Our firm now proudly offers one or more Chinese-speaking estate planning lawyers in Bellevue. Headquartered in Everett, Washington (Snohomish County), our firm’s Chinese-speaking lawyers and staff have served Puget Sound’s Asian community for years. With the increasing East Asian population in Bellevue and congestion along interstate 405, our firm recently elected to open a satellite office along the edge of Bellevue’s downtown. The new location is easily accessibly by car from most major East Side employers and is within walking distance of Microsoft, Facebook’s Spring District campus, and Eddie Bauer headquarters.
We have grown our client base quickly, both among English and Chinese communities. We attribute that growth to our firm’s three core principles. The first two principles initially seem inconsistent: we 1) offer attorneys with credentials among the best in the community yet 2) charge rates lower than any other multi-attorney law firm we know of in Seattle and Bellevue. In other words, we compete on both quality and price. We can do so because of our success in keeping overhead low. We use computer programs to replace most staff, do not store documents in paper format (unlike most traditional firms), and occupy reasonably-priced office space. Dramatically lower overhead in turn allows us to keep rates low while simultaneously paying our lawyers a higher percentage of revenue, attracting top legal talent.
Our third core value is honesty. While people rarely lie in estate planning matters, our instance on truth-telling in other legal areas, such as probate disputes (TEDRA disputes), underlies our commitment to being the “good guys”. Our firm exists to bringing about positive change in the legal community and our clients’ lives. We bring this commitment to every aspect of estate planning including:
1) Excellent Wills at Reasonable Prices. Wills tend to be the foundation of most people’s estate planning. At Genesis, we scale our services to fit each client’s needs – from simple wills to highly tailored ones – all at more reasonable hourly rates than any multi-lawyer competitor we know of in our region. We also offer flat fees in some cases, though flat fees are difficult to set for complex matters and can lead to price inefficiency for clients. Hourly rates tend to result in lower charges for clients with complex drafting needs.
2) Tax Efficient Trusts. Not all lawyers have experience drafting trusts, which tend to be more advanced forms of estate planning. We do, and we can help ensure the estate’s structure meets your desired outcomes, such as to reduce taxes or to set aside funds for the care of a disabled loved-one.
3) Compassionately Drafted Healthcare Directives for Family and Doctors. Healthcare directives in essence instruct doctors and loved-ones not to place you on life support and to instead administer morphine if there is little or no chance of survival. In these situations, extending one’s life through life support can be exceedingly expensive and traumatic for family. Many clients prefer to pass quickly and peacefully.
4) Durable Powers of Attorney which Reduce Conflict and Expense for Your Family. A durable power of attorney gives an individual you select the ability to make decisions you pre-define, and it only becomes effective when you become mentally disabled, such as toward the end of life. When drafted well, a durable power of attorney can provide you and family with peace of mind around the inevitabilities of aging, and it often obviates the need for guardianship proceedings, which can otherwise result in expensive and bitter feuds between family members over your care and the treatment of your assets.
To learn more, we encourage you to speak with one of our Bellevue estate planning lawyers, in English or Chinese. Call toll-free number at 866-631-0028.