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Understanding Estate Planning, Wills And Trusts

You may not have considered estate planning before, but it is a process that is beneficial to everyone. When you meet with an experienced attorney like ours at Martin, Elliott & Snell P.C., you will have the opportunity to plan for your future and preserve your legacy. Each of our attorneys bring more than 30 years of legal experience to help you understand the complicated world of estate planning and ensure that your assets are handled the way you want.

Working With Wills And Trusts

When you work with our attorneys to create a will or trust, we will help you understand what you should think about including in your plan. We can walk you through the different components of your estate, discuss your specifications and help you decide what type of estate planning is best for you.

A will is a legal document that you can use to plan for your future and the future of your family after you are gone. You can use a will to name guardians for your children, specify your final wishes and distribute your assets among family, heirs and beneficiaries. You can also name a person or persons to be the executor/personal representative of your estate. Executors carry out the probate process, typically with the help of a lawyer.

Depending on your goals and assets, you may need one or more trusts. One of the benefits of a trust is that it does not go through probate and the details of it are private.

There are numerous types of trusts available including:

  • Special needs trusts
  • Living trusts
  • Charitable giving trusts
  • Pet trusts
  • Insurance trusts

These are only a few examples. When we assess your estate planning goals, we will recommend the types of trust(s) that are right for you.

Protect Yourself With Powers Of Attorney And A Living Will

Our lawyers can also help you appoint your power of attorney, who will make financial and health care decisions for you if you are unable to do the same. You can appoint the same person to manage both or separate people to manage them individually.

You may also wish to create a living will/advance directive. This document allows you to specify the type of end-of-life care you wish to receive. It can be of great comfort to your loved ones to know your wishes about end-of-life care.

Work With Tualatin’s Longest Practicing Law Firm

We create long-term relationships with all our clients to ensure that your Oregon estate is handled correctly. Our attorneys will help you understand which type of estate planning will be best for you and then work with you to make sure it is carried out according to your wishes. We offer a free 15-minute case evaluation by phone or videoconference.

If you are looking to begin your estate planning or revise an existing plan, call us in Tualatin at 503-868-5057 or contact us via email.