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| Oregon Rules of Intestacy Succession |  |
Regardless how much you have, an estate plan enables you to decide who gets what. Without an estate plan, state law rules apply. Under state law, there is no discretion and almost no exceptions, regardless of your personal situation. The following are the Oregon state rules that apply. These are the general rules, and there are a few exceptions. If you want to know how the rules would apply to your specific situation, I recommend you talk with a lawyer. If you want your home, personal property and other assets to be distributed differently, you need an estate plan.
LEGALLY MARRIED OR FILED DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
If you are legally married or have a filed domestic partnership agreement, generally, your spouse gets everything. However, if you have children from a prior marriage, then your spouse gets half of your estate and all of your children share the other half.
NOT LEGALLY MARRIED AND NO FILED DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
In general, Oregon does not recognize common law marriage. Therefore, if you are living with someone, even if it has been for an extended period of time, that individual will not get a share of your estate without a will or other legally enforceable designation.
If you have children, everything goes to the children. If any of your children do not survive you, but leave surviving children of their own, then those grandchildren would share the deceased child’s share.
If you have children, everything goes to the children. If any of your children do not survive you, but leave surviving children of their own, then those grandchildren would share the deceased child’s share.
If you do not have children, then your parent(s), if they survive you, would receive your estate.
If you do not have children and your parents do not survive you, your assets would be split equally among your brothers and sisters. If any of your brothers and/or sisters die before you, but had children who are still living, then those nieces and nephews generally would split the share that would have been received by their parent (your brother/sister who died before you).
If you do not have any surviving children, grandchildren, parents or siblings, then the state will look for more distant relatives. If the state cannot find any other relatives, the state takes possession of your money, your home and your personal belongings
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