Practice Areas: Estate Planning & Probate, Estate & Trust Litigation, Tax; view more
Licensed in Oregon since: 1991
Education: Lewis & Clark Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2019, 2021 - 2023 Details
Abby Wool Landon focuses her practice largely on estate planning, probate, and administration matters. Although Wool Landon™ is based in Tigard, Oregon, Abby and her team of attorneys and professional staff represent clients not only throughout the greater Portland area and Southwest Washington, but across the states of Oregon and Washington. In addition to being admitted to practice before all Oregon state courts since 1991, she is also admitted to practice in Arizona and Washington.
Ms. Landon’s estate planning practice encompasses the preparation and review of wills, living and irrevocable trusts, advance medical directives, and financial and other types of powers of attorney. Many of her clients have substantial assets and a high net worth, and the plans that Abby helps to create for them involve highly sophisticated, complex strategies like the use of charitable trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, dynasty trusts, lifetime qualified terminable interest trusts and generation-skipping transfer tax trusts. Abby also helps clients who are moving from community property states to Oregon, and vice versa, as well as other cross state border tax and estate planning. Wool Landon also has an 'emerging estate' program for families and individuals with growing assets. These emerging estate plans form the infrastructure that can grow and develop as circumstances change. Abby gets great joy teaching young lawyers how to draft effective estate plans that leave loving families behind.
Ms. Landon advises individuals, limited liability companies and family-limited partnerships. Her work has included the preparation and review of business succession plans, qualified domestic trusts, and prenuptial and postmarital agreements. Abby also works with business attorneys in assisting entrepreneurs with respect to the most appropriate form of legal entity that their prospective new business ventures should operate under and how that will affect their estate plans.
In her probate and estate administration practice, Wool Landon assists clients with the preparation and filing of final estate and income tax returns, will contests, trust disputes, and litigation claims of breaches of fiduciary duties. Abby's experience has most recently included assisting trustees and personal representatives in administering complicated estate plans, often ones that lack liquidity, written so that family disputes are hard to avoid and involve large but illiquid assets. Together with the firm's trial attorney, Abby is skilled at reorganizing troubled estates and obtaining satisfactory outcomes for her clients.
Practice areas
Estate Planning & Probate, Estate & Trust Litigation, Tax: BusinessFocus areas
Estate Planning, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Living Wills, Power of Attorney, Probate & Estate Administration, Tax Law, Trusts, Will Contests, Wills
- 50% Estate Planning & Probate
- 40% Estate & Trust Litigation
- 10% Tax: Business
First Admitted: 1991, Oregon
Professional Webpage: https://www.woollandon.com/the-founder.html
- Oregon Super Lawyer, Estate Planning & Probate, 2012 - 2023, SuperLawyers
- Inducted as a Life Fellow in the American Bar Foundation. Membership in the Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation, 2020, Lifetime American Bar Foundation Fellow, https://www.americanbarfoundation.org/fellows/index.html, 2020
- Ongoing alliance with The Commons Law Group
- Northwest Academy, Board of Directors, Trustee, 2009 - 2012
- Northwest Academy, Board of Directors, Annual Fundraiser
- Northwest Academy, Board of Directors, Member
- Oregon Community Foundation, Metro Council Member, 2008 - 2012
- Better World Club, Board of Directors, Member, 2005 - 2016
- Admitted to Oregon State Bar, 1991
- Admitted to Washington State Bar, 2007
- Admitted to the State Bar of Arizona to better serve my mobile clients, 2019, 2019
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
- Connecticut State Bar Association Annual Meeting Presentation, From State to State: Community Property in Transit, 2019
- Washington State Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust, and Tax Sections
- American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate, and Trust Section
- Multnomah Bar Association
- CCI Enterprises, Board of Directors, Professional Memberships Estate Planning Council of Portland, Member, 2004 - 2007
- OSB Advanced Estate Planning Presenter, Oregon Principal and Income Act, 2019
- Multnomah Bar Foundation, Treasurer, Board of Directors, 2018 - Present
- Oregon State Bar Association (Family Law Section, Tax Section, Estate Planning Section), 1991
- Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland Oregon, J.D., 1991
- Attended 56th Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning., 2023
- Simmons College, B.S.
