Attorneys
Bruce R. Moen
Bruce Moen has been in private practice in the State of Washington since 1976. For the past 35 years, his practice has been limited to estate administrations and litigation. This involves both representing private parties and accepting Court appointments as a fiduciary in contested estates. Mr. Moen has been appointed by the Court as a Personal Representative, Special Administrator, Special Master, Guardian, or Trustee in contested estates over 150 times and as Guardian ad Litem approximately 200 times over the past 35 years. He is regularly consulted or retained as an expert by other attorneys engaged in defending and prosecuting estate matters or in resolving difficult issues of estate administration. He periodically served as a Judge pro tem in the King County Superior Court and served regularly as a Court Commissioner pro tem from 1990 to 2015.
Mr. Moen has lectured and authorized over 70 articles for legal seminars sponsored by the Washington State Bar Association, the King County Bar Association, and the National Business Institute. He has also authored a chapter on guardianship for the 1989, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2021 editions of the Family Law Desk Book published by the Washington State Bar Association.
Mr. Moen has testified in Court as an expert witness and has qualified as an expert in estate litigation in numerous cases. He was quoted as a “commentator” by the Washington State Supreme Court in the published opinion of In the Matter of the Estate of Toth, 138 Wn.2d 650, 981 P.2d 439 (1999). The Court of Appeals referred to Mr. Moen as an “acknowledged expert in the field of the administration of trusts, guardianships, and estates” and based their holding upon his expert testimony in an unpublished opinion, In Re Estate of Sullivan, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, Docket No. 49266-7-I (February 13, 2003).
Mr. Moen is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell. He was named as a “Super Lawyer” by Washington Law and Politics Magazine in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015 through 2023. He was also named as a “Top Lawyer” in Seattle Met Magazine in 2010, 2016, 2020 and 2022.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
B.A.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1975
Activities & Affiliations
Washington State Bar Association
Member, Real Property and Probate Section
Member, TEDRA Committee
King County Bar Association
American Bar Association
Angelo Pellegrini Foundation, a 501(c) nonprofit corporation (dissolved)
Founding Member
Board of Directors, 2012 - 2020
Treasurer, 2017 - 2020
Professional Recognition
“AV Preeminent” Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
“Super Lawyer”, Washington Law and Politics Magazine, 2006-2008, 2013, 2015-2023
“Top Lawyer”, Seattle Met Magazine, 2010, 2016, 2020, 2022
Bar Admissions
Washington
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Suquamish Tribal Court
Sarah L. Moen
Sarah Moen was born and raised in Maui, Hawaii and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington where she received her B.A. She then received her J.D. from Whittier Law School and her LL.M. (Taxation) from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ms. Moen has over 20 years experience representing clients in fiduciary matters as well as serving in various Court-appointed fiduciary roles. She is a third generation lawyer (Bruce is her uncle).
Ms. Moen has lectured and authored over 20 articles for legal seminars sponsored by the King County Bar Association (KCBA) and the National Business Institute. She is the Content Editor of Chapter 10: Probate, Guardianship, and Trust Act of the KCBA Washington Lawyers Practice Manual and is the Author of the section on probate law. She is also the Chair and Editor of the upcoming 2024 KCBA Probate Policy & Procedure Manual.
Ms. Moen routinely serves as a Court Commissioner pro tem in the King County Superior Court. She serves on the Washington State Bar Association Client Protection Board and previously served on the Continuing Legal Education Committee. She also served as the Chair, Immediate Past-Chair, Chair-Elect, Seattle Vice-Chair, and Treasurer of the King County Bar Association’s Guardianship and Elder Law Section.
Outside of the office, Ms. Moen enjoys spending time with her three children and her dog, spending time on Maui where she grew up, outdoor life, marksmanship, and soccer.
Education
VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY CHARLES WIDGER SCHOOL OF LAW
LL.M. (Taxation), 2001
WHITTIER LAW SCHOOL
J.D., 2000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
B.A., 1997
Activities & Affiliations
Washington State Bar Association
Member, Real Property and Probate Section
Continuing Legal Education Committee, 2016-2019
Client Protection Board, 2019-present
King County Bar Association
Member, Real Property and Probate Section
Chair & Editor, Committee to revise the King County Superior Court Probate Procedure & Policy Manual, 2001-2023
Member, Guardianship and Elder Law Section
Seattle Vice-Chair, 2012-2013
Treasurer, 2013-2019
Chair-Elect, 2019-2020
Chair, 2020-2021
Immediate Past-Chair, 2021-2022
Ballard High School Girls’ Soccer Team
Varsity Squad, Assistant Coach, 2007-2014
Junior Varsity Squad, Assistant Coach, 2008-2009
FS Squad, Assistant Coach, 2007, 2010-2015
Bar Admissions
Washington
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Tax Court
Appellate Cases
In the Matter of the Estate of Constance L. Little, 9 Wn.App.2d 262, 444 P.3d 23 (Div. 1 2019) (affirming the trial court’s ruling that Washington law did not require the personal representative to file a separate writing when a Will is admitted to probate and that a writing prepared by the decedent that meets the requirements of RCW 11.12.255 can control the distribution of the Estate and money as well as not conflict with the disposition of tangible personal property under RCW 11.12.260)