About

Annie Arbenz

Annie N. Arbenz
Estate Planning Attorney | Founder, Orbit Wills

My name is Annie and I have owned and operated a busy trusts & estates practice in Tacoma, Washington, for several years, which has helped me realize a few things:

1. Everyone needs a good, thorough estate plan.

Estate planning isn’t sexy, but it needs to be done. In my practice, I’ve seen so many relationships ruined, families torn apart, feelings hurt, and pocketbooks decimated because of a lack of good estate planning. These things could have been avoided with a solid estate plan. Even the smallest estates can create big legal problems.

2. Not everyone needs or wants to go through the traditional process to get an estate plan done.

Washingtonians with a simple estate and/or limited time during the workweek may not be able to (or want to) take the time during the week meet with a lawyer for 3-4 hours or cough up the money it takes to meet with a lawyer to get the plan done. Orbit Wills is perfect for that person.

To note: if you don’t have a simple estate, you should still meet with a lawyer. Give my office a call at (253) 302-4849 to set up an appointment to discuss the costs, etc.

3. The available online alternatives aren’t great.

Other websites provide wills, powers of attorney, etc. and some of them are cheaper than Orbit Wills. That is because those are mostly form-based documents into which your information is inserted – a lawyer doesn’t draft or even review the document before they are given to you for signature. At Orbit Wills, you are treated as a client of my law firm. An attorney drafts the documents, makes sure they are consistent with the answers you’ve given, and I review every document. If there is any confusion or need for clarification, we will contact you. When drafting these documents, a law degree should be required!

I’ve lectured extensively throughout Washington on topics related to trusts and estates, worked on editorial boards related to these issues, served on various charitable boards and organizations related and unrelated to the law, and have been lucky to win some pretty cool awards, including the “Best Lawyer” award from South Sound Magazine and “40 Under Forty” from the South Sound Business Examiner. I say these things mostly to let you know I’m a real lawyer and have a lot of experience in this area.

When I’m not working, I’m with my two small and very energetic children who are currently 5 and 6 years old, my husband, Casey, who I met in law school and is also an attorney in Tacoma at Puget Law Group, and our German Shepherd, Maverick, who is 105 pounds of crazy. We live in Gig Harbor and enjoy training for and competing in triathlons. I love Disneyland, Peloton, coffee, and making memories with friends and family. It’s likely my deep love for my family that has made me so passionate about estate planning and focusing my work on what I can do to keep families close during hard times.

I hope you enjoy the site! If you have questions, please contact me.