Modern estate planning to keep your family out of court
You focus on your life, I’ll build the legal architecture to protect it.
As a former appellate staff attorney, I have seen exactly what happens when families are forced to navigate the probate system -- it’s public, expensive, and emotionally exhausting. Traditional estate planning often feels archaic, confusing, and disconnected from the realities of modern families. I draft rigorous, precise legal frameworks designed to legally bypass the courtroom, neutralize uncertainty, and protect your legacy.
You shouldn't have to guess what it costs to protect your family, which is why every package operates on a strictly transparent, flat-fee basis. We map out your life, then I isolate your specific legal vulnerabilities and build a structural firewall around your assets. No traditional firm bloat or obscure billable hours.
You complete a straightforward intake, I draft the architecture, and we sign the documents so you can get back to living.
Flat-Fee Estate Plans
Estate planning isn't one-size-fits-all. Mapped roughly to the different stages of life, these core packages are designed to meet you exactly where you are right now. Don't fit into a neat box? No problem. Scroll down to check out custom options.
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Best for: Renters, digital nomads, DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids) without real estate, and young parents.
The Play: The clean, essential baseline to keep your money, your medical choices, and your dependents (human or animal) out of the state’s default system.
Please note: A Will does not avoid probate court. This plan will still be probated, but it secures your situation right now and gives your family a clear, legally binding roadmap to follow.
What’s Included:
Last Will and Testament: The foundational document. It routes your basic assets, secures your digital life (crypto, passwords, workspaces), and officially names your Executor (the person who will handle your affairs).
The Dependent Protection Clause (Pick One):
For Parents: Standalone Guardianship Nominations to map out immediate, legal custody for minor children.
For Pet Parents: Pet Guardian & Care Stipend Clause to officially designate who takes your pets and routes a cash gift to pay for their care.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney: Designates a trusted person to run your life, pay your bills, and manage your business/side-hustle if you are ever incapacitated.
Oregon Advance Directive & Healthcare Proxy: Modern medical decision-making. This names exactly who makes the call in a medical emergency and strictly outlines your end-of-life choices.
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Best for: Oregon homeowners or anyone whose net worth is clearing the $1M line.
The Play: The standard probate-bypass and tax shield. This entirely avoids the public probate court system, protecting your privacy and saving your family a year of legal headaches.
What’s Included: All the protections in the Foundation Plan, plus:
Revocable Living Trust (RLT) Agreement: The core private vehicle that holds your assets so they bypass court entirely.
Pour-Over Will: A structural safety net that catches any forgotten assets and legally "pours" them back into your Trust.
Primary Residence Trust Transfer Deed: We officially retitle and record your main home into the Trust.
Institutional Asset Funding Guide: Step-by-step instructions showing you exactly how to link your bank and investment accounts to your new Trust.
Certificate of Trust: The administrative short-form document you give to banks and title companies so you don't have to show them your entire private Trust.
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Best for: Business owners, startup founders, blended families, and those with complex asset portfolios (like heavy equity or RSUs).
The Play: The premium, fully custom tier built specifically around advanced tax mitigation, business continuity, and volatile modern equity structures.
What’s Included: Everything in the Wealth Preservation Trust, plus:
Advanced Trust Formations: Blended Family Sub-Trusts (QTIP) or Advanced Tax Formations (A/B / Disclaimer) tailored to your specific situation.
Business Protection: Assignment of LLC Membership Interests and ironclad Business Succession Clauses.
Executive Powers: Business Continuation and Springing Executive Powers to ensure your company doesn't freeze if something happens to you.
Expanded Real Estate Coverage: Multiple Trust Transfer Deeds for secondary properties, rentals, or commercial lots.
Add-Ons & Specialized Work
The fees below are flat-rate upgrades designed to be added to our core packages, or surgical fixes for existing estate frameworks. Individual documents are available on a custom quote
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The Play: To be clear, my core flat-fee packages above are built to protect everyone, regardless of your relationship structure. However, if you aren't legally married, the state defaults to treating you and your partner as legal strangers. This section highlights the most common, urgent legal tools I use to override those default rules, legally validating your relationship and keeping your chosen family out of court.
Cohabitation & Property Agreements (Custom Pricing): Think of this as a pre-nup for people who aren't getting married. If you are buying a house together, building a business, or blending your finances, I draft a clear contract outlining exactly how expenses are shared now, and how assets are divided if you ever separate.
The "Chosen Family" Medical Shield (Via Core Packages, or $150 standalone HIPAA): If you are incapacitated, hospitals default to your blood relatives. I explicitly name your partner as your Healthcare Proxy and draft HIPAA releases ($150) so they are legally guaranteed access to your room, your doctors, and your medical choices.
The Financial Override (Via Core Packages): Unmarried partners cannot legally touch each other's individual bank accounts or break a lease if one of you is in a coma. My Durable Power of Attorney gives your partner the legal authority to run your life and manage your money if you can't.
Asset & Real Estate Routing (TODDs are $600; Wills/Trusts via Core Packages): Without a Will or Trust, your money and your half of the house go to your parents or siblings. I structure your estate—whether through a Transfer on Death Deed ($600) or a full Trust ($5,000)—so your assets transfer seamlessly to your partner.
Declaration for Disposition of Remains ($250): If you pass away, default laws give your blood relatives the right to claim your remains and plan your funeral. This statutory form legally binds the state to let your partner handle your arrangements exactly how you wanted.
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Trust Amendments & Codicils ($650 – $1,000): Making precise, clean updates to a framework you already have in place without tearing down the whole system.
Revocation of Prior Plans ($350 – $500): Explicitly and legally canceling an old, messy online template plan or outdated document so there is zero confusion later.
Transfer on Death Deed (TODD) ($600): A straightforward deed bypass for single-asset clients who want to pass a home without a full trust.
Declaration for Disposition of Remains ($250): The official statutory form to lock in your burial or cremation choices so your family doesn't have to guess during a tough time.
General Assignment of Personal Property ($250): Safely shifting untitled physical property (like family heirlooms or art) into your existing trust.
HIPAA Authorization & Release ($150): A standard medical privacy release so your inner circle can actually talk to your doctors in an emergency.
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Testamentary Trust / Minor’s Trust ($1,200 – $1,500): Added to the Foundation Plan. Keeps a child’s inheritance managed by a designated trustee until milestone ages (like 25 or 30) rather than hitting them all at once at age 18.
Structured Lifetime Gifting Program ($1,500 – $2,500): This strategic program leverages this statutory exemption to safely lower your taxable estate before death.
Restricted Stock Assignments (RSU / Tech Equity) ($1,500 – $2,000): Securely routing corporate vests, stock options, and startup equity into your trust framework.
NFA Gun Trust ($950 – $1,200): A specialized trust engineered to legally hold and pass down National Firearms Act (NFA) items (like suppressors). Eliminates accidental felony transfer violations for family members.
Pet Trust ($1,000 – $1,500): Custom drafting to legally secure dedicated funding and specific care guidelines for your companion animals.
Trustee Bootcamp / Family Alignment Meeting ($1,000 – $2,500): A facilitated, formal onboarding session where we sit down with you, your designated successor trustees, and your beneficiaries to clarify roles, mechanics, and expectations to prevent post-death family drama.
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Trust Administration Services ($3,500 – $5,000 minimum retainer, billed against $425 hourly rate): If you are named as the Successor Trustee for someone who passed away, we guide you through asset tracking, legal notices, and private distribution from start to finish.
Probate Representation ($3,500 – $5,000 minimum retainer, billed against $425 hourly rate): Moving an executor through the public court system when a loved one passed away without a plan, or with a plan that didn't avoid court.