[WSBAPT] question on right of retainer

Douglas Bratt djbratt at mbavancouverlaw.com
Mon Sep 11 14:53:01 PDT 2017


Hello:

Perhaps I am not understanding Rebecca's use of the phrase "NAME1's share of my estate shall be offset by any remaining unpaid loan balance."

>From my perspective, there needs to be a two-point consideration of the unpaid loan amount.

Say the Decedent wants an equal split of her Estate between her two kids.  One of the kids owes the decedent $10,000.00.  Assume the other property in the estate is worth $110,000.00 (all cash).  (We won't worry about costs of administration in this comment.)

It seems to me that the total estate is worth $120,000.00.  Each kid is to get $60,000.00. The non-debtor receives $60,000.00 in cash.  The debtor kid gets  the $10,000.00 debt excused and an additional $50,000.00 in cash.

So, I would add language that would direct that the amount of debt be considered one of the assets of the Estate when computing the total value of the Estate, with the debtor's share to then include the excusing of the debt as part of the debtor's share of the distribution of assets from the Estate.

Is that an offset??

Regards,

Doug Bratt


Douglas J. Bratt
Lawyer

[Envelope scaled Terry]

Office: (360) 213-2040
 Fax: (360) 213-2030

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  This email message may contain confidential or privileged information.  If you have received this message by mistake, please do not review, disclose, copy, or distribute the email. Instead, please notify us immediately by replying to this message or telephoning us.  Thank you.

NOTE:  I do not use encrypted email.  Messages sent to or from my office via email are not secure and may not be protected by attorney-client privilege.  This email address is not monitored at all times.  If your matter is urgent, please phone my office during regular business hours.



From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Rebecca King
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2017 1:18 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] question on right of retainer

Sharon, this is the language we often use in such situations:
NAME1 is currently indebted to me in the principal sum of $_____ resulting from loans made by me. This loan amount is non-interest bearing.  I direct that no action to collect such debt be taken at my death. However, NAME1's share of my estate shall be offset by any remaining unpaid loan balance.  The burden of proof shall be on NAME1 to substantiate that the loan has been partially or fully repaid.

Some of the language may not be applicable to your situation, but I hope it will serve as a starting point.

Regards,
Rebecca King
Attorney

PLEASE NOTE: Our new address is 2150 N. 107th Street, Suite 501, Seattle, WA 98133

Northwest Elder Law Group
2150 N. 107th Street, Suite 501
Seattle, WA 98133
Main: (206) 937-6102
Direct: (206) 866-6544
Fax: (206) 830-9326

Providing Services in Elder Law

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information protected by law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Sharon Rutberg
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2017 1:01 PM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] question on right of retainer


Happy Monday, list mates --



I am writing wills for clients who are concerned that if their estate were divided among their three children at the death of the second spouse to die, one child might have an outstanding debt to the parents that should be offset from her distributive share. As I read the law of Washington, the doctrine of retainer says that the debt should indeed be set off or "retained" before the shares are distributed.  Does anyone include language in their wills to account for this circumstance - that is, to refer to the loan and express the intent of the testator that the offset should occur?



Thanks,

Sharon



Sharon C. Rutberg, Attorney at Law

Salmon Bay Law Group, PLLC

1734 NW Market St.

Seattle, WA 98107

206-735-3177, ext. 2

sharon at salmonbaylaw.com<mailto:sharon at salmonbaylaw.com>

Website: www.salmonbaylaw.com<http://www.salmonbaylaw.com>

Washington State Bar #47055

NOTICES
The contents of this message and any attachments may be protected by the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, and/or other applicable protections. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, please notify the sender and promptly delete the message. Thank you for your assistance.



IRS Circular 230 Disclaimer: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that to the extent this communication contains advice relating to a Federal tax issue, it is not intended or written to be used, and it may not be used, for (i) the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person or entity under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting or marketing to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.






-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20170911/808ac636/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6775 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20170911/808ac636/image003.jpg>


More information about the WSBAPT mailing list