Basic Estate Planning Documents

Posted by on Mar 7, 2011 in Advance Directives, Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Wills As a follow up to my recent articles on the new Estate Tax legislation that has gone into effect, I thought I would take a minute to talk about a few basic estate planning documents: the will, durable power of attorney, and advance directive. These are documents that everyone should have, regardless of their age, to ensure that their family is protected in case of an unforeseen accident,...
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2011 Estate Tax Changes

Posted by on Feb 7, 2011 in Estate Planning, Estate Tax Since our last Estate Tax update in September, major changes to the Estate and Gift Tax laws of our nation have been implemented. In December’s “lame duck” session, Congress and the President acted to prevent the Estate Tax exemption from dropping to $1 million. Highlights of this legislation include: An increase in the Federal Estate Tax exemption to $5 million per person...
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2010 Estate Tax Update

Posted by on Sep 22, 2010 in Estate Planning, Estate Tax Lately, we’ve been fielding questions from our Estate Planning clients regarding the status of the Estate Tax in the year 2010 and beyond.  As the issue is applicable to all small business owners, I thought I would pass along a brief update on the situation as it currently stands. As I’m sure you have heard in the news by now, due to inaction by Congress the Estate Tax has lapsed...
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When does property “escheat” to the state of Oregon?

Posted by on Sep 7, 2010 in Estate Planning, Probate Each year about $30 million escheats to the State of Oregon, and about $10 million is returned to the owner of that property. A portion of this $30 million comes from property which is unclaimed from people’s estates. As we mentioned in our last post, it is possible for the State of Oregon to end up with all of a person’s estate. How does this happen? The concept of “escheat” has its...
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What happens to a person’s property if they don’t have a will?

Posted by on Sep 3, 2010 in Estate Planning, Probate A 2007 Harris Interactive research study found that 55% of Americans do not have a will. So what happens to a person’s property if they die without a will? When a person dies without a will, their property passes by “intestate succession” as provided in ORS §§ 112.015 – 112.055. If the decedent was married at the time of death, and either had no children or all of the children were also...
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What Does a Probate Court Do?

Posted by on Sep 1, 2010 in Estate Planning, Probate During a will probate or estate administration, the Probate Court plays a vital but often unseen role. While most probates and administrations can be accomplished without any formal appearance in a court, many filings will be made that will be reviewed and must be approved by the Probate Court. Because a Personal Representative may never actually step foot into the courthouse, it is sometimes...
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