- Attended 51st Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning, 2017
- Attended 54th Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning, 2020
- Attended 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning, 2019
- Attended 52nd Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning, 2018
- Completed 26 complex estate plans for high net worth clients, developed and customized a "Pass Through" trust relying on US v. Clayton for up to date flexible tax planning for each client. Also supervised and established the Emerging Estate Plan , a flat fee program she developed over a ten year period that creates training opportunities for young associates to learn how to draft simpler plans and to develop and grow with their younger clients, 2018
- Since starting Wool Landon in March 2020, I have continued to work with my long-time high net worth business owners, developing their business succession plans in conjunction with their estate and disability plans. I have added several new high net worth business owner clients: thank you to the advisors working with my current client base who recommend me for my skill at working with complex business structures for succession planning. At Wool Landon we are efficiently managing new plans and updates for clients with assets valued for estate tax purposes between $2M and $15M. We create flexible plans that adapt to change for our clients. Additionally, to ensure that we are a complete solution for planning, administration and related litigation, I am training several young people to take part in the Emerging Estate Planning aspects of our firm services. Training young people is one reason I formed Wool Landon, because they are the future of estate planning and administration. Wool Landon has a unique plan and a bright future, 2020
- Developed unique trust, the "ILIT Plus" TM which allows settlors of grantor trusts to simply hold and manage business assets in an irrevocable trust while a third party trustee manages the policies of life insurance held by the Trustee; helped clients over 60 identify and place high quality life insurance for wealth replacement in these trusts and strategy for managing assets for growth, legacy and transfer tax payment, 2020
- Without a trust protector, your legacy plan isn’t as flexible as the ones we create at Wool Landon. A trust protector is someone whose job it is to protect the terms of a trust from misinterpretation and protect the trust estate and its beneficiaries from the actions of a bad acting, negligent or incompetent trustee. Wool Landon promotes the benefits of appointing and utilizing a trust protector in your legacy plan. , The Best Laid Plans, Financial Advisors, Trust Companies, Legal, 2022
- The U.S. has two property systems for married couples, common law, and community property law. In a common law state a married person is a separate individual with separate legal rights to property and separate tax obligations. Common law states are also called “separate property” states., Common Law versus Community Property Law, Financial Advisors, Trust Companies, Legal, 2023
- You cannot afford to ignore the possibility that you or your loved ones could face a catastrophe. Consider the Emerging Estate Plan: You can afford to hire Wool Landon to help you with your estate and disability plan now. Starting early with the right plan and the right attorney builds a solid foundation for your financial and family legacy. It is never too late or too early to safeguard your family, and we are here to grow with you., Emerging Estate Plans, Financial Advisors, Trust Companies, Legal, 2022
- Estate planning is a journey, not a destination. Wool Landon wants to take that journey with you, and you will be rewarded by establishing a deep and meaningful relationship. Your estate and disability plans are one of your most important accomplishments. These documents represent your final words to your loved ones, your charities, and your community. Estate plans depend entirely on your personal goals and the complexity of your estate. We understand how the process works and can help you find the most favorable solution for you and your family. We create a clear estate and disability plan that will preserve peace amongst your loved ones. We are proud that none our estate plans have ever been through a contentious probate or litigation process., Wool Landon Estate Planning, Financial Advisors, Trust Companies, Legal, 2022
- Wool Landon's Open Door Series invites professionals and their clients into our office for a no charge presentation on important issues related to estate planning, trust administration, and related litigation. "How to Protect Yourselves and the Ones You Love from Elder Abuse" is the first of many 2023-2024 Open Door Series presentations., Moderator, How to Protect Yourselves and the Ones You Love from Elder Abuse, Wool Landon Open Door Series 2023, Legal, Financial Advisors, 2023
- From State to State: Community Property in Transit, Presenter, From State to State: Community Property in Transit, Connecticut State Bar Association annual meeting, Financial Advisors, Trust Companies, Legal, 2019
- Author and Presenter, From State to State: Community Property in Transit, Connecticut State Bar Association Annual Meeting, also presented at the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Professional Advisors Group, Comprehensive review of law applied to community property in separate property states, on death and divorce, and how to preserve the tax benefits when moving from a community property state to a common law state, June 10, 2019, Lawyers; Wealth Managers; CPA's
- Presenter, Building a Magical Legacy to Span Generations: Estate Planning Lessons from Harry Potter
- Survey of US states law applied to cohabitating couples on death and in the event of a breakup; to be presented in Portland at the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Professional Advisors Group in November, and published later in 2020 or early 2021, Co-Author, State to State: Cohabitation, A Guide for the Peripatetic Unmarried Couple, Law; Wealth Managers And CPA's
- Focus of section on applying marital trust income and principal applications, Co-Presenter, Oregon State Bar Advanced Estate Planning; Oregon's Uniform Principal and Income Act, Lawyers, 2019
- "Inside the Minds: Best Practices for Successful Probate Administration,” Strategies for Representing Clients in Probate Court, Author, 2012
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- Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2019, 2021 - 2023
