Oregon Intestate Succession: Who Inherits When There Is No Will

When someone dies in Oregon without a valid will — or with a will that fails to distribute all of their property — Oregon's intestate succession laws determine who inherits the probate estate. These laws are not arbitrary. They follow a predictable statutory hierarchy designed to reflect what most people would want if they had gotten around to writing a will.

Understanding this hierarchy is essential for anyone settling an Oregon estate without a will, because the personal representative must distribute assets according to these rules — not according to family assumptions or informal agreements.

Oregon's Intestate Succession Order Under ORS Chapter 112

If the decedent is survived by a spouse:

Oregon's rules are more nuanced than simply "spouse gets everything." What the surviving spouse receives depends on whether the decedent also left descendants (children, grandchildren) or other heirs.

• Surviving spouse + no descendants: The surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.
• Surviving spouse + descendants who are all also the spouse's descendants: The surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.
• Surviving spouse + descendants from a prior relationship (not the current spouse's descendants): The surviving spouse inherits one-half of the estate, and the decedent's descendants inherit the other half.

This last scenario is important for blended families. If the decedent had children from a previous marriage or relationship, those children have a legal claim to half the estate — even if the surviving spouse expected to receive everything.

If there is no surviving spouse:

The estate passes entirely to the decedent's descendants in equal shares, per stirpes. This means if a child predeceased the decedent, that child's own children (the decedent's grandchildren) step into the deceased child's share.

If there are no descendants:

The estate passes to the decedent's surviving parents equally. If only one parent survives, that parent takes the entire share.

If there are no descendants and no surviving parents:

The estate is divided between the decedent's siblings (and the descendants of any predeceased sibling, per stirpes).

If there are no descendants, parents, or siblings:

Oregon's intestate laws continue through increasingly distant relatives — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. If absolutely no qualifying heirs can be identified, the estate escheats to the state of Oregon.

Surviving Spouse Rights Beyond Intestate Succession

Oregon provides additional protections for surviving spouses that apply even before the intestate distribution:

Homestead allowance: A surviving spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance from the estate before creditors are paid.

Exempt property: Specific personal property is set aside for the surviving spouse's exclusive use.

Elective share: Even in cases involving a will (not purely intestate), a surviving spouse can elect to take 25% of the net estate under ORS 114.105. This prevents disinheritance.

Family allowance: A reasonable allowance for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and dependent children during the estate administration period.

What Intestate Succession Doesn't Cover

Intestate succession only applies to probate assets — property that was solely owned by the decedent without beneficiary designations or survivorship rights.

The following assets pass entirely outside of intestate succession and go directly to named beneficiaries or surviving co-owners:

• Life insurance policies with a named beneficiary
• Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s) with a beneficiary designation
• Bank or investment accounts with Payable on Death (POD) or Transfer on Death (TOD) designations
• Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship
• Real property with a recorded Transfer on Death deed
• Assets held in a living trust

This distinction matters practically. A decedent might have an IRA worth $400,000 with an adult child from a prior marriage as the named beneficiary. Even if the current surviving spouse would inherit the entire probate estate under intestate succession, that IRA goes directly to the named beneficiary — intestate law doesn't touch it.

Half-Siblings, Adopted Children, and Non-Marital Children

Oregon's intestate succession treats these relationships as follows:

Half-siblings inherit the same as full siblings. Under ORS 112.035, relatives of the half blood inherit equally with relatives of the whole blood in the same degree of kinship.

Adopted children are treated identically to biological children for inheritance purposes. An adopted child inherits from the adoptive parents and their relatives. In most circumstances, adoption terminates the legal relationship with the biological parents for inheritance purposes — though there are exceptions for adoptions by a stepparent.

Children born outside of marriage have the same inheritance rights as children born within a marriage, provided the parentage is legally established. Parentage can be established through voluntary acknowledgment, administrative decision, or court order.

Stepchildren and in-laws have no inheritance rights under Oregon intestate succession unless legally adopted.

The Personal Representative's Duties in an Intestate Estate

When there is no will, the Oregon Circuit Court must appoint a personal representative (administrator). Without a nominated executor, the court follows a priority order: surviving spouse, then adult children, then parents, then siblings, then other heirs.

The personal representative in an intestate estate has the same duties as any probate personal representative:

• Inventory all probate assets within 90 days
• Notify creditors and state agencies (including ODHS for Medicaid recovery)
• Pay valid claims in statutory priority order
• File OR-706 if the gross estate meets or exceeds $1,000,000
• Distribute the residual estate according to Oregon's intestate succession rules

Without a will specifying otherwise, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs in the proportions dictated by ORS Chapter 112 — not according to verbal understandings, informal agreements among family members, or what "seems fair."

Settling an intestate Oregon estate requires the same attention to creditor notifications, Medicaid recovery, and probate court procedures as any other estate. The Oregon Estate Settlement Guide covers the full process — including the specific notifications, deadlines, and distribution requirements that apply whether or not a will exists.

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