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Charity Anastasio
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Charity Anastasio
Charity Anastasio, Attorney at Law, PLLC
12510 128th Ln NE
Kirkland, WA 98034
Phone: (206) 257-0082 | Fax: (206) 588-0998
http://www.anastasiolaw.com
Honesty, Integrity, and Great Value
Legal Topic
Wills, Trusts & Estates
Preferred New Clients
Human clients are preferable, but I would consider taking on alien life forms and animals, if the situation arose. All jokes aside, I enjoy working with folks from all walks of life, but find working with the elderly and single or coupled LGBT folks very rewarding, because the decisions they have to make, in planning for life, are often particularly important and pivotal.
Sub-Categories
Wills, Trusts & Estates
- Nolo Document Review
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender (LGBT) Rights
- Credit Unions
- Savings & Thrifts
- Estate Taxes & Gift Taxes
- Income Taxes
- Power of Attorney
- Property Taxes
- Tax Planning
- Charitable Giving
- Charitable Trusts
- Drafting Trusts
- Drafting Wills
- Estate Planning
- Living Trusts
- Living Wills
- Asset Protection
- Guardianship
- Power of Attorney
- Business Succession Planning
- Special Needs Trust
- Supplemental Needs Trust
- Revocable Trust & Irrevocable Trust
Bar Admissions
WA, Aug 2008
Bar Number: 40345
Other Court Admissions
Washington State Courts.
Association Memberships
Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), Washington First Responder Will Clinic Board Member, WSBA Property, Trusts & Estates Section, WSBA Elder Law Section, WSBA Solo Practice Section, WSBA Young Lawyer's Division, and King County Bar Association.
Continuing Education
Recent continuing legal education (CLE) classes I have attended include Advising Clients on Domestic Partner Registration and Related Issues, Elder Law Essentials, and KCBA Kinship Care Project's Child Custody CLE. I always exceed my CLE requirements and keep myself apprised of changes in the law through following the news and staying connected to my legal community.
Papers and Publications
See my newsletters at http://anastasiolaw.com and my self-help publications on www.avvo.com.
Example Cases
• Estate plans for the elderly and single or partnered LGBT clients.
• Estate plans for mixed families with second and third marriages and children from previous marriages.
Education
Degree:
Juris Doctorate
School:
Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, Washington
City:
Seattle
State:
WA
Year:
2007
Honors:
Law Trustee's Scholarship, Public Interest Law Grant Recipient and Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Stipend Recipient, Summer 2006.
Focus and Accomplishments:
Focus area in Trusts and Estates (Estate Planning).
Degree:
Bachelors Degree in English
School:
University of Washington
City:
Seattle
State:
WA
Year:
2001
Honors:
Dean's List 1999 - 2001.
Focus and Accomplishments:
Writing focus.
Number of Attorneys
1
State Licensed In
Washington
Firm Focus and History
Charity Anastasio, Attorney at Law, PLLC focuses on estate planning and elder law issues, such as Medicaid planning.
Charity Anastasio, Attorney at Law, PLLC was established in November 2008.
Previous Employment Summary
I started in Estate Planning in 2006, as an intern at SeniorLAW Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I drafted estate planning documents for elderly clients, as well as assisted clients in probate, deed transfers, consumer protection, protection from abuse and financial exploitation, contractor disputes, and landlord-tenant disputes.
I returned to Seattle and joined the First Responder Will Clinic (formerly Wills for Heroes) as a law clerk, board member, and then attorney. The First Responder Will Clinic is part of the WSBA Washington Young Lawyers Division and drafts wills, power of attorneys, and advance health care directives for firefighters and police officers for free, in recognition of the risks they take to protect our communities.
What is your opinion regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?
An educated client is a true joy to work with, because she knows what she wants and is pro-active in acquiring the necessary understanding to make important decisions in planning for life. I always encourage my clients to do research and give them the tools to do so, because it helps a client communicate to me precisely what she wants and needs.
Are you willing to review documents prepared by clients?
I am enthusiastic to review documents prepared by clients, because it is a way for them to save money and still have the assurance of a professionally trained eye on what they have prepared.
Are you willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?
I am willing to coach a pro se client, although the situation would need to be the guide in the propriety of this type of counsel.
Why did you decide to be a lawyer?
I decided to be a lawyer because I wanted to help real people and I found the law exciting and challenging. It was between this and being a famous writer, but the latter seemed a bit of a pipe dream. I write fiction and poetry in my off-hours, but no big publishing deal yet.
What work experience and education helps you be a better lawyer?
I have street smarts. Law was not my first career: I spent years working in bakeries and kitchens, waiting tables and serving people before I graduated with my Bachelors Degree. Then I spent three years working at Washington State Employees Credit Union, where I helped people plan how they would protect their assets and acquire loans, deal with fraud on their accounts, and plan for the future. Estate planning was a natural progression from this.
Why did you decide on your primary area of practice?
Property law, and with it estate planning, has an inherently humane, historical root that has always appealed to me. The law is the oldest, stretching back to England, and the concepts, at their basest level, deal with class structure and families in a way that no other law does.
What do you like best about your career?
I love estate planning and elder law because I know how hard most of us work for what we have and what inheritance means to us as a people and community. It is so rewarding to be part of a person's choices to make the law work for him or her.
Tell us about your law firm:
Because I am a solo practitioner, all my clients can rely on dealing directly with me. I am ethical, efficient, and offer great value because I keep my overhead at a minimum.
What are your strengths and style?
I am a real person helping real people with serious life decisions. I bring my compassion and common sense to every situation, as well as my expertise in the law. What is most important in my practice is that my clients feel listened to and responded to in a timely, meaningful, and successful way.
Personal Interests:
I enjoy spending time with family and friends and talking politics over a good meal. I am also a movie connoisseur, art enthusiast, international traveler, cook, bicyclist, and prodigious fiction reader.
Fax
(206) 588-0998
Office Hours
Office hours by appointment; I can be reached by phone or email Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Emergency After Hours
No
Fixed-Price Services and Fees
I have fixed rates for estate planning documents that depend on the complexity of the estate plan. Generally, a simple will and accompanying documents range from $350 to $500 and a complex will and accompanying documents up to $1,000.
Hourly Rates
My hourly rate is $135.
Free Initial Consultation?
The first half-hour of consultation is free. Time beyond that is at my hourly rate.
Typical Retainer
My retainer is 50% of the flat fee that is mutually agreed upon in the first consultation and engagement letter. That amount is placed into a lawyer trust account and not withdrawn, to be paid to me, until the client has received the first draft of the documents and has approved them. The remainder of the fee is due upon signing the documents.
Nolo's Licensing Check
Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the applicable bar associations upon joining the directory.
Directory lawyers are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any bar association.
