2019 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 03 - Landlord-Tenant, Domestic Relations, Probate
Chapter 116 - Accounting, Distribution and Closing
Section 116.253 - Recovery of escheated property.

(2) The claim shall be made by a petition filed with the Director of the Department of State Lands. The claim is considered a contested case as provided in ORS 183.310 and there is the right of judicial review as provided in ORS 183.480. The petition must include a declaration 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, and shall state:

(a) The age and place of residence of the claimant by whom or on whose behalf the petition is filed;

(b) That the claimant lawfully is entitled to the property or proceeds, briefly describing the property or proceeds;

(c) 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;

(d) 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 the relationship, if any, of the claimant to the decedent who at the time of death was the owner;

(e) 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

(f) If the petition is not filed by the claimant, the status of the petitioner.

(3) If it is determined that the claimant is entitled to the property or the proceeds thereof, the Director of the Department of State Lands shall deliver the property to the petitioner, subject to and charged with any tax on the property and the costs and expenses of the state in connection therewith.

(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. [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]

Note: The amendments to 116.253 by section 46, chapter 678, Oregon Laws 2019, become operative July 1, 2021. See section 85, chapter 678, Oregon Laws 2019. The text that is operative on and after July 1, 2021, is set forth for the user’s convenience.
(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.

(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 the property or the proceeds thereof, the State Treasurer shall deliver the property to the petitioner, subject to and charged with any tax on the property and the costs and expenses of the state in connection therewith.

(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.