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I recently discovered that my father passed away in Oregon in 2022, but no one notified me. He was not married and had three surviving children, including myself. He owned a business, his home, and a vehicle. I've been in contact with his sister, who appears to be preparing to sell his house,... View More 
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answered on Apr 3, 2025
Under Oregon law, any person who has custody of a will is required to deliver it to the court with jurisdiction over the estate or to the personal representative named in the will within 30 days of learning of the testator's death. This ensures that wills are properly filed and accessible for... View More
I recently discovered that my father passed away in Oregon in 2022, but no one notified me. He was not married and had three surviving children, including myself. He owned a business, his home, and a vehicle. I've been in contact with his sister, who appears to be preparing to sell his house,... View More
answered on Apr 3, 2025
If you have not received notice of a probate in the mail, then it’s possible that your father may have had a revocable living trust at his death. His sister may be the trustee of the trust with authority to sell the house. If you give me a call I can check for a probate in the Oregon court system... View More
I think my aunt, was not honest. of my dads estate
answered on Jan 24, 2025
If a probate was filed for your Dad's estate it is possible to retrieve a copy of his Will from the probate Court. If not, then you may be able to obtain a copy from the attorney who drafted the Will and/or the attorney who represented your Aunt.
Does the spouse of a grantor of a deed that states "tenancy in common with right of survivorship" have any claim to the property after the grantor dies if one of the co-owners (a grantee) of the property is still living? This is in a non-community state. Does that make the spouse of the... View More
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answered on Jan 12, 2025
The surviving tenant in common will be the owner in fee if what you state is accurate. That tenant in common will be a grantee, not a grantor. The grantors' interest were extinguished by the deed conveyance, so the spouse of a grantor is irrelevant. Hire an OR attorney to search the title.
Does the spouse of a grantor of a deed that states "tenancy in common with right of survivorship" have any claim to the property after the grantor dies if one of the co-owners (a grantee) of the property is still living? This is in a non-community state. Does that make the spouse of the... View More
answered on Jan 13, 2025
I recommend you have an attorney review this Deed for you. It sounds to me like this property is owned by (likely) two people (the Grantees) with a right of survivorship. This means that if one owner dies the remaining owner continues to own 100% of the property. The spouse of the deceased owner... View More
He moved to the Philippines after a bad divorce from his 7th wife. He passed away in 2013. He never announced to anyone in the USA that he married again in the Philippines. I was contacted several months ago by Fidelity to let me know that he had a retirement that I could collect. I had everything... View More
answered on Jan 7, 2025
If your father's retirement account is not subject to the Retirement Equity Act (REA) and he named you and your brother as beneficiaries then you should be able to receive the money even if he was married at the time of his death. The only way you can find out is to fill out the Fidelity... View More
She sends him 150 dollars a week on a card. The will clearly stated upon my death, but he has received no money other than the 150 a week which he cannot live on. She has repeatedly threatened to sell the house which was left to him.
answered on Nov 4, 2024
It's possible that your friend could go to Court to have the Trustee removed. However, the most cost-effective thing is for him to work with the Trustee. It's a very good idea for your friend to hire a probate attorney to review the Trust and advise him of his rights. If the trust is... View More
The language:
In Article VI, C Mom's will says "I authorize and empower my Personal Representative to seland transfer any or all of my property, real and personal as I the discretion of my Personal Representative may reasonably be necessary for the payment of claims, expenses of... View More
answered on Oct 25, 2024
Please accept my condolences for your mom's passing. Unfortunately, that provision in your mom's Will doesn't avoid the probate process. The person (or company) named as Personal Representative has no authority until they are appointed by the probate Court.
