A Portland estate planning practice built on 15 years of client representation.
At NW Legacy Law, we have worked with Portland families for over a decade. First-time parents who need a basic will and guardian nomination. Retirees with rental properties and concerns about long-term care. Business owners trying to figure out what happens to the company if something happens to them. Our Portland, OR estate planning lawyer is here to walk you through it clearly. Reach out to schedule a consultation.
Estate Planning Lawyer Portland, OR
Estate planning is the process of putting legal documents in place that control what happens to your property, your money, and your dependents when you die or if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. At its core, the plan answers three questions: who gets what, who is in charge, and who steps in if you are incapacitated.
An estate planning attorney helps you work through those questions in a way that reflects your actual life and holds up under Oregon law. That usually means drafting a will, setting up trusts where they serve a purpose, creating powers of attorney, and preparing advance directives. Every plan looks different. A single person with a condo and a 401(k) has different needs than a married couple with kids from previous relationships and property on both sides of the river.
Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Portland
Our Portland attorneys handle the full spectrum of estate planning work. Here is what that includes.
- Wills. We draft wills that name beneficiaries, appoint personal representatives, and designate guardians for minor children. A will that is properly drafted includes specific bequests, a residuary clause, and disinheritance provisions that actually hold up if challenged.
- Trusts. Trusts keep assets out of probate and give you more control over how and when distributions happen. We create revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, and special needs trusts depending on what the client is trying to accomplish, because the type matters.
- Living trusts. This is the tool we use most often. You keep control of your assets while you are alive, and they pass directly to your beneficiaries at death without a trip through the court system.
- Powers of attorney. A durable power of attorney names someone to manage your financial life if you cannot. We help clients think carefully about who to choose and how much authority to hand over.
- Advance directives. An advance health care directive puts your medical preferences in writing and names the person who will speak for you when you cannot.
- Probate. When someone dies with or without a plan, probate may be necessary to settle their estate through Multnomah County courts. We represent personal representatives from start to finish.
- Trust administration. After a trust creator passes away, the successor trustee takes on fiduciary duties with real legal consequences. We guide trustees through the process and keep them out of trouble.
- Elder law. Planning needs shift as families age. We handle incapacity planning, long-term care, guardianship, and protection from financial exploitation.
- Estate settlement. After a death, settling the estate means coordinating wills, trusts, tax filings, creditor claims, and distributions. We manage the legal side.
- Advanced estate planning. Clients with larger estates, businesses, or multi-state property sometimes need strategies that go beyond what a standard will and trust can handle. We provide approaches for tax reduction, asset protection, and succession planning.
Why Choose NW Legacy Law as My Estate Planning Lawyer in Portland, OR?
A Firm That Exists to Do This Work
Thomas Hackett started NW Legacy Law because he believed estate planning should be something people could actually get through without the anxiety most law firms seem to generate around the topic. He has been practicing for 15 years. He earned his law degree at the University of Washington School of Law, studied at the London School of Economics and Seattle University, and holds licenses in Oregon and Washington. The Vancouver Business Journal named the firm "Best in Business for Law Firms" six years running from 2014 through 2019, and Thomas was named Start-Up Business of the Year in 2014 by the Business Growth Awards.
Jakob Seegmuller manages the firm's daily operations and has 8 years of practice behind him. He graduated from Seattle University School of Law and belongs to the Multnomah Bar Association and the Clark County Bar Association. Jakob handles a lot of estate settlement and trust administration work, which gives him a front-row seat to what happens when plans are done well and when they are not. That shapes how he approaches new client relationships and how they see our firm.
Pricing That Makes Sense for This Kind of Work
We use flat-fee pricing because hourly billing creates bad incentives in estate planning. Clients should ask questions and take the time they need without watching a clock. Our flat-fee model takes that problem off the table.
What Is Important to Understand About Estate Planning Cases?
Key Estate Planning Documents
Most plans are built from a core set of documents. Which ones you need depends on your family, your assets, and your goals.
- A will directs how your property gets distributed, names the personal representative who manages the estate through probate, and designates guardians for minor children
- A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and moves them to beneficiaries at death, no probate required, and you stay in control as the initial trustee
- A durable power of attorney authorizes someone you choose to handle your financial affairs if you become incapacitated
- An advance directive names your medical decision-maker and puts your preferences about treatment on the record
- Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies control who gets those assets, and they override whatever your will says, which is why they need to match your plan
What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?
The biggest mistake we see is treating the estate plan as a one-time event. Life changes. People get married, get divorced, have children, buy property, start businesses, move states. A will that made sense five years ago may not match your life today.
Oregon's estate tax threshold is $1 million. Portland property values have gone up substantially, and people who were comfortably under that line a few years ago may now be above it without realizing it. If your plan does not account for that, it is not doing its job.
And then there is the funding issue, which we run into all the time. A client creates a revocable trust, signs it, puts it in a drawer, and never actually transfers their assets into it. The house stays in their name. The bank accounts are unchanged. When they die, the trust controls nothing. Everything goes through probate anyway. Proper follow-through after the signing is what makes a plan work.
What Is the Estate Planning Timeline?
Most clients finish the process in three to six weeks.
- The first meeting covers your family, your assets, and what you want to accomplish. About an hour.
- We design a recommended approach and walk you through the reasoning.
- Drafting takes one to two weeks after the plan is approved.
- You review the drafts and we make changes.
- You sign everything at our office with proper witnesses and notarization.
- If there is a trust, we help you fund it: deeding property, re-registering accounts, updating beneficiary designations.
What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?
Walking in prepared lets us get past general conversation and into actual planning.
- A list of your major assets: real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, investments, life insurance, business interests
- Information about debts and liabilities
- Any existing estate documents: prior wills, trusts, powers of attorney
- Names and contact info for people you are considering as beneficiaries, personal representatives, trustees, and agents
What Are Important Oregon Legal Resources for Estate Planning Cases?
Oregon law governs how estate plans are created and enforced. These are reliable starting points for background reading.
- The Oregon Legislature's website publishes the Oregon Revised Statutes covering wills, trusts, and estates
- The Oregon Judicial Department has information on probate proceedings in Multnomah County
- The Oregon Department of Revenue explains the state estate transfer tax, which applies at $1 million
- The IRS estate and gift tax page covers the federal estate and gift tax, including the current exclusion amount
- The Oregon Department of Human Services provides elder abuse reporting and prevention resources
A consultation with an attorney is the best way to understand how the law applies to you specifically.
Reach Out to NW Legacy Law to Schedule a Consultation
We help Portland families build estate plans that hold up. Flat-fee pricing, clear communication, no guessing. Contact us to schedule a consultation.
