Your estate plan answers the law's questions. Your family's first questions — where are the accounts, who do we call, where's the paperwork — go unanswered in even the best plans. The Family Roadmap is a free 12-page organizer that fixes that.

A TOD deed is one of Oregon's best probate-avoidance tools — and it can still fail. Lapsed beneficiaries, divorce, recording defects, Medicaid estate recovery, and an 18-month creditor window can all unwind the transfer or land the estate in probate anyway.

No document avoids Oregon probate by itself — even a living trust only covers what's transferred into it. Here's the complete map: the TOD deed, beneficiary designations, survivorship, the simple estate affidavit, and the trust — and how the right combination avoids probate entirely.

If your TOD deed beneficiary dies before you, Oregon's default rules take over — a sole beneficiary's death sends the house to probate, and a co-beneficiary's death cuts their children out entirely. Here's how the rules work and how to plan around them.

Worried a transfer-on-death deed locks you in? It doesn't. Oregon law makes TOD deeds revocable even if the deed says otherwise — you can change beneficiaries, undo the deed, or just sell. But a will can't revoke one, and that trap catches people.

A transfer-on-death deed and a revocable living trust both keep your home out of probate — and that's where the similarities end. Here's what actually separates them, and how to tell which one your situation calls for.

A transfer-on-death deed keeps your home out of probate — but a lot of people who want one hesitate, unsure the deed alone is enough. The Essentials Plan handles the basics: a will, powers of attorney, and a TOD deed, for one flat fee.

Being named successor trustee of a revocable living trust means taking on real legal responsibility the moment the grantor dies or becomes incapacitated. Here's what the job actually involves under Oregon law.

Oregon taxes real estate within its borders even when the owner lives in another state. A vacation home in Sunriver or Bend can trigger an Oregon estate tax bill that catches families off guard — but the right ownership structure can prevent it.

Most Oregon estate plans address the house, the bank accounts, and the retirement funds. Almost none of them address the email inbox, the streaming subscriptions, or the cloud storage full of family photos. Here's why that gap matters.

Oregon operates one of the most aggressive Medicaid estate recovery programs in the country — and it can reach assets that avoid probate. Here's what Oregon families need to understand before a loved one needs long-term care.

In Oregon, life insurance death benefits count toward your taxable estate even though they avoid probate. For families near the $1 million threshold, a policy you bought to protect your family can trigger a tax bill you didn't expect.

Joint bank accounts in Oregon pass to the surviving owner automatically in most cases — but the rules are more nuanced than people expect, and the convenience account problem trips up Oregon families constantly.

Tenancy by the entirety avoids probate when the first Oregon spouse dies. When the surviving spouse eventually dies, it's a different story — and most couples don't realize the gap until it's too late.

Most estate planning attorneys bill by the hour. I don't. Here's how flat-fee pricing changes the client relationship — and why it produces better estate plans for Oregon and Idaho families.

When your parent's income is over Oregon's Medicaid cap, a Miller Trust may be the only thing standing between your family and $10,000-a-month care costs. Here's how it works—and what to do if you need one now.

SB 1511 died in committee when the Legislature adjourned. Oregon's estate tax is unchanged. Here's what happened, what comes next, and what it means for your plan.

Gene Hackman had a will, a trust, and an attorney. His estate still ended up in probate court. The reason why is something every Oregon family should know.

Everyone in estate planning tells you to avoid probate. But most people don't actually know what it is—just that it's bad. This post breaks down what Oregon probate actually involves, how long it takes, what it costs, and why a will alone doesn't help you avoid it.

Oregon's $1 million estate tax threshold has been catching families off guard since 2012. A bill that passed the Senate today would change that — but it's not law yet.