Some assets may... View More
The language:
In Article VI, C Mom's will says "I authorize and empower my Personal Representative to seland transfer any or all of my property, real and personal as I the discretion of my Personal Representative may reasonably be necessary for the payment of claims, expenses of... View More
answered on Oct 24, 2024
Probate is not always necessary. For example, if the deceased person owned bank accounts or property with another person, the surviving co-owner often will then own that property automatically. If a person dies leaving very few assets, such as personal belongings or household goods, these items can... View More
In determining the cash on hand for a trust, the bank has $66k, together with payment of $33k made by said person/beneficiary, is $99k to be divided in 3 equal shares, = $33k per beneficiary. Then the $33k is subtracted from the beneficiary share? How is that?
answered on Oct 2, 2024
To give you an accurate answer an attorney would need a lot more information. However, based on what you have written it sounds like one beneficiary owes the Trust $33,000 and the Trust bank account holds $66,000. Since the Trust is evidently to be split in three equal shares, the beneficiary who... View More
answered on Sep 6, 2024
You should receive an annual trustee's report. Upon your request the trustee has a reasonable time to provide you with relevant trust information. Depending on the complexity of the trust assets and what information you have requested I would expect a response in three to six weeks.... View More
If there is no power of attorney or will. Even after in the beginning the friend was allowed to make decisions for the family member when the said patient first was in the hospital?
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answered on Jun 13, 2024
A "friend", whether it is a romantic partner or a life long friend or even man's best friend, has no rights to make end of life decisions unless that person is named in an advance directive as the decision maker. The hospital will have a procedure it follows for making these crucial... View More
Would go to my daughter. He is getting married at the end of this month and my daughter is concerned. How do I protect her interest.
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answered on Jun 5, 2024
That marriage will give spouse rights. Why did your lawyer not get you a life estate/remainder deed at the divorce hearing? You might record a certified copy of the divorce decree in the County of the house, but the surviving spouse might try to ignore it. A contempt action probably does not... View More
Would go to my daughter. He is getting married at the end of this month and my daughter is concerned. How do I protect her interest.
answered on Jun 7, 2024
You will need an attorney to review your final Divorce Decree. My guess is that it doesn't actually say this because there are only a limited number of ways to control the house. It could have gone into a Trust for your daughter with the ability for your ex-spouse to live there for his... View More
My sister controls my mother's estate. After she passed it was oral arrangement that we all decided to go with an even spit no problem for the first 18 months but then 18 months ago my sis just stopped paying me and now refuses to pay me ever again
answered on May 7, 2024
An Oregon attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for two weeks. While some questions can go unanswered on this forum, you might have better chances of a response by adding the headings "Probate" and "Estate Planning." While it's possible that your matter... View More
We live in Oregon. No Will or Trusts. Want to avoid any probate issues.
answered on Apr 24, 2024
As long as you and your wife own the house "as husband and wife" or "as tenants by the entirety" on the Deed then the house will automatically go to the surviving spouse. They will just need to record the Death Certificate with the County to clear title. If your Deed does not... View More
We have no Will or Trusts. No kids. Want a clean/fast transfer of my 50% ownership to her.
answered on Apr 24, 2024
The answer to your question depends on the wording on the Deed for the cabin. It's possible that the Deed includes language like "with right of survivorship." In that case, if you die first, the other 50% owner will automatically inherit your share of the cabin. If the Deed does... View More
My mother died in Oregon but had a couple of small (<$2k) bank accounts in California. Do I have to file in California to claim this property? What about an out-of-state pension to which I have a claim on the residue? Can I just file a Small Estate Affidavit here in Oregon, get appointed... View More
answered on Apr 24, 2024
If the bank has a branch in Oregon then you are probably fine filing a Simple Estate Affidavit (we recently changed the name from Small Estate Affidavit), however, when you file this type of probate you are not appointed as Personal Representative. You just order a certified copy of the Affidavit... View More
I believe the trustee of my mother's trust is committing fraud. I suspect he has fabricated an invoice from an attorneys office, says he retained the attorney for an appeal. ( There was no appeal after probate hearings) there's a check made out to attorney for $4000.00 that looks fake. If... View More
answered on Apr 23, 2024
You could certainly inform the attorney of your suspicions. However, he will probably not be able to tell you if he has been retained by the Trustee due to attorney/client privilege rules. You can ask the Trustee for a copy of the front and back of the check that has been processed by the bank.... View More
answered on Apr 23, 2024
A Last Will and Testament only controls assets that need to go through probate after the testator's death. This means that any assets that were given away, sold or that had a joint owner or beneficiary named are not controlled by the Will. If the person signed a Deed that was recorded before... View More
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