Progressions Credit Union does have staff members who are licensed with the State of Washington to provide notary services. Notaries cannot simply notarize a will, but can notarize the signatures of the witnesses who are witnessing the will after verifying their identity. In addition: Notaries cannot notarize documents unless they contain a notarial certificate. Notaries cannot notarize documents that are not signed in their presence. Notaries are not attorneys, so cannot write or create legal   More...

No. Progressions Credit Union does have designated staff members who are notaries licensed by the State of Washington. They can notarize the signatures of those you bring in with you to serve as witnesses to your will, but credit union staff cannot sign as witnesses on members wills. witness will notary witnesses

--> Terms of Use: Any individual over the age of 18 and of sound mind is entitled to make a will. To be legal, a will must include the following : You must be of sound mind and legally an adult. The will should be typewritten or computer generated. Handwritten (or holographic) wills are not valid in all states, and should be avoided to ensure that all declarations in the will are read correctly. The will must expressly state that it's your will. You must date and sign the will. The will mu  More...

Terms of Use Paying the Debts of a Deceased Relative: Who Is Responsible? After a relative dies, the last thing grieving family members may expect are calls from debt collectors asking them to pay their loved one’s outstanding debts. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, a surviving relative usually has no legal obligation to pay the debts of a family member who has died. In fact, the rights of surviving relatives are covered b  More...

Terms of Use Reducing federal estate taxes generally involves strategies that help reduce the taxable value of your estate, making it fall below the threshold for estate tax liability or lowering the taxable value of your estate. On the date of your death, if your estate exceeds the applicable exclusion amount, your estate may have to pay federal estate taxes. The exclusion amount depends on the year of death. If an estate is subject to federal estate tax, the net value of the estate (gro  More...

Terms of Use: Not having a will to determine what happens to your property upon your death is foolish. Not having a will to determine what happens to your children upon your death is unconscionable. If you die without a will, state law will determine what happens to your property. As such, your property will be distributed to your spouse and children or to other relatives according to a statutory formula if you don't have a spouse or children. If no relatives can be found to inherit your propert  More...

Terms of Use An executor is the person responsible for settling a deceased person's estate. As executor, your duties include inventorying, appraising and distributing assets; paying taxes; and settling debts owed by the deceased. You are legally obligated to act in the interests of the deceased, following the wishes expressed in his or her will. If all this sounds a bit overwhelming, keep in mind that you can hire professional help-for example, an attorney to help with the probate pro  More...

Terms of Use After you die, your relatives will be mourning the loss of you. To make things as easy on them as possible, it is a good idea to define what type of ceremony you would like and what you would like done with your body. This can be done by making arrangements with the mortuary yourself -- making your passing as easy as possible on your loved ones -- or by writing down your final wishes. Whatever approach is used, it generally is not a good idea to prepay funeral expenses since y  More...

Terms of Use A trust is an arrangement where one person, called a trustee, holds legal title to property for another person, called a beneficiary. A living trust is simply a trust you create while you're alive. You can be the trustee of your own living trust, keeping full control over all property held in trust. Different types of living trusts can help you avoid probate, reduce estate taxes, or set up long-term property management. The major advantage of a living trust is that pro  More...

Terms of Use Yes, you need a will even if you have a living trust. A will provides back-up for any property that you failed to transfer into your trust before passing on, which can easily happen regarding newly acquired property. To protect against this, a will allows you to name someone as the beneficiary to get property that you haven't left to a particular person or entity. If you don't have a will, any property that isn't transferred by your living trust or jointly owned  More...