MCKEAN & KNAUPP ATTORNEYS - Blog

Young Adult Estate Planning

6/20/2025

Parents of 18-year-olds, listen up!
Your child is officially an adult in the eyes of the law.

Things just changed whether they are heading off to college, the military, or still living at home.
✔️You no longer have the same parental authority; in fact, you will now be barred in many cases.
✔️You’re likely not thinking of estate planning while celebrating graduation. But, your next big step to guiding your young adult is helping them protect themselves.
✔️An "estate plan" sounds like something for Grandma and Grandpa, but for 18-year-olds, it's about being prepared for the unexpected and granting authorities in advance.

Imagine: Your child is in an accident and can't communicate.

Without a Health Care Agent and HIPAA Authorization, doctors can't even talk to you about their condition, and you cannot make necessary decisions. Scary, right?

An estate plan for a young adult includes

🔹Advance Directive and HIPAA: So, you (or someone they trust) can make medical decisions if they can't.
🔹Durable Power of Attorney: To handle bills or bank accounts if they're incapacitated.
🔹A simple Will: To state their wishes for any personal belongings.

It's about empowering them, granting peace of mind, and ensuring they can get help when needed and without legal roadblocks.

Let's get them set up for success (and safety)!

📞 Contact us to learn more about estate planning for young adults

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123

#ParentsOfTeens #18thBirthday #EstatePlanningForYoungAdults #PeaceOfMind #FamilySafety #Will

Trust Administration vs. Probate

6/6/2025

🏛️ Probate vs. Trust

What’s the Better Path for Your Loved Ones?

When planning your estate, it’s important to understand the difference between Probate and Trust Administration. Probate is public, expensive, and slow — Trust Administration is private, efficient, and cost-effective.

Court Process

Cost

Time to Complete

Privacy

Assets Frozen

Attorney Required

✅ Trust

✅ No

💰 Lower

⏱️ ~4 Months

🔒 Private

✅ No

✅ Often No

⚠️ Probate

❌Yes

💸 Higher

🕒 ~9 Months

🔍 Public

❌ Yes

❌ Almost Always Yes

A trust saves your loved ones time, stress, and money but is not always the best choice

Let us help you understand your options.

📞 Contact us to learn more about trust administration

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123

#EstatePlanning #TrustVsProbate #OregonAttorney #PeaceOfMind #McKeanKnaupp #PlanAhead

Wedding Season!! Estate planning tips for this big life change

5/23/2025

IT'S WEDDING SEASON!

Make an Estate Plan that is ready for this big life change

Whether it’s your first marriage or you're blending families, here are some key things to consider:

Update beneficiaries – Review life insurance policies, IRAs, retirement plans, and investment accounts. Make sure your new spouse is included where needed.

Plan for children & stepchildren – Decide how assets are divided. Want to include or exclude someone from your will? Be specific.

Health care & finances – Grant your spouse authority through health care directives and power of attorney documents. Without them, decisions could fall to others.

Prenups & protection – A prenuptial agreement clarifies inheritance rights and protects both partners in the future.

Create or update a trust – Ensure easy, probate-free asset transfer and account for everyone you love.

Start your new life on solid legal and financial ground.

📞 Talk to an experienced Oregon estate planning attorney

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
#EstatePlanning #Trust #OregonLaw #MarriagePlanning #BlendedFamily #Will #NewlyMarried #Prenup #FamilyFirst #PlanAhead

The Perils of Delay

5/9/2025

The perils of delay

The truth is, there comes a point when it’s too late to create an estate plan—and often that is due to accidents or illness.

Your life is awash with conflicting priorities: Work, family, friends and daily responsibilities. Estate planning is often something to "get to later." Ignoring it can seriously impact to your young family. For younger families, pre-planning financial and medical decisions for each of you is critical.

The Risk of Waiting Too Long:
To create a Power of Attorney, Advance Directive, Will or Trust you must have Testamentary Capacity—the ability to understand:
✔ The nature and extent of your assets,
✔ Who you agents and beneficiaries are,
✔ The impact of the decisions you are making.

Sudden injuries or illnesses will rob you of Testamentary Capacity. Your plans may be challenged in court, leading to legal disputes, delays, unnecessary costs and decisions you would not have wanted.

By the time you or your family realize the urgency, it may already be too late to act.

The Consequences of Not Planning

1. Family Disputes and Legal Challenges
Family members may disagree over who is doing what – Resulting in costly legal battles and creating lasting family disputes.

2. Custody, Financial and Medical Decisions
Make plans for child custody, Power of Attorney (POA) and healthcare directives to appoint trusted individuals. Without these, critical decisions about your children, healthcare, finances, and long-term care may be in the hands of the court.

3. Expensive and Lengthy Court Processes
A sudden need for long term care without Power of Attorney means your loved ones must seek guardianship or conservatorship to care for you—a court proceeding that determines who will make financial and healthcare decisions. This is
🔹 Time-consuming (often taking months or years),
🔹 Expensive (with court and legal fees draining financial resources),
🔹 Stressful for family members, leading to unnecessary emotional and financial burdens.

