Washington tax strategy for families, advisors, and business owners
Three taxes. One integrated strategy to protect your wealth.
Derek W. Jensen helps Washington families and advisors understand how estate tax, capital gains tax, and income tax interact, so planning decisions work together instead of colliding.
JD, LLM (Tax)
Deep tax and estate planning experience translated into plain-English guidance.
Framework, not fragments
The Tax Stack is about seeing Washington’s tax system as one connected planning problem.
Built with real tools
DWJ provides interpretation and strategy, while WET delivers calculator-driven context and current-law data.
The Washington Tax Stack
Most people hear about one tax at a time. The real planning work starts when you understand how the three layers affect each other.
Washington Estate Tax
For many families, the risk is not just the rate. It is how estate tax exposure changes trust design, gifting decisions, and timing.
- What current law means for taxable estates
- Why family planning and tax planning have to stay connected
- When calculator data should change the conversation
Capital Gains Tax
A sale, transfer, or restructuring decision can look smart in isolation and still create unnecessary drag somewhere else in the plan.
- Business exits and appreciated assets
- Timing decisions that affect the larger strategy
- Why planning before the transaction matters
Income Tax Pressure
The newest layer belongs in the same conversation, because entity choices, realization events, and wealth transfer planning do not live in separate silos.
- Planning for high earners and owner-operators
- Reading policy changes through a practical lens
- Turning headlines into actual decisions
Photo placeholder for a future Derek image or speaking asset.
Derek’s role in the four-site ecosystem
DWJ is the interpretation layer: thought leadership, practitioner analysis, and a clearer point of view about what Washington’s tax environment means for real families and advisors. Jensen Estate Law is where client relationships begin. WashingtonEstateTax.com is where the numbers and reference material live.
That division matters. It keeps this site focused on ideas, strategy, and translation without turning every page into a consultation pitch.
Featured directions for Notes from Derek
The next wave of content should make the site feel active even before the full post archive is built.
Tax Stack analysis
Long-form breakdowns of the Washington tax environment written for families, advisors, and business owners who need more than a headline.
Policy updates with context
Practical interpretation of changes in Washington law, with an emphasis on what actually changes inside a client’s plan.
Advisor-facing strategy notes
Short pieces for planners and allied professionals who want to speak more clearly about tax-sensitive estate planning.