Her part of Germany is known as the world headquarters for precision medical instruments making . . . but before you [...]]]> As a town that appreciates cottage industries (especially if they brew beer) and celebrates living locally, we may want to consider adopting Bea Weiss-Krull’s home town Tuttlingen Germany as our sister city.

Her part of Germany is known as the world headquarters for precision medical instruments making . . . but before you start envisioning well swept, well kept large German factories, you should hear how Bea (pronounced just like the letter B) tells it. It was a surprise to me to learn that most of the instruments are made by a husband and wife team in their own home or small operations of 5-10 people that will often employ both a husband and wife. The need for only a small number of each type of instrument made very, very well keeps the industry going strong on such a small scale.

Bea found her way to the United States 17years ago because an American medical instruments supplier valued her connections and bilingual skills that helped them contact these mom and pop ventures and secure shipments for their customers. She started law school in Chicago at The John Marshall School of Law and, like so many of the rest of us, spent a fateful long weekend in Portland (that included an inspiring trip to Powell’s). That brief taste of Portland left her and her husband determined to find a way to move out west for good.

She completed her law degree at Lewis and Clark College and, because of her 6 and 4 year old daughters, she found our co-op through DoJump classes. Like all parents, her kids keep her busy and active . . . in her case with a special twist. Both her daughters were born with Classic Galactosemia, a hereditary inability to metabolize the simple sugar galactose (in all milk and milk products). If you have a life altering health challenge in your family you may find inspiration in her blog about living with Galactosemia at http://galactopdx.blogspot.com/ .

As a parent of children with special needs and as a lawyer specializing in estate planning, Bea knows that every family is unique. There is no one size fits all way to write up wills, trusts, durable power of attorney, nomination of guardian or custodian or those important domestic partnership agreements for same sex and unmarried male/female couples. There is, however, great peace of mind in her flat fee style of working with clients. Depending on the simplicity or complexity of your needs, most of the legal documents she provides range in cost from $500 to $2000 and she includes plenty of ongoing contact without extra bills for her time.

Bea has helped countless families figure out the pros and cons of wills vs. trusts. Though we don’t even want to think of the possibility, she does a very good job of making sure our children have clear places to go and accessible funding for their future should tragedy strike.

While Bea’s 4 year old daughter Mia Rose finished up her DoJump class last Monday afternoon and her oldest daughter Alena made really good use of our arts and crafts supplies, our conversation shifted from family to business law. Portlanders are always starting up new ventures and Bea’s other specialty is small business formation. So if you are trying to take care of your family and manage your livelihood at the same time, you won’t have to find two lawyers to do both.

It all starts with a phone call – at no cost. For estate planning, Bea sends you a questionnaire and then sets up an initial meeting. Just like the medical instrument makers of her youth, she works from her home – conveniently close by to us at 58th and Hawthorne. She also has a 5th Avenue office downtown but most of her client meetings are right in your home (so you don’t have to get a sitter to see her). She has evening and weekend appointments for working families.

Convenient, local resources we can count on that bring some peace of mind to our lives, that’s what the Roost sponsorship program is all about. Thank you Bea for supporting the Roost and supporting SE families’ legal needs.

Beate’ (Bea) Weiss-Krull – Attorney at Law 1001 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1100

Portland, Oregon 97204

503.234.0355

info @ weisskrull-law.com

To see all of our Roost sponsorship resources, go to the Swap Shop website: www.sunnysideswapshop.org and click on the business icons on the home page or the main sponsors tab for our swap shop write ups and contact information.