Title 12, Probate Law

(1) A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, executed after January 1, 1974, shall be established only by: (a) Provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract; (b) An express reference in a will to a contract an…

(1) Except as provided in this section, an in terrorem clause in a will is valid and enforceable. If a devisee contests a will that contains an in terrorem clause that applies to the devisee, the court shall enforce the clause against the devisee even though the devisee establish…

A will may be revoked or altered only as provided in ORS 112.238, 112.260 or 112.285 to 112.315. [1969 c.591 §41; 2015 c.387 §14]

(1) A will may be revoked or altered by another will. (2) A will may be revoked by one or more physical acts by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated or destroyed, with the intent and purpose of the testator of revoking the will, by the testator, or by another person at the d…

If a will or a part thereof has been revoked or is invalid, it can be revived only by a re-execution of the will or by the execution of another will in which the revoked or invalid will or part thereof is incorporated by reference. [1969 c.591 §43]

A will is revoked by the subsequent marriage of the testator if the testator is survived by a spouse, unless: (1) The will evidences an intent that it not be revoked by the subsequent marriage or was drafted under circumstances establishing that it was in contemplation of the mar…

Unless a will evidences a different intent of the testator, the divorce or annulment of the marriage of the testator after the execution of the will revokes all provisions in the will in favor of the former spouse of the testator and any provision in the will naming the former sp…

A devise of property to any person for the term of the life of the person, and after the death of the person to the heirs of the person, vests an estate or interest for life only in the devisee and remainder in the heirs. [1969 c.591 §48; 2015 c.387 §17]

A devise of property passes all of the interest of the testator in the property at the time of the death of the testator, unless the will evidences the intent of the testator to devise a lesser interest. [1969 c.591 §49; 2015 c.387 §18]

Any property acquired by the testator after the making of a will passes pursuant to the will as if title to the property were vested in the testator at the time of making the will, unless the intent expressed in the will is clear and explicit to the contrary. [1969 c.591 §50; 201…

(1) In the situations and under the circumstances provided in and governed by this section, specific devises will not fail or be extinguished by the encumbrance, destruction, damage, sale, condemnation or change in form of the property specifically devised. This section is inappl…

When property is devised to any person who is related by blood or adoption to the testator and who dies before the testator leaving lineal descendants, the descendants take by representation the property the devisee would have taken if the devisee had survived the testator, unles…

Except as provided in ORS 112.395: (1) If a devise other than a residuary devise fails for any reason, it becomes a part of the residue. (2) If the residue is devised to two or more persons and the share of one of the residuary devisees fails for any reason, the share passes to t…

(1) As used in this section, “pretermitted child” means a child of a testator who is born, adopted, or conceived as described in ORS 112.077 (3) or (4), after the execution of the will of the testator, who is neither provided for in the will nor in any way mentioned in the will a…

A general residuary clause in a will or a will making general disposition of all of the testator’s property does not exercise a power of appointment held by the testator unless specific reference is made to the power or there is some other indication of intention to include the p…

Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, a person, including a child of the testator and a descendant of that child, shall not take or be entitled to take any portion of the estate of a testator disposed of by the will of the testator other than as provided in the will. [19…

As used in ORS 112.455 to 112.555: (1) “Abuser” means a person who is convicted of a felony by reason of conduct that constitutes physical abuse as described in ORS 124.105 or financial abuse as described in ORS 124.110. (2) “Decedent” means: (a) A person whose life is taken by a…

ORS 112.455 to 112.555 apply to an abuser only if the decedent dies within five years after the abuser is convicted of a felony by reason of conduct that constitutes physical abuse of the decedent, as described in ORS 124.105, or financial abuse of the decedent, as described in O…

(1) Property that would have passed by reason of the death of a decedent to a person who was a slayer or an abuser of the decedent, whether by intestate succession, by will, by transfer on death deed, by trust, or otherwise, passes on death and vests as if the slayer or abuser ha…

(1) If a slayer of a decedent and the decedent, or an abuser of a decedent and the decedent, owned property as tenants by the entirety or with a right of survivorship, upon the death of the decedent, there exist two undivided equal interests in the property. One share passes to a…

(1) Property in which a slayer of a decedent, or an abuser of a decedent, owns a reversion or vested remainder subject to an estate for the lifetime of the decedent passes to the heirs or devisees of the decedent for a period of time equal to the normal life expectancy of a perso…

(1) Property appointed by the will of the decedent to or for the benefit of a slayer of a decedent or an abuser of a decedent is distributed as if the slayer or abuser had predeceased the decedent. (2) Property owned either presently or in remainder by a slayer of a decedent or a…

(1) Except as provided under subsection (2) of this section, proceeds payable under any of the following instruments to or for the benefit of a slayer of a decedent or an abuser of a decedent, as beneficiary or assignee of the decedent or as beneficiary or assignee of an heir or …

If a decedent is beneficiary or assignee of any policy or certificate of insurance on the life of a slayer of the decedent or an abuser of the decedent, the proceeds shall be paid to the personal representative of the decedent’s estate unless: (1) The policy or certificate names …

