Timothy M. Friedrichsen is the founder and principal shareholder of Amicus Law Group, PC. Many of Tim's clients are closely-held businesses and their owners, and Tim leads the firm's effort to integrate tax and estate planning into advice on business formations, real estate investments, transaction consulting, and the ownership succession process.

Tim also advises public and private charities, foundations, and charitably-minded individuals in connection with planned charitable giving and nonprofit formation and operation. Tim manages the firm's charitable trust administration practice that provides services to charitable trusts and tax-exempt organizations including oversight of investments, private and charitable distributions, donor relations, and tax compliance services.

A graduate with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law, Tim has been in private practice since 1985, beginning his career as a tax advisor at the public accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche. He opened his own practice in 1994 and founded Amicus Law Group in 2001. Tim is admitted to practice in the state of Washington.

Tim is member of the advisory council to The Seattle Foundation, a member of the Washington Planned Giving Council, and a member of the planned giving advisory board of Washington State University Foundation. He also helped to form the planned giving advisory boards for the Nature Conservancy of Washington and Whitworth University. Tim previously served as President of the Board of Trustees for Childhaven, a Seattle- based organization dedicated to the protection of children who are the victims of child abuse and neglect, leading the organization during its successful capital campaign to build a new headquarters.

Jennifer C. Mackay manages a practice focused primarily on individuals and closely-held or family-owned businesses, offering services including estate and trust planning, tax consulting and general business counsel. She graduated (cum laude) from Seattle University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, and earned a Master of Laws in Taxation through the University of Washington Law School LL.M. program in 2002. She currently serves as the Director of Estate Planning at Amicus, and contributes her time to Seattle charities devoted to children's education and care, as well as land conservancy organizations.

John T. Creahan

I am an estate and business planning attorney with Amicus Law Group in Seattle. I provide practical and cost-effective personal and estate planning services for individuals and families, including planning for retirement assets, and charitable gift planning. I also represent fiduciaries in probate matters and business owners in transition.

Personal Planning

Estate Planning. I help clients of all wealth levels prepare their wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care documents. My practice includes planning for executives, business owners, and multigenerational families, as well as philanthropic planning. I employ basic and sophisticated tax planning tools, both charitable and non-charitable, to help individuals and couples plan for the efficient transfer of their wealth.

For many people, the estate planning process can be difficult and confusing. I take the time to help clients understand their financial and family goals, and work with them to create and implement plans that are consistent with their goals and values. For those clients who want or need additional help structuring their overall plan, I offer an in-depth discovery based process to help them clarify their values, goals, and priorities. Clients have found that this process to be extremely helpful as they worked through the wide variety of issues that can arise during the estate planning process.

Flat rate billing. The fear of large and unknown legal bills is, I believe, one of the reasons people hesitate to engage in the estate planning process. I strive to put the client in charge of the estate planning process - I explain a range of options, and empower the client to keep the plan simple and less expensive, or more comprehensive, with an associated increase in costs. In addition, for most of my estate planning clients, I provide a flat fee arrangement. If the client prefers, I can work on an hourly basis or for a variable fee with set minimums and maximums.

Planning with Retirement Assets. Retirement assets are increasingly important financial assets, but are often misunderstood. I have dedicated countless hours to understanding the intricacies of planning with retirement assets, and can help clients take advantage of the often powerful planning opportunities, while avoiding the pitfalls, presented by these assets.

Charitable Gift Planning. Charitable planning is an important part of my practice. I help families plan charitable bequests and lifetime charitable gifts, and create and manage charitable trusts, private foundations, and public charities. I regularly work with both donors and charitable recipients on charitable giving strategies, from simple gifts and bequests, to more sophisticated strategies including charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts.

