A Will is a set of instructions that only takes effect after you pass away. It tells the court who should receive your assets and who should be in charge of carrying that out. Because of that, a Will must go through probate — a public, court-supervised process that can take months (or longer) and involves additional cost and administrative burden. A Revocable Living Trust, by contrast, is designed to avoid that process entirely. When your assets are properly titled in your trust during your lifetime, they can pass to your beneficiaries without probate, privately and more efficiently. A trust also allows for ongoing management of assets — for example, holding funds for children or protecting an inheritance over time. A Will still plays a supporting role (most trust plans include one), but it does not replace a trust. If your goal is to keep things simple for your family, avoid court involvement, and maintain control over how assets are handled, a trust-based plan is usually the more effective approach.

Yes. Estate planning is not about being "wealthy" — it is about having control of your estate. If you own a home, someone will need legal authority to deal with it if something happens to you. Without a plan, your family may be forced into probate just to sell or transfer it. If you have children, an estate plan is how you name who will raise them and how their inheritance will be handled. Without that, the court makes those decisions, and any inheritance is typically distributed outright at age 18. Even for more modest estates, the real issues are avoiding unnecessary court involvement, making things easier for your family, and making sure your wishes are followed.

If you pass away without a Will, Oregon law decides who receives your assets. There is a default system (called "intestate succession") that distributes your estate based on your closest relatives. That may or may not align with what you would have wanted — especially in blended family situations. In addition, your estate will almost certainly go through probate, and the court will appoint someone to manage the process. That person may not be who you would have chosen. For parents of minor children, this also means you have not formally nominated a guardian, leaving that decision entirely to the court's discretion.

As soon as you have something — or someone — you want to protect. For most people, that means when they buy a home, have children, get married or divorced, or begin building meaningful savings or retirement accounts. Estate planning is not something you wait to do later. The risk is not just what happens when you pass away — it is also what happens if you become incapacitated and no one has authority to act on your behalf. It also allows you to document your healthcare wishes and name someone you trust to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate. Starting earlier allows you to put a simple, solid plan in place and adjust it over time as your life evolves.

A good rule of thumb is every 3–5 years, or sooner if something significant changes. You should revisit your plan if you get married or divorced, have or adopt children, buy or sell real estate, experience a major change in assets, or move to a new state. Even if nothing major changes, laws do. Oregon estate tax rules, federal exemptions, and planning strategies can shift over time. An estate plan is not something you do once and forget — it should evolve with your life.