I am retiring in less then 2 years, have not done any estate planning, and am relocating, upon retirement, to Oregon.

If you have not done any estate planning, I would strongly urge you to contact a qualified estate planning attorney who is licensed in California as soon as possible. Your estate plan has to work when needed e.g. in the event of your incapacity or upon your death. Since no one can see into the future, there is way to know when that time may come. If you wait until retirement and something happens to you in the meantime, your family and your assets will be deprived of the benefits and protections that a comprehensive estate plan can provide. Furthermore, depending on how you own your assets your estate may be subject to Probate, which in California is quite costly. There a whole number of other areas that your estate plan can also address, including tax minimization and asset protection.

Estate planning should be seen as an ongoing process not a one-time event. Your assets, circumstances will change over time and so will the estate and tax laws. Your estate plan should therefore be reviewed and updated from time to time. If and when you move to Oregon, you should review your estate plan with an Oregon attorney and update it as needed.

Best of luck.

Generally I agree with Mr. Constant's advice that you need to get an estate plan in place not knowing what each day may hold. An important issue that I am sure you are wondering about is what happens if I do the estate plan in CA and then move to OR, will I have to pay to redo the whole plan? A very good question. As a general rule state law provides that if a document is valid when and where executed (CA), it will be valid in the new state of residence (OR) - even if the document execution instructions are different, etc. It is, of course, a good idea to have the docs reviewed by a local attorney - shouldn't take more than an hour - to make sure any peculiar OR laws are complied with. Congrats on retirement and good luck.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Mr. Post is licensed to practice law in KS and MO. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter within the question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that if known could significantly change the reply unsuitable. Mr. Post strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in their state in order to ensure proper advice is received.

It you are planning on retiring in the State of Oregon, then you need to locate an estate attorney in Oregon when you retire there. There are many reasons but mainly if you live in one state and die in another, the possibility of your owning property in the state you die in is usually greater than the state you previously lived in. Also you would probably want the state you die in to govern the property that you own there for tax purposes. Insofar as an executor is planned, check the laws in Oregon. Your executor may not qualify to probate your estate in another state. There may be a statute that will not qualify a nonresident unless the person is in someway related to the deceased. Therefore if you named a friend, the state may not allow them to be your personal representative.
Aside from that, there are certain tax problems that should be addressed. IN the meantime, while you are in California, I would suggest you get something going in California in the event of early demise. So in the short term you may have to redo it all in another state, it is better to be safe than sorry.

You are wise to ask these questions before you move and not after!

Everyone has made good points in their replies. Since you have indicated you are married, one distinguishing difference between your planning in California and Oregon is that California is a community property state and Oregon is a separate property state. The most significant estate planning aspect of that distinction is the treatment of basis upon the death of the first spouse.

When you move to Oregon, you want to be able to preserve the character of your "community property" assets so you will qualify for a double step up in basis on the first death.

Another point, which is often overlooked when the topic of "estate planning" comes up, is the possibility of your incapacity. Who will have access to your financial resources to provide for your care if one of you dies and the other is incapacitated? A Will, which everyone seems to be addressing, will not help you, and unless you have a valid, up to date Power of Attorney, you will be looking at a court controlled conservatorship for the manage of your financial affairs.

I would suggest you discuss the advantages of creating a revocable living trust centered plan with your California attorney that will allow you to address incapacity as well as death planning issues, allowing you to avoid both a conservatorship and the probate of your estate. As a part of that discussion you should ask about any other documents you will need to make sure those you have designated to "help" you will be properly empowered to provide the appropriate assistance, including HIPAA releases to allow access to private health care information. How general health care and end of life decisions might be made when you can't, as well as preserving the community character of your property when you move to Oregon should also be a part of that discussion.

On a final note, be sure to talk with your tax advisor and your attorney about estate taxes. California has no personal inheritance tax at this time but Oregon estates are taxable at $1 million per person. Under current law, a non-taxable estate in California could easily become a taxable estate in Oregon if you don't plan properly.

Congratulation on your retirement!