Gift Planning. Many parents want to help their children while the children are establishing themselves. In addition, lifetime giving often dramatically reduces the overall gift and estate tax burden, allowing a greater percentage of wealth to pass to children. I help clients plan and implement lifetime gifting strategies, including "Crummey" trusts, life insurance trusts (ILITs), personal residence trusts (QPRTs), and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs). I also advise clients on utilizing generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions and exclusions, including health and education trusts and gifts to 529 plans for education expenses.

Probate and Trust Administration. After the death of a loved one, the process of probating a will or administering an estate can be trying. I strive to assist clients with the legal issues that arise during estate and trust administration matters, while acknowledging the personal issues. I also assist with the preparation of gift and estate tax returns.

Business Planning

Estate planning touches all aspects of a family business. All privately held businesses have one thing in common - they need to plan for the transition of the business at the death or retirement of the current owners. Unfortunately, many business advisors do not fully understand the estate planning implications of their clients' decisions. Conversely, many, or perhaps most, estate planning attorneys do not have a deep background in legal issues surrounding business.

For many years I represented businesses and their owners in business transactions, including start- up and structural issues, financing, real estate matters, and business transition planning. With my deep background in structuring and documenting business transactions, I help business owners understand their options when it comes to planning for the next step in their lives - whether that means keeping the family business in the family or selling it to outsiders or employees. I also help members of professional and personal service firms create workable ownership structures that take into account their unique professional and practical needs.

Personal

I graduated from the University of Washington School of Law with honors (Order of the Coif) and Brown University. I live in Seattle with my wife, Deb. We have been active in animal-related charitable causes for many years.

I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Planned Giving Council, and serve on a number of charitable planned giving committees, including those for the King County Library System and Central Washington University. I am a frequent presenter on topics involving estate planning, business transition, and charitable giving. I have been a featured speaker at numerous events held by the Washington Planned Giving Council's. I have been invited to speak on issues related to estate planning and charitable giving to clients and donors of several financial advisors and charities, including KCTS-9, the Seattle Opera, Swedish Medical Center Foundation, Save the Children, and the Center for Wooden Boats.

Warren L. Baker's areas of practice include estate planning and trusts, business transactions, and self-directed IRA tax consulting. Warren previously founded and operated the law firm of Baker & Carr, PS from 2005 to early 2010. Warren joined the firm after merging Baker & Carr with Amicus Law Group in February 2010.

As the lead attorney in Amicus Law Group's self-directed IRA tax consulting group, Warren assists clients in complying with the federal rules and regulations involved when investing their retirement funds into "alternative" assets (e.g., real estate). Warren is also a member of the Amicus estate planning group, and although his tax background and experience allow him to handle even the most complex planning issues, he enjoys working with clients that have a wide range of personal wealth.

Warren earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Seattle University School of Law (cum laude), and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.

Warren grew up in Walla Walla, Washington and enjoys visiting eastern Washington regularly. Warren and his wife Angela, who is also an attorney with Amicus Law Group, live in the Greenlake area of Seattle and enjoy volunteering as youth soccer coaches. Warren also enjoys cooking, traveling, and playing golf with his family, friends, and colleagues.

Legal Articles and Presentations

Warren educates fellow attorneys and other professionals throughout the year at various conferences and assorted speaking engagements. Below is a list of Warren’s growing collection of appearances and authored materials.

