Former Avalara manager leads Seattle-area startup boosted by Washington property tax
After a decade helping Avalara scale its tax software business, Alesia Pinney is aiming for a different kind of tax head.
Pinney is the CEO and founder of Legata, a Seattle-area startup that helps wealthy families build real estate plans.
He said Legata’s idea grew out of frustration with Washington’s real estate tax and how many families understand the risks of their property.
“There are a lot of people who don’t really realize that they will lose the family fortune if they don’t plan,” said Pinney.
Legata’s online platform guides households through creating wills, trusts and related documents to preserve available exemptions and reduce potential estate tax exposure. The firm aims to modernize what Pinney describes as an increasingly problematic system: wealthy families, few estate planning lawyers, and complex state-by-state tax laws.
Washington is one of the few states that has its own estate tax, separate from the federal estate tax, which applies to states over $3 million per capita. Debate over the estate tax has intensified after Washington lawmakers passed a bill last year that raised the top rate to 35%, among the highest in the country.
Now, lawmakers are introducing a proposal in this year’s legislative session to end that change amid fears of wealthy residents leaving Washington state. The tax hike has also drawn criticism from tech leaders.
Pinney said he supports rolling back the property tax hike “because we’re losing business people and we’re going to continue to do so if we don’t think too much about taxes.”
The CEO published a recent blog post explaining how Washington’s property tax can affect lawsuits involving Washington properties or business interests.
After launching last year with an initial focus on Washington stateLegata now serves customers nationwide. “There’s kind of a housing crisis all over the country,” Pinney said.
The Legata is aimed at households with assets ranging from $1 million to $20 million. Pinney said traditional estate planning services tend to focus on people with modest incomes who will never face real estate taxes, or on high-net-worth families with complex needs.
The cost is $1,495 to set up a home plan, and $195 per year for ongoing enrollment. Subscriptions include document storage, updates when rules change, and reminders about tasks such as rewriting assets.
Pinney said Legata can also be used by lawyers who are overwhelmed by demand. Many estate planning attorneys, he said, are already turning away clients because they are incompetent.
The company uses artificial intelligence in-house to help write and edit content, but Pinney said all material that reaches clients is reviewed by lawyers.
Pinney spent more than 12 years at Avalara and was its chief legal officer and senior vice president, helping lead the company through its IPO and $8.4 billion private equity deal in 2022. He began his career as a CPA at Deloitte before becoming a corporate attorney at Perkins Coie.
Legata’s leadership team includes some former Avalara employees: Legata founder Henry Frantz was Avalara’s legal operations manager, and CMO Bryan Wiggins was president of marketing.
Legata has raised $725,000 in funding and employs less than 10 people. Pinney said the initiative is under review by regulators in Washington state to provide legal services.
