First, the boring stuff: I graduated in 2003 from the University of Hawaii with a B.A. in Liberal Studies, which was a self-designed Political Science/Legal Studies major. From there, I went to UH's William S. Richardson School of Law, where I had the privilege of being selected to be a member of the Hawaii Law Review, and graduated in 2006. I started my own firm in 2008, and have been serving families and businesses in Oregon for 15 years now. I am a member of the Oregon State Bar, as well as the Bar's Estate Planning section. I’m a member of WealthCounsel and ElderCounsel. I’m also a member of the MOB Nation Alliance, a Mom-Owned Business network, and I love working with women and mom business owners.

“I’ve worked with dozens of trusts and estates lawyers here in Portland, and you are the best in your field. There is no one as good as you at what you do.”

— Colleague-turned-client

Now, the real stuff: I did a business exercise a few years ago where I had to ask my friends what they thought my three best qualities are. The word "tenacious" came up many times (probably because I debate and write about politics frequently). So did: honest, direct, intelligent, brave, dedicated and compassionate. These things are all true. I think things through and I say what I mean. I throw myself into all of my projects and I don't give up. And I care very deeply about my family, my friends, my clients, and my communities, and am committed to seeing them happy and successful.

Some people really want to know: I'm an Aquarius with an Aries rising; my Meyers-Briggs is INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging); and my Enneagram type is a 5-wing-4 (Investigator/Individualist).

“You’re known as the estate planning lawyer for the weirdos who never thought they’d be a person who has an estate planning lawyer. ”

— Client

My family is what brought me to own this business. I struggled immensely with the idea of joining a regular law firm and working 60-80 hours a week so that I could enjoy one day a week with my family and maybe two weeks per year, all while putting up with office politics that probably worked against me as a neurodivergent woman and mother. I mean, I could have paid off my student loans faster if I went that route, but it just wasn't for me. So I decided to start my own firm, and it was a very exciting time for me.

My daughters and me doing a creepy graveyard photo shoot. We have fun.

I started with Estate Planning, which was personal for me—my mother died when I was a little girl, and without a plan in place. I knew that bad things happen to good people, and that I needed to plan for the care of my kids and my assets if something happened to me. I brought that personal knowledge into my practice to build comprehensive, personalized plans for my clients. I worried about all of the details and the what-ifs so that they didn't have to do so.

It’s quite likely that I am the only estate planning lawyer in the area who has direct experience with a parent dying when I was a child, and all of the disastrous results that can happen as the result of a failure to plan. My own experiences as a parent have led me to take a special interest in planning for kids (and adults) who are disabled, neurodivergent, and/or mentally ill and may need asset protection so they can retain access to government benefits and be safe from people with predatory motives.

As my practice has expanded to represent all generational levels of estate planning, I’ve incorporated Elder Law into my practice. I’ve dealt with the intricacies and complexities of aging and death in my own family, and I’ve been able to bring that personal experience to my practice helping families to figure out how to pay for assisted living and protect assets through Medicaid and VA Pension Planning, how to ensure that family businesses and cherished properties continue on in the family, how to maximize charitable giving, and how to promote family harmony for generations to come. I’ve also been able to help grieving families to handle the estates of their deceased loved ones, whether that means probate or trust administration. I strategize with the personal representative, trustee, and other professionals; and take care of the tedious legal work so that families have space to process their grief and sort through the personal items of their loved one.

A few years into my practice, I expanded with Business Planning. If Estate Planning was borne from my childhood wounds, Business Planning was borne from the ever-hopeful, optimistic, afraid-and-doing-it-anyway part of my soul. When I became a business owner, I loved everything about it. I truly have the spirit of an entrepreneur and I often infect others with it too. I get what your business means to you. It means that you have a dream, a vision, and hope. It means you've stepped off the beaten path to try to create something better for yourself and your family. It means you've taken risks because you believe they will pay off. I want you to achieve all of that. The work that we do together helps to protect your dream.

When I'm not working, I'm usually: Writing (about politics and personal growth, or working on one of the two books I've been trying to finish forever), spending time with my family, visiting the family farm and vineyard, traveling, trying new places to eat, hiking, riding my Peloton, or working on my school bus that we are converting to an RV. I also have some volunteer work that I do with political campaigns, community building, and homelessness and housing advocacy.

I think about life and death, families, relationships, legacies, values, and building memories a lot. “Begin with the end in mind” has always been one of my favorite pieces of advice. (It’s from The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, by Stephen Covey.)

Thanks for getting to know me. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Honest. Dedicated. Compassionate.

Candice N. Aiston

About

Honest. Dedicated. Compassionate.

Candice N. Aiston