Attorney for Wills Bend, OR

Develop a Plan to Reflect Your Wishes

If you die without a will (call "intestate"), Oregon's laws will determine how your assets are distributed, and it may not be the way you wanted. A will allows you to provide instructions for how your property is managed upon your death. Depending on your situation, your will can be simple and straightforward or complex. Regardless of how complicated your will is, you must ensure that you follow state laws when establishing it. Any mistakes made during the development process could invalidate the document and create hardships for your loved ones after your death.

If you're considering establishing a will, you need skilled legal guidance from the start. Backed by over 60 years of combined legal experience, our Bend will attorneys can deliver sound advice and guidance to help you understand what's entailed in developing a will and what you can and cannot do with one. We're here to ease the burdens associated with this process and help you make confident decisions when planning for your future.

For help navigating the complexities of establishing your will, call Baxter Law, LLC at (541) 238-9210 today to speak with our Bend will lawyers.

What's the Purpose of a Will?

A will allows you to provide instructions for how your property will be distributed to your beneficiaries and heirs after your death. You can also use it to appoint guardians for minor children and designate an executor (also called a personal representative) to manage your estate upon your death.

Wills have some limitations. For instance, they can't be used to control:

• Joint assets
• Payable on death accounts
• Life insurance
• Retirement plans
• Employee death benefits

Before your property is distributed to beneficiaries, your estate must pass through a court-supervised process called probate. The process ensures that your will is valid and that all your financial obligations are taken care of before the distribution of your property.

Skilled Legal Help for Various Will-Related Matters

At Baxter Law, LLC, our Bend will lawyers have helped numerous clients plan for their futures and are practiced in guiding individuals through a variety of processes associated with wills.

We provide assistance for:

• Pour-over wills: A pour-over will is used in conjunction with a trust. When you establish a trust, you put property and assets in it to later be distributed to beneficiaries upon your death. A pour-over will can be developed to transfer remaining property into the trust.
• Power of attorney: A power of attorney is a person appointed to act on your behalf. The power they are given can be either permanent or temporary, and they must act according to the instructions in the document. The benefit of having a power of attorney is that they can make decisions for you should you become unable to do so yourself. Absent an appointed power of attorney, if you become mentally disabled or incapacitated, the court would appoint someone to make decisions about your affairs.
• Advanced directives: An advanced directive is a legal document that gives a person the authority to make health care decisions on your behalf. The directive takes effect in the event that you become incapacitated and unable to communicate your wishes.
• Will contests: A beneficiary may contest the validity of a will. They must have legal reasons to do so, such as you were not of sound mind when you amended the will, you were forced through undue influence or fraud to change the contents, or the will was not established according to state laws.

Call Our Bend Will Attorneys

If you're seeking to develop a will or are a personal representative or beneficiary going through the probate process, our Bend will lawyers can provide legal guidance for your matter.

Contact Baxter Law, LLC at (541) 238-9210 to learn more about our legal services.