Fitzwater Law is open and ready to help you with your estate planning!
 

During this challenging time we know that you worry about your family and what would happen if your wishes were not in place.  Fitzwater Law is here to help.  We are offering expedited estate planning services with a quick turn-around time, meetings with our attorneys by phone or video conferencing and remote signings.
 

For current estate planning clients, you don’t have to come into the office to complete your Will or...

An Update from Fitzwater Law,
 

In this challenging period, we have two primary goals. First, to keep employees, clients and our community healthy.  Second, to continue to provide our clients with effective and efficient legal representation.
 
To support the first objective, we have taken the following steps. Our office will remain open, but with many employees working remotely. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as needed. Be assured, as part of our business continuity plan, w...

At Fitzwater Law, the safety and well-being of our clients, our staff and our community is our number one priority. 
 

Due to concerns for our clients who may be at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 (coronavirus), our office is a handshake-free zone. For your safety, our reception area and conference rooms are disinfected between appointments and hand sanitizer, tissues and masks are available upon request. 
 

To ensure the health of our clients and staff, we ask that if you are experiencing fev...

Lately more of our estate planning clients are choosing Revocable Living Trusts instead of Wills. Several factors are influencing those decisions. If you currently have a Will, you might benefit from an update.

A Common Misconception
 

One common misconception is that a Will avoids probate.  A Will provides instructions regarding who will be in charge of your estate and who will receive your assets at your death. However, probate is still required for any assets that are distributed under t...

Fitzwater Law is located in Portland, Oregon, often working in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Don’t let our location fool you, we have many clients across the state including in Marion, Polk, Lane, Coos, Columbia and Union counties. Fitzwater Law is dedicated to helping clients all over Oregon with their legal needs. Our nine attorneys provide friendly, responsive, and high-quality legal counsel for estate planning, special needs, probate, guardianship/conservatorship, a...

What is an EPPDAPA Restraining Order?
 

How Do I request an EPPDAPA Restraining Order?

The Office of the State Court Administrator has prepared instructions and forms for persons seeking a restraining order under EPPDAPA. The forms can be accessed here: EPPDAPA Form.

The filing of a Petition begins the process for requesting a Restraining Order. The Petition must be filed in either the county where you live (or for Guardian Petitioners, the county where the elderly/disabled person lives) or th...

What is an EPPDAPA Restraining Order?
 

EPPDAPA stands for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act. This Oregon Act provides a process where an Elderly Person or a Person with Disabilities can request from the court a restraining order against a person who is threatening or abusing the elderly/disabled person. 
 

A Restraining Order is an order from the court that stops a person from threatening or abusing an elderly/disabled person, and requires the abuser to stay away...

This checklist is intended to outline several basic steps you can take prior to meeting with an attorney. This checklist is not exhaustive and should not be substituted for proper legal advice from an experienced probate attorney.

1. Funeral Arrangements.
Make funeral arrangements; request certified death certificates from funeral provider.

2. Estate Planning Documents.
Locate estate planning documents (Will, Codicils, Trust, Trust Amendments).

3. Keys.
Locate keys for home, automobiles, safe d...

The SECURE Act was passed into law at the end of 2019 and went into effect on January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act makes sweeping changes to the rules for distributions from retirement plans.  First, the age that an owner of a retirement plan must start withdrawing the funds from the account (and paying the resulting income taxes) has risen to age 72.  Second, and more importantly from an estate planning perspective, the SECURE Act makes dramatic changes to the way children and other beneficiari...

President Trump has signed a spending bill that makes major changes to retirement plans. The new law is designed to provide more incentives to save for retirement, but it may require workers to rethink some of their planning. 
 

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act changes the law surrounding retirement plans in several ways

• Stretch IRAS. The biggest change eliminates “stretch” IRAs. Under current law, if you name anyone other than a spouse as the...