• Speaker, Tax and Estate Planning Issues Surrounding Non-Traditional IRA Investing, East King County Estate Planning Council quarterly meeting, (September 2011)
• Radio guest expert / speaker, "The Real Estate Radio Show", AM 1300 KKOL "Seattle's Only Business Station", (September 2011)
• Author, You invested into WHAT with your retirement account?, Puget Sound Business Journal, (September 2011)
• Author, Estate Planning 101 for Real Estate Investors, Real Estate Association of Puget Sound (REAPS) newsletter, (September 2011)
• Speaker, Investing Retirement Funds into Real Estate using a Self-Directed IRA, Various real estate broker meetings (Windermere, Coldwell Banker, John L. Scott), (2010-2011)
• Speaker, Beneficiary Designations: Blunders and Planning, 8th Annual Conference on Philanthropic and Legacy Planning for Professional Advisors (sponsored by Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation), (June 2011)
• Author, The Self-Directed IRA (six part series), The Estate Planning Blog (WealthCounsel), (2010-2011)
• Podcast guest speaker, Estate Planning Challenges with Self-Directed IRAs, Society of Financial Services Professionals, (May 2011)
• Speaker, Investing Retirement Accounts into Real Estate, Real Estate Association of Puget Sound (REAPS), three monthly satellite meetings (Feb, April, May 2011)
• Webinar speaker, The Self-Directed IRA: Retirement Dream or Tax Nightmare?, Washington Society of CPAs, (January 2011)
• Speaker, Self-Directed IRAs: A Tax Attorney's Perspective, Real Estate Investors Association (REIA) of Washington, (October 2010)

Click here to contact Warren today.

Angela Carr Baker advises privately held companies (including non-profits) in general corporate matters, including formation and organization of entities, joint venture arrangements, and business sale and acquisition issues. Angela is also a member of the Amicus estate planning group, focusing on probate and trust administration.

Angela co-founded and operated the law firm of Baker & Carr, PS from 2005 to early 2010 when she joined the firm after merging Baker & Carr with Amicus Law Group.

Angela is a Washington native and earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Seattle University School of Law, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.

Away from the practice of law, Angela enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and coaching youth soccer.   Her husband, Warren, is also an attorney with Amicus Law Group.

Traci L. Lee is our firm's treasurer and also provides tax compliance and accounting services for our clients.  She is a Certified Public Accountant who worked several years at Deloitte and Touche, both in their audit and tax departments, prior to joining Amicus Law Group.  Traci graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1989 with a B.A. in business administration, emphasis in accounting.  She volunteers at local area schools.

Kelly A. Crow works in the taxation area of law.  Prior to joining Amicus Law Group she worked at Deloitte and Touche and Davis Wright Tremaine.  She has been a controller for a start-up company and has significant experience with accounting systems.  Kelly earned her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1997 and is a Certified Public Accountant. She volunteers her time at a local elementary school and the Experimental Education Unit at the University of Washington.

Kate R. Nichols provides tax accounting services to clients in the real estate, trust and estate areas of our practice.  She has 20 years of experience in the Seattle area in private industry and public accounting, both audit and tax.   Kate graduated from the University of Washington in 1990 with a B.A. in accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. She volunteers at a local elementary school and church.

Bonnie L. Heidal serves as our Director of Tax Services. She provides tax planning and compliance services to our clients and particularly enjoys working with non-profits. Bonnie is a Certified Public Accountant who worked for ten years in the tax department of Moss Adams LLP before joining Amicus Law Group. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, and earned an M.S. in taxation from Golden Gate University in 1996.

Bonnie serves on the finance council and endowment board of her local church and enjoys volunteering in her children's school.

David K. Barnes is a consultant to our compliance services practice. He has over 20 years of experience in structuring transactions and tax planning for small businesses, real estate development companies and high net-worth individuals. Dave has a B.A. in accounting-business administration from Western Washington University (WWU) and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Lisa M. Westby provides tax consulting and compliance services to our closely-held businesses, business owners and individuals throughout the year. She is a Certified Public Accountant with over 15 years of experience. Before joining Amicus Law Group, Lisa worked as a tax manager at Deloitte LLP and Smith, Bunday, Berman, Britton, PS, working primarily with corporate entities and high net-worth individuals. She earned a B.A. in business administration from the University of Washington in 1993 and an M.S. in taxation from the University of Washington in 1995.

Ruth Ann Middlebrooks has focused her career in the areas of probate, trusts administration, fiduciary accounting and estate planning.  She received a legal assistant certificate from the University of Oklahoma Law Center in 1980 and has worked as a legal assistant/paralegal in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Seattle, Washington.