§ 11.3 Estate Planning

• Library: Rights of Foreign Nationals (OSBar) (2020 Ed.)

§ 11.3 ESTATE PLANNING

§ 11.3-1 Probate Administration

Probate law refers to the administration of a deceased person's estate, whether that person had a will (a testate estate) or did not have a will (an intestate estate). For foreign nationals, a preliminary issue will be to determine what probate administration is required, which may include a primary administration and one or more ancillary administrations.

§ 11.3-1(a) Venue; Ancillary Administration; Foreign Personal Representative

Under Oregon law, venue for a probate administration is in (1) the county where the decedent was domiciled, (2) any county where property of the decedent was located at the time of death, (3) the county where the decedent died, or (4) the county where a personal-injury claim or wrongful-death claim that arises out of injuries to the decedent could be maintained. ORS 113.015(1). Additionally, some form of probate administration is usually required in each state or foreign jurisdiction where the decedent owned real property. Many states have a shortened, or ancillary, probate process when a full probate administration is ongoing in a different jurisdiction.

PRACTICE TIP: To reduce the expenses of administration, for foreign nationals with real property in multiple jurisdictions, the attorney should carefully consider the probate procedures of each jurisdiction before filing for probate administration.

If a personal representative has been appointed by a court outside of Oregon for a decedent domiciled outside of Oregon (a "foreign personal representative"), any person in Oregon who is indebted to the decedent or in possession of personal property of the decedent may deliver that property to the foreign personal representative upon receipt from the...