Brent was born in Spokane, Washington, at Fairchild Air Force Base and grew up in Cottage Grove, Oregon. He has lived in Central Oregon since graduating law school in 1993.
Practice Areas
Brent’s estate planning practice covers a variety of matters including wills, trusts, probate, trust administration, charitable planning, and estate tax planning (including complex planning techniques such as insurance trusts, generation-skipping trusts, gifting strategies, and other advanced planning mechanisms). Brent draws on his experience to help families transition businesses, minimize transfer taxes and costs, and plan for incapacity and death. Brent advises families about asset management for children, divorce and creditor protection, education trusts, and providing for the special needs of children or other family members. Brent also provides counsel to trustees, personal representatives and other fiduciaries, including representation in probate court, administration of trusts, and preparation of state and federal estate and gift tax returns. He also has a general business practice that includes a wide range of transactions and emphasizes entity formation, acquisitions and sales of businesses, commercial leasing, real estate transactions, and community association law.
Education
Brigham Young University
B.A. English, cum laude, 1990
University of Washington
J.D., Order of the Coif, with honors, 1993
Bar Admissions
- Oregon
Professional Activities
Brent is a frequent speaker to fellow professionals and the public on various aspects of estate planning and business law. He is a member of the Oregon State Bar and Deschutes County Bar Association, as well as the Business, Estate Planning and Elder Law Sections of the Oregon State Bar. He is also a member of the Central Oregon Estate Planning Council. Brent has authored the “Unenforceability” Chapter of the Oregon State Bar’s Contracts CLE and chapters of various estate planning CLE publications to educate fellow legal professionals.
Off the Job
Brent and his wife Peggy are parents to three grown children. Brent and Peggy can often be found trail-jogging and wandering outdoors in Central Oregon. Brent is also fluent in French and enjoys reading French and English literature, history, and whatever else he can get his hands on. Brent is active in the community, having served on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club and as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America. He currently serves on his church council and as legal counsel to the Central Oregon Center for the Performing Arts. Community service is a family affair at Brent’s house, as Peggy served 12 years on the Bend-La Pine School Board (including three years as chair) and currently serves as chair of the Board of the High Desert Education Service District.