If a person dies without a will (intestate)—and with no heirs (relatives or descendants)—ownership of the deceased person’s (decedent’s) property may be transferred to (or said to revert to) the state government (usually the state treasury) through the common law doctrine of escheat. In addition to enriching the state treasury (or the Lord in feudal England), escheat prevents property from remaining in limbo with no rightful owner.
A state’s common law is comprised of court opinions written by judges to resolve disputes and most states adopted the legal doctrine of escheat from the English common law (from England) soon after the founding of the United States and each state’s admission to the union. But in more recent years many state legislatures have defined the law of escheat in their state’s statutes—making it statutory law—which is also known as codifying the law, because it is then part of a code or statute.
The property subject to escheat laws is sometimes referred to or classified as unclaimed or abandoned property. Upon transfer to the government the unclaimed or abandoned property may be referred to as escheated property. And in some states there may be a period (a statute of limitations) in which heirs or rightful owners of the property may be able to reclaim escheated property.
Escheat laws vary from state to state and often depend on the nature of the asset involved (personal property, real property, bank account, brokerage account).
In Oregon, if a person dies intestate (without a will) and has no identifiable heirs, the property of the deceased may escheat, or revert, to the state. This process is governed by Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapter 112, which outlines the rules of intestate succession and escheat. The state's escheat laws are a codified form of the common law doctrine and are designed to prevent property from being ownerless. Under ORS 116.253, if no heirs are found within a specified period, typically four years after the appointment of a personal representative, the property is transferred to the Department of State Lands. The Department holds the property for a period during which potential heirs can come forward to claim it. If no rightful owner or heir claims the property within the time limit set by the state, the property becomes permanently escheated to the state. It's important to note that the specific procedures and time frames for claiming escheated property can vary, and an attorney can provide detailed guidance on the process.