In Oregon there is (with rare exceptions) no such thing as community property.
However, property that is acquired during a marriage, unless it is acquired by inheritance, is generally subject to division upon a divorce.
Under Oregon law, upon reaching a certain age, a home owner can often defer real estate taxes.
There are limits to these deferrals.
Long term care insurance can increase the amount of assets you can keep when you qualify for Medicaid.
Long term care insurance can also increase the amount you can protect from estate recovery after you die, if you have been on Medicaid.
Sometimes a person wants to draft a new will or trust, or make changes to their existing estate plan including their existing will or trust.
In most cases, this should not be a problem.
Sometimes people have a child that they want to help become established in a home.
In some cases, rather than giving the child a down payment, or the like, there is a desire to simply transfer a house that the parent already owns to the child.
A probate is conducted when a person has died, and has property or assets that need to be administered and transferred to the heirs and beneficiaries.
Some people mistakenly believe that once a Power of Attorney has been signed, the person who signed the Power of Attorney is protected against undue influence.
This is, quite simply, wrong.
Even though there can be tax benefits to deferring payouts from an IRA or a 401K, sometimes this benefit is a minor benefit when compared with the risks of having the asset distributed directly to someone who may have problems handling money.
For tax reasons, it is often wise to pass IRAs, 401Ks, and other tax deferred assets outside of probate, by making sure the beneficiary designations on these assets name actual individuals.
No document constructed by humans can perfectly resolve all future conflicts.
However, if you are living together, but are not married, a formal Domestic Partnership Agreement can give a great deal of predictability to the eventual dissolution of the relationship.