Oregon Statutes 116.253 – Recovery of escheated property
(1) Within 10 years after the death of a decedent whose estate escheated in whole or in part to the state, or within eight years after the entry of a judgment or order escheating property of an estate to the state, a claim may be made for the property escheated, or the proceeds thereof, by or on behalf of a person not having actual knowledge of the escheat or by or on behalf of a person who at the time of the escheat was unable to prove entitlement to the escheated property.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 116.253
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- United States: includes territories, outlying possessions and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
(2) The claim shall be made by a petition filed with the State Treasurer. The petition must include:
(a) A declaration by the petitioner under penalty of perjury in the form required by ORCP 1 E or an unsworn declaration under ORS § 194.800 to 194.835 if the declarant is physically outside the boundaries of the United States;
(b) The age and place of residence of the claimant by whom or on whose behalf the petition is filed;
(c) A brief description of the property or source of funds believed to have been escheated to the state;
(d) That the claimant lawfully is entitled to the property or proceeds;
(e) That at the time the property escheated to the state the claimant had no knowledge or notice thereof or was unable to prove entitlement to the escheated property and has subsequently acquired new evidence of that entitlement;
(f) That the claimant claims the property or proceeds as an heir or devisee or as the personal representative of the estate of an heir or devisee, setting forth any relationship between the claimant and the decedent who at the time of death owned the escheated property;
(g) That 10 years have not elapsed since the death of the decedent or that eight years have not elapsed since the entry of the judgment or order escheating the property to the state; and
(h) If the petition is not filed by the claimant, the status of the petitioner.
(3) If the State Treasurer determines that the claimant is entitled to escheated estate property, the State Treasurer shall:
(a) Pay from the Unclaimed Property and Estates Fund the proportional share of the proceeds or value of the property without interest and subject to the proportional share of the costs of administering the estate, including attorney fees and personal representative fees paid by the estate; or
(b) If personal or real property is in the Unclaimed Property and Estates Fund, transfer the property without interest and subject to a claim of the Unclaimed Property and Estates Fund of a proportional share of the costs of administering the estate, including attorney fees and personal representative fees paid by the estate, and any property taxes or other costs of managing or improving the property, whether incurred before or after the close of the estate.
(4) If the person whose property escheated or reverted to the state was at any time a patient of a state institution in Oregon for persons with mental illness or of the Eastern Oregon Training Center, the reasonable unpaid cost of the care and maintenance of the person while a ward of the institution, regardless of when the cost was incurred, may be deducted from, or, if necessary, be offset in full against, the amount of the escheated property. The reasonable unpaid cost of care and maintenance shall be determined in accordance with ORS § 179.701.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the death of the decedent is presumed to have occurred on the date shown in the decedent’s certified copy of the death record or in any other similar document issued by the jurisdiction in which the death occurred or issued by an agency of the federal government.
(6) A person aggrieved by a determination of the State Treasurer under this section may seek a contested case hearing under ORS § 183.413 to 183.470. [Formerly 120.130; 2003 c.395 § 18; 2003 c.576 § 380a; 2007 c.70 § 23; 2007 c.284 § 3; 2009 c.595 § 83; 2013 c.36 § 34; 2013 c.218 § 15; 2013 c.366 § 61; 2019 c.678 § 46; 2021 c.424 § 16]