Any insurance company making payment according to the terms of its policy, or any financial institution, trustee or other person performing an obligation to a slayer of a decedent or an abuser of a decedent is not subject to liability because of ORS 112.455 to 112.555 if the paym…

ORS 112.455 to 112.555 do not affect the rights of any person who for value and without notice purchases or agrees to purchase property that a slayer of a decedent or an abuser of a decedent would have acquired except for ORS 112.455 to 112.555, but all proceeds received by the s…

(1) After any right to appeal has been exhausted, a final judgment of conviction of felonious and intentional killing is conclusive for purposes of ORS 112.455 to 112.555. In the absence of a conviction of felonious and intentional killing the court may determine by a preponderan…

As used in ORS 112.570 to 112.590: (1) “Co-owners with right of survivorship” means joint tenants, tenants by the entirety and any other co-owners of property or accounts that are held in a manner that entitles one or more of the owners to ownership of the whole of the property o…

Except as provided in ORS 112.586, if the title to property, the devolution of property, the right to elect an interest in property or the right to exempt property depends upon whether a specified person survives the death of another person, the specified person shall be deemed t…

Except as provided in ORS 112.586, if a governing instrument contains a provision the operation of which is conditioned on whether a specified person survives the death of another person or survives another event, the specified person shall be deemed to have died before the other…

(1) Except as provided in ORS 112.586, if property is held by two co-owners with right of survivorship and both co-owners are deceased, one-half of the property passes as if one co-owner had survived the second co-owner by 120 hours or more, and one-half of the property passes as…

(1) For the purpose of establishing death under the survivorship rules established under ORS 112.570 to 112.590, death occurs when an individual has sustained irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or when there has been an irreversible cessation of all …

(1) The survivorship rules established under ORS 112.570 to 112.590 do not apply in any situation in which application would result in escheat of an intestate estate to the state. (2) The survivorship rules established under ORS 112.570 to 112.590 do not apply if a governing inst…

(1) Unless a payor or other third party has received written notice of a claim under subsection (2) of this section, the payor or other third party is not liable for making a payment to, transferring property to, or conferring any other benefit on a person who appears to be entit…

(1) Unless the person has notice of the claim at the time the purchase, payment or delivery is made, a person who purchases property for value, or who receives payment, property or other benefit in full or partial satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation, is not liable to…

Dower and curtesy, including inchoate dower and curtesy, are abolished. [1969 c.591 §78; 2015 c.387 §34]

ORS 112.705 to 112.775 may be cited as the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act. [1973 c.205 §11]

ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply to the disposition at death of the following property acquired by a married person: (1) All personal property, wherever situated: (a) Which was acquired as or became, and remained, community property under the laws of another jurisdiction; or (b) All …

In determining whether ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply to specific property the following rebuttable presumptions apply: (1) Property acquired during marriage by a spouse of that marriage while domiciled in a jurisdiction under whose laws property could then be acquired as community…

Upon death of a married person, one-half of the property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply is the property of the surviving spouse and is not subject to testamentary disposition by the decedent or distribution under the laws of succession of this state. One-half of that prope…

If the title to any property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply was held by the decedent at the time of death, title of the surviving spouse may be perfected by an order of the probate court or by execution of an instrument by the personal representative or the heirs or devise…

If the title to any property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply is held by the surviving spouse at the time of the decedent’s death, the personal representative or an heir or devisee of the decedent may institute an action to perfect title to the property. The personal represe…

(1) If a surviving spouse has apparent title to property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply, a purchaser for value or a lender taking a security interest in the property takes interest in the property free of any rights of the personal representative or an heir or devisee of t…

(1) ORS 112.705 to 112.775 do not affect rights of creditors with respect to property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply. (2) ORS 112.705 to 112.775 do not prevent married persons from severing or altering their interests in property to which ORS 112.705 to 112.775 apply. (3) …

As used in ORS 112.800 to 112.830, unless the context requires otherwise, “person” means a natural person, a partnership, a corporation, a bank, a trust company and any other organization or legal entity. [1989 c.770 §1] Note: 112.800 to 112.830 were enacted into law by the Legis…

(1) Any person having custody of a will has a duty to maintain custody of the will and may not destroy or discard the will, disclose its contents to any person or deliver the will to any person except as authorized by the testator or as permitted by ORS 112.800 to 112.830. (2) No…

(1) Any person having custody of a will: (a) Shall deliver the will to the testator upon demand from the testator, unless the person having custody of the will is an attorney and is entitled to retain the will pursuant to ORS 87.430; (b) May at any time deliver the will to the te…

An attorney who has custody of a will may dispose of the will in accordance with ORS 112.820 if: (1) The attorney is licensed to practice law in the State of Oregon; (2) The will is not subject to a contract to make a will or devise or not to revoke a will or devise; and (3)(a) I…

(1) An attorney who intends to destroy a will as authorized under ORS 112.815 must: (a) Provide notice of the attorney’s intent to destroy the will to the testator or, if the attorney knows the testator is deceased, to the personal representative and to each successor personal re…

A person who violates any provision of ORS 112.800 to 112.830 shall be liable to any person injured by such violation for any damages sustained thereby. An attorney who destroys a will in accordance with ORS 112.800 to 112.830 shall not be liable to the testator or any other pers…