National Estate Planning Awareness Week: On the Hardest Day, Your Plan Will Be the Hand They Hold
National Estate Planning Awareness Week falls during the third full week of October. Congress created it in 2008 because so few Americans plan ahead, but any week this month is the right week to act on it. And we want to push the idea one step further: A complete estate plan does more than say who receives what. It tells the people you love exactly what to do on one of the hardest days of their lives.
Q + A: How Do I Ask My Parents about Their Estate Planning?
"My parents mentioned years ago that they have a trust, but that is all I know. I have no idea where their documents are, who their attorney is, or what they would want if something happened. How do I ask without seeming like I am after their money?"
Do Not Let Your Online Accounts Become Ghosts
When someone passes away, their digital life keeps going without them. Email accounts, photo libraries, social media profiles, subscriptions, and online banking portals become ghost accounts, still out there but locked away where their family cannot reach them.
Choosing a Personal Representative (Executor) in Portland, Oregon: What If Your Personal Representative and Your Children Hate Each Other?
You trust your sister completely. She is organized, responsible, good with money, and exactly the person you want handling your estate. There is just one problem: your children cannot stand her.
Your Adult Child Is Getting Divorced: Is Their Inheritance Actually Protected in Oregon?
Few phone calls worry parents like this one: Your adult child's marriage is ending, and somewhere in the back of your mind is the inheritance, the one already given or the one still to come. Most people have heard that inheritances are separate property in a divorce, and they relax. For families thinking about protecting an inheritance from divorce in Portland, Oregon, that half-truth deserves a closer look, because the protection is real only if it has been carefully kept.
Q + A: Does Mild Cognitive Impairment Mean It’s Too Late for Estate Planning in Oregon?
"My mother was recently diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. She still manages her daily life just fine, but her doctor said things may change over time. Is it too late for her to update her estate plan in Oregon, and where should we even start?"
Your Child Turned 18: The Legal Documents Every College Family Needs, From a Portland, Oregon Estate Planning Attorney
Here is something that surprises almost every parent: The day your child turns 18, you lose the automatic right to see their medical records or make decisions for them, even in an emergency. A few simple documents, including a HIPAA authorization and a power of attorney for your college student, can restore that ability. Setting them up takes less time than packing the car for move-in day.
You Signed a Trust Years Ago. Your Family Could Still End Up in Probate: Advice From a Portland, Oregon Estate Attorney
Here is a truth that surprises many families: Signing a living trust does not, by itself, keep your estate out of probate. A trust only controls the assets that are actually titled in its name. If your home, accounts, or other property were never transferred into the trust, or quietly slipped back out over the years, your family may face the exact court process the trust was designed to avoid. The good news is that checking is simple, and fixing gaps is usually easy while you are here to do it.
Healthy Aging Month: Small Habits That May Help Keep Your Mind Sharp
September is Healthy Aging Month, which makes this the perfect time to share some encouraging news. Research suggests that everyday habits may help support brain health as we age. While no routine can guarantee protection against memory loss, small choices add up over the years, and most of the choices are pleasant ones.
World Alzheimer’s Month: Planning Ahead in Oregon When Memory Begins to Change
Every September, World Alzheimer's Month invites us to talk openly about a disease that touches an estimated 7 million American families. In our office, that conversation usually begins with a single worried question: Is it too late for my loved one to make a plan?
Do You Inherit Your Parents' Debt? What a Portland, Oregon Estate Planning Attorney Wants You to Know
The short answer is no; in most cases, children do not inherit their parents' debt. Debts belong to the estate, and the estate pays them from the assets the person left behind. Family members generally are not personally responsible. That said, a few exceptions catch people off guard, and knowing them ahead of time can save your family real stress.
What Happens to Your Online Accounts and Crypto When You Die
So much of life now lives online, and digital estate planning in Oregon is something most of us never stop to think about. From family photos to banking to cryptocurrency, it all sits behind passwords, and a death certificate is not a password. Loved ones are often locked out of accounts they did not even know existed.