How to Create a Living Trust in Oregon

Estate planning offers multiple approaches, with creating a living trust being one of the most popular and beneficial methods. A living trust can help your loved ones avoid the probate process, providing them with a smoother transition and potentially saving time and money. It’s a proactive step toward ensuring your wishes are clearly honored. To establish a living trust in Oregon, it’s a good idea to understand some of the key details and specific steps involved. If you’re exploring estate planning options, a financial advisor can provide tailored guidance and support to help you meet your personal objectives.

How to Create a Living Trust in Oregon

The process for creating a living trust in the Beaver State would generally follow the steps below:

Figure out which type of trust you need to make. There are single trusts, which is what you’ll likely use if you’re single. Married couples have the choice between a single trust and a joint trust. A joint trust is a good option if you want to place jointly owned property, like cars and homes, in your trust.
Do a property inventory. You need to know exactly what you own and what you want to store in the living trust. You can put a wide range of assets and property into a living trust, including real estate, bank accounts, family heirlooms, jewelry, mutual funds and bonds. This is also a good time to gather any relevant paperwork, such as certificates of stock ownership or car titles.
Choose your trustee. In the state of Oregon, any adult, including yourself, can be a trustee, as can an Oregon bank or trust company. If you pick yourself, you also need to name a successor trustee to take over after you’ve passed or if you become incapacitated. This is also a good time to determine who you want to give your property to once you’ve passed. In addition to managing your trust, your trustee (or successor trustee) will be responsible for ensuring your estate is doled out according to your trust’s instructions.
Draw up the trust document. You can do this by yourself, or you can hire an attorney to help you.
Sign the trust document. This must be done in front of a notary public.
Fund the trust by transferring your property into it. It’s possible to do this on your own, but it can be complicated. Getting a lawyer can make it easier.

What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust is a legal framework into which property can be placed. Every trust has a trustee who is in charge of managing the trust and distributing the trust’s property as directed. You can name yourself as the trustee or give that job to someone else.

There are two types of living trusts:

An irrevocable trust is permanent. Property cannot be removed from an irrevocable living trust without permission from everyone named in the trust. Because property is completely turned over to the trust, taxes are paid from the trust.
A revocable trust is more forgiving. With this type of trust, the grantor can modify the trust at their discretion. The grantor maintains ownership of the property within the trust and pays taxes on it directly.

How Much Does It Cost to Create a Living Trust in Oregon?

The cost of establishing a living trust in Oregon varies based on the method you choose. If you opt for an online service to create it yourself, the expense may be under $100. While this is the more affordable route, it comes with the potential risks associated with DIY estate planning.

Alternatively, hiring an attorney provides professional guidance, but comes at a higher cost, often exceeding $1,000. The total expense will depend on your attorney’s fees, the complexity of your estate, your specific planning goals and whether tax planning services are required. If you decide to work with a lawyer, ensure they specialize in trusts. This will help you get the most effective estate planning support.

Why Get a Living Trust in Oregon?

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Getting a trust can make life easier for your family once you’ve passed. That’s because property stored inside a living trust is not subject to probate. Probate is a time-consuming legal process that property not placed in a trust must undergo. Although the process is intended to ensure the deceased’s property is properly disposed of, the process can be lengthy and costly.

A living trust is especially helpful in a state like Oregon, which does not use the Uniform Probate Code, a system that simplifies the probate system in other states. However, Oregon does offer the simplified process of summary probate for estates worth $275,000 or less, as long as no more than $200,000 of that amount is real estate.

Aside from avoiding the probate process, there are a few other reasons a living trust may be useful. It can make it easier to give property to a minor, as the property can be held in the trust until the child reaches a certain age. A trust can also help you avoid conservatorship in the event you become incapacitated. That’s because you’ll have already named a trustee to manage your affairs.

Who Should Get a Living Trust in Oregon?

Contrary to common misconceptions, trusts are not just for the wealthy. Particularly large or complicated estates may be especially well served by a living trust. In Oregon, though, even smaller and simpler estate may be benefit from a living trust as the state does not use the Uniform Probate Code. However, note that estates worth $275,000 or less will already undergo the simpler process of summary probate. Other things to take into an account when weighing whether to get a living trust is whether or not you have dependents.

It’s important to ensure that the upsides of getting a living trust outweigh the downsides, as there are some cons to getting a living trust. They are generally more expensive and more difficult to form than just writing a will. They can also make things more difficult after you die because the time period to contest a living trust is longer than it is for other estates.

Living Trusts vs. Wills

Even if you have a living trust, you’ll still need a will. A will can direct any property that’s not placed inside the trust and that must still go through the probate process. Moreover, wills can do some things living trusts cannot. For instance, a will is capable of naming an executor and providing instructions on how to pay certain taxes and debts. If you have children who are still minors, a will allows you to establish guardianship for your children and name managers for your children’s property.

The table below provides a more comprehensive comparison of what the two documents can do:

Living Trusts vs. Will

Task	Living Trusts	Wills
Names a property beneficiary	Yes	Yes
Allows revisions to be made	Depends on type	Yes
Avoids probate court	Yes	No
Requires a notary	Yes	No
Names guardians for children	No	Yes
Names an executor	No	Yes
Requires witnesses	No	Yes

Living Trusts and Taxes in Oregon

It is unlikely that a living trust will impact your taxes. It can’t hurt, though, to look into the Oregon estate tax and the Oregon inheritance tax when you’re planning your estate. Remember that estate tax is levied on the estate before it’s distributed, whereas inheritance tax is paid by heirs after the estate has been distributed.

The Oregon estate tax applies to estates worth more than $1 million. The rate runs from 10% to 16%. The federal estate tax may also apply. It is levied on estates worth more than $13.99 million per individual in 2025. That amount is doubled for married couples.

There is no inheritance tax in Oregon.

Bottom Line

A living trust can be especially helpful in a state like Oregon that doesn’t use the Uniform Probate Code. Because of this, the probate process may be especially time-consuming in the Beaver State. If you want to create a living trust in Oregon, you’ll have to devote some time to planning and paperwork. You can do it alone, but it may be helpful to find a lawyer to help you set one up. This will be much more expensive though. Remember that whether or not you opt to create a living trust, you’ll likely still need a will.

Estate Planning Tips

Whether you have questions about creating a trust or investing your wealth, it might make sense to work with a financial advisor. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Think carefully when naming the executor of your estate. This person will have a big job and be responsible for getting everything you own to the right people. Make sure you pick someone who is up for the job.
You’ll want to know exactly how much money you’ll have when planning your estate. That includes knowing how much money you’ll be getting from the government in retirement. Get an estimate using our Social Security calculator.