Wendy S. Goffe
Practice Emphasis
BAR ADMISSIONS
Washington, 1992
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Wendy’s practice focuses on estate planning, estate and gift taxation, probate and trust administration, charitable giving and non-profit trusts and corporations; and family-owned business succession planning.
She speaks regularly on a number of issues related to her practice. Recently, she has given a number of presentations on the legal implications of changing laws regarding same gender partnerships. Specifically, Wendy was involved in the drafting of the Washington State Domestic Partnership Bill.
Also, as an expert on the legal nuances related to charitable giving, Wendy has given presentations on the implications of charitable giving to the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, PRIDE Foundation, and Washington Women in Tax amongst others.
Wendy has been involved with a number of charitable organizations, including the Acquisition Committee of the Tacoma Art Museum, Northwest Hospital Ethics Committee, and the Professional Advisory Boards of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Northwest Giving Project, and the Woodland Park Zoo.
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Wendy is a frequent speaker and presenter on estate planning related topics. Following is a selection of her most recent publications and presentations. Please click here for a complete list.
Guest post on Forbes.com Personal Finance blog, Should I Stay or Should I Go? What Religion Says About Pulling the Plug (November 10, 2011).
Quoted in Deborah L. Jacobs, Married, With Complications, Forbes.com (April 22, 2011).
Co-Author with Rochelle L. Haller, From Zoom to Doom? Risks of Do-it-Yourself Estate Planning, 38 Estate Planning Magazine 27 (April 2011).
Speaker, Blind, Burial, Business, Ballots, Blunderbusses, Basset Hounds and Baby Buskers: An Introduction to Lesser Known But Useful Trusts, WSBA 55th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Seattle, Washington (November 2, 2010).
Quoted in Deborah L. Jacobs, The Case Against Do-It-Yourself Wills, Forbes.com
(September 7, 2010).
Quoted in Deborah L. Jacobs, Estate Planning as a Family Conversation, The New York Times (March 4, 2010).
Quoted in Jesse Dukeminier, Robert H. Sitkoff & James Lindgren, Wills, Trusts, and Estates, Aspen Publishers 8th ed. (2009).
Speaker, Estate Planning for the Unmarried Couple, Chicago Estate Planning Council
(April 23, 2009).
Quoted in Deborah L. Jacobs, Wherever You Go, the Taxman Goes, The New York Times (April 2, 2009).
Co-Author with Joan M. Burda, Patricia A. Cain & Tamara E. Kolz, Estate, Tax, and Benefits Planning for Unmarried Couples, American Bar Association (2009).
Speaker, Marriage, Domestic Partnerships, and Meretricious Relationships: Washington’s Developing Landscape, WSBA 53rd Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Seattle, Washington (November 4, 2008).
Quoted in Jane Bennett Clark, Blended Family Finances, Kiplinger's Personal Finance (August 2008).
Panelist, Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors Forum on Marriage, Domestic Partnerships, and Meretricious Relationships: Washington’s Developing Landscape (April 25, 2008).
Quoted in Ashlea Ebeling, The Second Match: Should you remarry or just shack up? Forbes (November 12, 2007).
Author, Preparing Effective Cohabitation Agreements for Unmarried Couples, 34 Estate Planning 7 (September 2007).
Author, Joint Ownership and Use: Keeping the Cabin in the Family, 41st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Chapter 18 (LexisNexis Matthew Bender 2007).
Quoted in Deborah L. Jacobs, Détente at the Cottage, Strategies for Keeping a Co-Owned Vacation Home from Tearing the Family Apart, BusinessWeek (June 11, 2007).
Speaker, From NASCAR Condominiums to Private Mausoleums: Keeping the Vacation Home in the Family, 41st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning (January 12, 2007).
Chair and Panelist, Death, Dirt & Duties: Estate Planning for Real Estate Transfers, 41st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning (January 11, 2007).
Speaker, Cohabitation Agreements, 51st Annual Estate Planning Seminar (November 7, 2006).
Co-Author with J. William Zook, Jr., Estate and Charitable Gift Planning for Unmarried Couples, The Journal of Gift Planning 5, Vol 10, No 2 (2nd Quarter, 2006).
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Member, ABA Taxation Section Community Property Comment Project
Member, YWCA Planned Giving Committee
Member, The Nature Conservancy Planned Giving Committee
Member, The Seattle Foundation Professional Advisory Council
Executive Committee Member, Estate Planning Council of Seattle
Fellow, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Estate and Gift Tax Committee Member, Washington State Bar Association, Taxation Section
Adjunct Faculty Member, Seattle University Law School
Member, Washington Women in Tax
Member, Children’s Legacy Council of Children’s Hospital Foundation
Former Board Member, Executive Committee Member and Chair, Planned Giving Committee, National Multiple Sclerosis Society Greater Washington Chapter
Former Board Member, Women’s Endowment Fund
Former Member, Tacoma Art Museum Acquisition Committee
Former Member, Northwest Giving Project Professional Advisory Committee
Former Member, Woodland Park Zoo Professional Advisory Committee
Former Member, Northwest Hospital Ethics Committee
Former Editorial Board Member, Washington State Bar Association Newsletter
Former Executive Committee Member, Washington State Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section
RECOGNITION
Best Lawyers, “Best Lawyers in America,” 2009-2010
Washington CEO, “League of Justice,” 2006
Washington Law & Politics, “Super Lawyer,” 2001 - 2010
Washington Law & Politics, “Rising Star,” 2000 - 2001
EDUCATION
J.D., University of Washington School of Law, 1992
B.A., cum laude, University of Washington, 1986
