range of trust, estate and probate clients, working to assist them in their personal and tax planning needs.  Additionally, I have represented beneficiaries, personal representatives and trustees in estate litigation, both in defending fiduciaries and in bringing actions against fiduciaries.. As a member of the editorial board for the Real Property, Probate and Trust section of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), I have written articles and presented materials on topics ranging from tax filing to nontraditional family estate planning.  I am a member of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle and a member of the Tax Section fo the WSBA.. Prior to attending law school, I spent over eight years as a stockborker, regional sales manager and vice-president of a local brokerage firm.  My background gives me an understanding in financial and economic issues, as well as hands-on experience in dealing with the personal planning needs of individual clients.

I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, but I have lived in Seattle since 1989.  I graduated with honors from the University of Washington School of Law in 2000.  After a short clerkship in the Washington Court of Appeals, I joined Scott, Kinney & Mack, PLLC, and practiced there for fifteen years. In April 2016, I joined Emerald Law Group.. My primary practice areas are personal injury, primarily motor vehicle accidents, premises liability (slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries), dog bites, and childhood sex abuse.  One of the things I most love about my job is getting to know all sorts of people and learning their stories.

I focus my practice on helping clients with a wide range of business and litigation matters.

I enjoy helping clients navigate important life transitions with clarity and care, whether through estate planning, probate, or family law matters. My goal is always to guide my clients toward solutions that protect their emotional, financial, and psychological well-being.. My background in managing legal discovery and internal investigations for major organizations has given me a practical and detail-oriented approach, which I now bring to my work with individuals and families.. Outside of the office, I love running forest trails, diving into books and music, and spending time with family at game nights.

I counsel individuals and families on all aspects of estate planning, including estate and income tax minimization strategies, charitable giving, lifetime wealth transfers and gift tax matters, lifetime and testamentary trusts for unique beneficiary needs, and property agreements between spouses and partners.. I also routinely represent individual and corporate fiduciaries in trust administration and probate cases that present complex issues areas such as asset valuation, estate and income taxation, business concerns and sales, property ownership characterization, and commercial and residential real estate holdings.. Trust and estate matters sometimes involve disputes among various parties or necessitate corrective modifications. In such cases, I serve as legal counsel to beneficiaries or other parties involved in mediation or another dispute resolution process within which agreement is sought, often under Washington’s TEDRA (Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act) law. My practice also includes serving as a mediator for trust and estate litigation cases and as a facilitator for family meetings.

I assist young families creating a first estate plan motivated by the birth of a baby, as well as those revising a plan when their children have grown, those with no children who want to ensure their money goes to the people they care about most.  I also handle probate, if you find yourself in the position of administering the estate of your parent or other family or friend.  And I handle small disputes between parties, for example, landlord & tenant, neighbors, etc.  I am happy to answer questions you may have about working with an attorney or to meet with you to determine if I am a good fit for your legal needs.

I am a solution-focused attorney who strives to help my clients find common sense, cost-effective solutions for avoiding and recovering from conflict and financial distress. I'm focused on what's important to my clients.. A friend called me "A Northwest Kind of Lawyer," and I like that. Born and raised in Seattle, I spent my youth and adulthood exploring beaches, islands, rivers, and mountains, enjoying hiking, climbing, fishing, and kayaking. Thinking I would become a teacher or photographer, I surprised myself by choosing a career in law. I have more than 30 years of law firm experience, including more than a decade as a litigation, bankruptcy and family law paralegal prior to becoming an attorney in 2007. Over the past 15-plus years, I have focused my law practice on advising and representing individuals and business clients in a variety of matters including bankruptcy, receivership, business restructuring, foreclosure, business and real estate, estate planning and probate, family law/divorce, and related litigation and transactions.. More recently, I have expanded my practice to include private mediation and arbitration for several types of disputes including civil, commercial, business, real estate, eviction, condominium, divorce/custody, probate/estate, partnership and law-firm dissolution, and attorney's fee disputes. I currently split time between Seattle and Honolulu. In addition to my Seattle law and mediation practice, I am a family mediator with Family Mediation Hawai'i and a mentor mediator for the Mediation Center for the Pacific in Honolulu, where I completed advanced mediation training in 2021 and divorce mediation training in 2023. I am also a panel member for the Hawai'i Bankruptcy Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and the CR 39.1 ADR Program in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.. I previously served as Chair of the WSBA Law Clerk Board and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, and continue to volunteer on the Camp Long Advisory Council, which supports outdoor education, stewardship, and leadership opportunities for underserved youth in the Seattle area. I am a member of the Washington Mediation Association and the Conflict Resolution Alliance of Hawai'i. I am available for private mediation in Seattle through my law firm, Westwood Pacific Law PLLC, and for family mediation in Hawai'i through Family Mediation Hawai'i.. I regularly present at seminars regarding legal issues, ethics, and dispute resolution topics, and have been recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2020-2025.

George specializes in business law, tax and estate planning.  He graduated with honors from the University of Washington where he also received his law degree and an MBA (finance/accounting).  George serves as general legal counsel to hundreds of private and family companies and also serves as estate planning counsel to the owners of virtually all of these businesses. In addition, George acts as estate planning counsel to senior and other executives of publicly held corporations and their families. Finally, George handles the estate administration for many clients, including assuring that advanced estate plans and trusts are properly implemented.  His practice includes formation, operation and liquidation of businesses, business sales, and estate planning/probate for large estates.  George has often taught for the Washington Bar and at the UW School of Law, and received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Golden Gate Graduate School of Taxation.  His broad experience and attentive client service – combined with the effective use of technology – are foundational to his well-respected and successful law practice.