No. It’s for anyone with people who depend on them. If you are in your 30s or 40s and have a family, you are in the "high-stakes" years. This is when a solid plan is most critical for protecting your children and your spouse.

Without a legal guardian named in your paperwork, a judge—who doesn't know your family or your values—will decide who raises your kids. A plan ensures they are cared for by the people you trust most.

The risk isn't just about passing away; it’s about "incapacity." If you are injured and can't manage your business or finances, a lack of planning can freeze your accounts and force your family into a public court process to get things moving again.

Yes. Both states have lower thresholds for estate taxes than the federal government. Without specific planning, a significant portion of what you’ve built could go to the state rather than your loved ones.

For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption has risen to $15 million per individual, while Washington’s threshold is $3,076,000 and Oregon’s remains at just $1 million. Amounts under these limits are not subject to the death tax.

Here’s an example to show how this works. Let’s you are a resident of Oregon and have $1,500,000 in assets:

1,500,000 total assets

(1,000,000) this amount is not taxable

= $500,000 subject to the Oregon death tax

Every dollar above $1 million gets taxed at 10% and goes up to 16%. In the above example, the $500,000 would be taxed at the 10% tax rate, meaning that a bill of $50,000 would need to be paid 12 months after the decedent's date of death.

In Washington, the death tax works in a similar way, except that the amount you can give away to your loved ones without paying death taxes is higher, and that the tax rate ranges from 10% to 35%.

This means that while an estate may be far below the federal tax bracket, it could still be subject to state-level tax rates reaching as high as 16% in Oregon and 35% in Washington.

The good news is that sometimes these taxes can be reduced or maybe even eliminated. How to reduce taxes for estate planning taxes depends on a variety of factors: whether you are a U.S. citizen, whether you are married or single, and what types of assets you have, where your assets are located, and how they are owned/titled.

A trust is like a cookie jar where you put all of your stuff for safe keeping, you put your house in there, bank accounts, and other assets. You write specific instructions on a sticky note attached to the jar: "Once I'm gone, my sister becomes the Cookie Manager, and she gives two cookies a month to my kids."

Unlike a Will, which has to go through a public court process (probate), a Trust allows your family to handle your affairs privately and immediately. It’s more durable and efficient for families with sizable assets.

A will handles your "stuff" after you’re gone. A will is a legal document that provides specific instructions to a probate court on how to distribute your assets and appoint guardians for minor children after your death. Because it only becomes effective upon your passing, the document must undergo a public court process to validate its terms and grant an executor the legal authority to act. This court-supervised procedure is overseen by Judge and ensures debts are paid and asset titles are transferred, although it often results in a public record and a mandatory waiting period for beneficiaries. In Oregon, this process often takes 9-18+ months start to finish.

A Power of Attorney is a document that authorizes your trusted decisionmaker to handle your finances or legal decisions if you are alive but unable to speak for yourself or if you are incapacitated.

An Advance Directive is a legal document that states your healthcare preferences and appoints a trusted person to make medical decisions if you become unable to communicate for yourself. Generally, an advance directive will nominate a Healthcare Representative. This person is legally authorized to communicate with your medical team and ensure your specific healthcare preferences are followed if you cannot speak for yourself. Additionally, an Advance Directive includes your instructions regarding life-sustaining treatments and end-of-life care. This document ensures your medical treatment aligns with your personal values while relieving your family of the burden of making difficult decisions during a crisis without clear guidance.

Online forms are generic. A mistake in a DIY form is usually only found when it’s too late to fix it.

That's like going to the store, buying a hammer, and declaring that you are going to build a house. There is a lot more to it than that. If you feel that you can condense thousands of hours of training into a few minutes online, feel free. Your family will just pay more to correct your mistakes when you are gone.

Spector Law has prepared a variety of educational materials, including videos, checklists, guides, and toolkits. If you have a specific question or something you would like help with, please call us at 971-346-3833. We’ll answer general questions about our process, share helpful resources, educational materials, and discuss your next best steps. One of our most popular items is our Free Medical Emergency Planning Toolkit.