4. Difficulty Accessing Funds for Medical or Long-Term Care
Without an estate plan, families struggle to access funds, leading to delays in getting proper care or being forced into lower-quality, temporary options. A tragic accident can cut off access to necessary funds. Care facilities will require financial arrangements to cover the costs.

Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones

Estate planning is about protecting your family during your life and after your death.
Planning early ensures:

You remain in control of your financial and medical decisions, even if you are incapacitated.
Your loved ones avoid unnecessary stress, legal battles, and expenses.
Your healthcare and long-term care needs are met, without delays or financial hardships.
Your estate is distributed according to your wishes, without costly court interference.

The best time to create an estate plan is now. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Take Action Today

An effective estate plan is critical for you and your family.

Avoid last-minute stress, legal disputes, and unnecessary financial burdens.

📞Contact us today to make a plan

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St.,
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
#Estate Plan #Probate #Will #Trust

Probate is hard - We can help

4/25/2025

Probate is Hard: Don’t Go Through It Alone

Losing a loved one is among the most painful and challenging experiences any family will face. In the midst of grief, survivors are confronted with unfamiliar legal responsibilities, financial logistics, and a seemingly endless list of tasks—all while trying to support one another and process their loss.

Oregon probate is complex and navigating it almost always requires an attorney. Attempting to go it alone often leads to avoidable mistakes that cost time, money, and more grief.

No Will (Intestate)
Without a Will, Oregon’s intestacy statutes dictate how assets are distributed. Probate will determine the rightful legal heirs.

With a Will (Testate)
With a valid Will, probate is still required to ensure the assets are distributed according to their decedent’s wishes. The court oversees the process confirming it is done properly and legally.

Priorities
The best thing you can do in those early days is to take care of each other. Focus on honoring your loved one and managing immediate needs. When you're ready, reach out to a probate attorney who can ease the legal burden.

Probate is hard—Help is here when you need it.

📞 When you are ready, Contact us

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
#Probate #Will

Everyone needs an Estate Plan

4/18/2025

Estate Planning is for Everyone

You have an estate — Your home, car, bank account, life insurance, retirement funds.

And yes, it needs a plan.

Why Plan?
🔹 Estate planning is more than who inherits
🔹 An estate plan is proactive protection for you and your loved ones during your lifetime - even temporary incapacity
🔹 When life throws you the unexpected, someone needs pre-authority to step in and manage things

Your Plan Should Reflect Your Life
🔹 Every estate is different. Single individuals may face more planning complexity than a married couple
🔹 Blended families require thoughtful documentation
🔹 And don’t forget aging parents, loved ones with special needs, or even pets—they all depend on your foresight

The Bottom Line?
You do have an estate
Your estate has unique needs
A Plan = Peace of mind and protection for loved ones

📞 Contact us today to build a custom estate plan that fits your life.

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
#Probate #Will #Trust

Great news for trusts!

4/11/2025

GREAT REASON TO HAVE A TRUST!

Simplified probate available for assets outside of trusts!

What’s Changed?
Oregon’s new Simple Estate Affidavit allows a shorter, easier probate process for assets that accidentally fall outside a trust.

The key? You must have a trust to take advantage of this new process

Why Does This Matter?
Trusts avoid probate, but for assets not in the trust or with faulty beneficiary designations — probate can still be required.
The Affidavit “assumes” this was a mistake and allows a simplified, lower cost probate

Key Benefits:
✔️ Applies to estates with an existing trust
✔️ Ensures assets are transferred as originally intended
✔️ Significantly reduces probate legal and court fees

Planning Your Estate? A trust is more important than ever! Secure your estate plan today and gain peace of mind for your loved ones.

📞 Have questions? Contact us today!

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
101 SW Washington St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
#EstatePlanning #ProbateSimplified #Trust #OregonLaw #GoodNews #FinancialPlanning

When adding your home to a Trust - You MUST update your home insurance

4/3/2025

🔥 Does Your Insurance Cover your Home in a Trust 🔥

The California wildfires highlighted a major requirement overlooked by Trustees --
If your property is in a Trust, but your insurance policy doesn’t reflect it, your claim could be denied!

Why This Matters: When you transfer your home into a Trust, the trustee becomes the legal owner. But if your insurance policy still lists only your personal name, your coverage might not apply when you need it most.

How to Make Sure You're Protected:
📌 Update Your Policy – Let your insurer know your home is in a Trust and ensure the Trust is listed as an additional insured party.
📌 Double-Check Coverage – Review your policy to confirm the right parties are named.
📌 Make Necessary Adjustments – Both the Trust and trustee(s) should be included in the policy.
📌 Stay Ahead of Changes – Laws and policies evolve, so regular check ins can save you from unexpected issues.

The best time to fix a coverage gap is before disaster strikes. A quick review now could prevent major headaches later!

McKean & Knaupp Attorneys, LLC
503-846-0707
Mckeanknaupp.com