Q: My father passed away over 10 years ago. I am his daughter. What rights do I have as his beneficiary in Oregon?
I was a minor when he passed and he was not legally married to my mother, but did sign my birth certificate declaring him as my father. My mom told me that he did have life insurance and that I was on it as his beneficiary. I have no idea why I wasn't contacted in regards to this policy, or what happened to his estate, if anything was left. I do not believe he had a will, so I do not know the proceedings of a death with no will and how that would affect me. Was I owed anything and could I get it back if it had been turned over to the state? I do not know what to do and need guidance on this situation.
A: It's possible that you have some rights in regards to your father's estate but I don't have enough facts to know for sure. If he died without a Will then you are one of his intestate heirs. However, this is only helpful if he owned assets that needed to go through probate (assets in his name alone without a beneficiary named). I recommend you hire a probate attorney to 1) look for an Oregon probate that might have been filed in the last 10 years, 2) investigate any interest you may have in life insurance. It is important for your mother to provide you with as many details as possible regarding the life insurance and any other assets she may believe he owned. Good luck!
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
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