McMinnville, Oregon | Yamhill County Area
Estate Planning • Trust Administration • Probate Law
We make house calls. (503) 472-5141
From the smallest estate with few assets to tax planning for large, taxable estates, Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C. offers comprehensive estate planning, trust services, and probate administration. We have generations of experience and community involvement to anticipate the needs of clients and provide full-service legal representation.
Attorneys Douglas Fredricks and Dianne Haugeberg have more than 30 years of combined legal experience. Our McMinnville, Oregon firm is the oldest law firm in the state, and we guard our hard-earned reputation by continually striving to provide quality legal counsel to families in Yamhill County and throughout northern Oregon.
Estate Planning
At Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C., we encourage every family or individual to have a will, even if you think you have no assets. A simple will and testament assures that your estate will pass through probate court in an efficient and cost-effective manner for surviving family. It also spells out your wishes so that any possessions go to those you designate, instead of those chosen by a probate judge.
The will includes durable powers of attorney for financial decisions if you become incapable of making those decisions through illness or injury, as well as living wills and health care power of attorney for medical decisions on your behalf.
For families with significant assets, Mr. Fredricks and Mrs. Haugeberg provide knowledgeable tax planning and asset protection planning to avoid or minimize gift taxes and estate taxes in transferring assets from one generation to the next.
Trusts and Trust Administration
Family assets can be shielded from taxes, transferred to spouses or children, and designated for care for minor children or family members with special needs. Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C. counsels clients on establishing a variety of trusts for various goals:
Revocable living trusts
Testamentary trusts
Irrevocable life insurance trusts
Special needs trusts
Conservatorships and legal guardianships to see that all needs of a family member are met (personal, financial, medical)
We provide ongoing trust management services to ensure that assets are preserved and growing through appropriate investments. Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C. offers a free annual review of trust assets that advises clients of any changes in the law or recommendations.
We have two full-time legal assistances who work directly with clients to manage these important assets. Sandy Parr handles probate and trust administration issues and Diann Conser assists clients in asset transfers and other trust administration.
Probate Administration and Probate Law
When a loved one dies, Mr. Fredricks and Mrs. Haugeberg assist the personal representative (executor) in settling the affairs of the estate, including distribution and liquidation of assets, payment of debts and taxes, and satisfying other probate court requirements. We advise on trust administration issues to speed the probate process and assure smooth transfer of assets to surviving spouses or children.
Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C. also handles any litigation arising from the probate process. This might be a will contest if heirs dispute the validity of the will, or allegations of mismanagement or fraud by the personal representative. We can represent any party in probate litigation.
Contact our Yamhill County estate planning and probate lawyers to discuss wills, trusts, asset administration, estate tax planning, or estate administration.
The law firm of Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C. is a full-service law practice based in The McMinnville, Oregon. We offer diverse legal services to clients in Yamhill County, Marion County, Washington County, Polk County, and Lincoln County, including the communities of Newberg, Lincoln City, Salem, Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Dallas, Carlton, Lafayette, Monmouth, Amity, Yamhill, Dayton, Sherwood, Silverton, Wilsonville, and Willamina.
Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks, Higgins & McKeegan, P.C.
Oregon’s Oldest Law Firm
620 NE 5th Street (P.O. Box 480)
McMinnville, OR 97128
Phone: (503) 472-5141 | Fax: (503) 472-4713
