§6.5 Missed Assets

JurisdictionOregon
§ 6.5 MISSED ASSETS

Dissolution cases may be reopened for the purpose of dividing property that was inadvertently omitted, intentionally concealed, or for which an asset's true ownership (as opposed to its existence) was concealed. ORS 107.452. See also ORCP 71 and § 6.8-9(a) to § 6.8-9(i), which provide alternative options for legal remedies allowing relief from judgment. These actions provide narrow exceptions to the standard rule that property division in a divorce case cannot be reconsidered.

In absence of legal action, co-owned assets that were not distributed by the court to either party leave the parties as co-owners of that property. Thus, unmentioned property held in a tenancy by the entirety is converted into a tenancy in common. The same applies to debts. Brownley v. Lincoln County, 218 Or 7, 16, 343 P2d 529 (1959).

Under ORS 107.452(1), the court can reopen a case and distribute a missed asset if it determines that the asset existed at the time of the judgment but was not discovered until after the judgment was entered. A distinction is drawn between inadvertently omitted assets and assets that one spouse intentionally concealed from the other spouse. The court may enter such relief as is "just and proper" if it determines that the asset was "inadvertently omitted." ORS 107.452(2). If an asset was "intentionally concealed," the court may order the division of the appreciated value of...

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