Get to Know Candice Aiston
The Basics
Candice Aiston grew up in Kailua, Hawaii, and earned her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Hawaii, where she was selected for the Hawai‘i Law Review. She started her law firm in Portland in 2008 and has been serving Oregon families and businesses for nearly two decades. She's a member of the Oregon State Bar.
Why She Started Aiston Law
Candice’s youngest child was born just a month after law school graduation—and turned out to be a serious mama’s girl. The idea of working 60–80 hours a week at a traditional law firm, getting just one day a week with her family and two weeks off per year (if she was lucky), wasn’t just unappealing—it felt impossible.
As a neurodivergent woman and a new mother, she knew she wouldn’t thrive in a system that demanded conformity and long hours at the expense of her values and relationships. She probably could’ve paid off her student loans faster, but she chose freedom and alignment over burnout. Starting her own law firm was both a leap of faith and a bold declaration: there’s a better way to practice law.
“I’ve worked with dozens of trusts and estates lawyers here in Portland, and you are the best in your field. There is no one as good as you at what you do.”
A Deeply Personal Mission
Candice founded her practice with a focus on estate planning for families with young children. That wasn’t a business strategy—it was personal. Candice’s mother died when she was just a little girl, and there was no plan in place. She saw firsthand how devastating it can be when families are unprepared—and how much compounded trauma can result.
Today, she brings that lived experience to every client relationship. She’s the person who worries about the what-ifs so her clients don’t have to. She crafts comprehensive, personalized plans that protect her clients’ loved ones and honor their values.
It’s very likely that Candice is the only estate planning attorney in the region who has both professional experience and personal experience of losing a parent young—plus the trauma, chaos, and legal mess that can come with it. That background, combined with her experience as a parent herself, has shaped her practice into one that is especially attuned to the needs of disabled, neurodivergent, or mentally ill family members who may need extra protection and planning.
“You’re known as the estate planning lawyer for the weirdos who never thought they’d be a person who has an estate planning lawyer. ”
A Multi-Generational Practice
As Candice’s clients grew older, they started referring their parents, grandparents, adult children, and friends. Her practice expanded naturally into full-spectrum estate planning across all generations—including Elder Law.
Candice brings her personal experiences with aging and loss in her own family to help others navigate those challenges. Whether it’s figuring out how to pay for caregiving or assisted living, preserving family businesses and cherished properties, planning charitable giving, or promoting family harmony, she helps clients find clarity and peace in complex times.
She also helps grieving families handle the estates of loved ones through her estate administration practice—whether through small estates, probate, trust administration, or a combination. She partners with the personal representative or trustee to take care of the tedious legal work so families can focus on healing.
Business Planning with Heart
If estate planning was born of childhood wounds, business planning came from Candice’s deepest hopes. When she became a business owner, she loved it immediately—every scary, exciting, freeing part of it. She has the soul of an entrepreneur, and it shows.
She knows what your business means to you. It means you’re dreaming of a better life. You’re stepping off the beaten path. You’re building something for yourself, your family, and your future. It also probably means you’re behind on your personal planning—or suddenly in a position of wealth and responsibility that no one trained you for.
Candice gets it. She’s been there. And she’s ready to help you protect what you’ve built so it can thrive for generations to come.
When She’s Not Lawyering...
Candice is probably in a winemaking or wine education class, tending her wine, hanging out with her family, wrangling her neurotic rescue dogs, fussing over her plants, working on one of her many unfinished DIY projects (like converting a school bus into an RV), cooking something ambitious, exploring Portland, or road-tripping to a weird little town in the Pacific Northwest.
She loves to travel, dream, and plan her next adventure. And yes, she’s one of those people who thinks about life and death, family, legacy, values, and memory-making all the time. One of her favorite principles comes from Stephen Covey:
“Begin with the end in mind.”
It’s how she approaches her own life—and how she begins every client relationship.