Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Re: divorce and estate

QUESTION;

My wifes parents have been deceased for four years and the will and estate distribution has still not been finalize due to family difference. If my wife & I divorce, do I have any legal right to adding those assests to ours in splitting assests evenly? We have been married for 18 years.

ANSWER:

Under Oregon law, there is a presumption that ALL property (including inheritances) acquired by either party while the parties were legally married to one another (even if living apart from one another) is joint marital property and that each party contributed EQUALLY to the acquisition of such property.

HOWEVER, it is a REBUTTAL (disputable) presumption. And in the case of inherited or gifted property received by one party individually, it is usually not too difficult to rebut the presumption.

As to your wife's anticipated inheritance, the FIRST QUESTION is: Were you an object of the donor's intent? (Were you named in the will? Were you even MENTIONED in the will?)

SECOND QUESTION: What did you do and in what way did you "contribute" to the acquisition of the asset in question (i.e., your wife's inheritance)?

Assuming the evidence shows that you were not an object of the donor's intent, and that you did nothing to contribute (equally or otherwise) to the acquisition of the asset, there would be no basis under Oregon law for you to share in any division of that asset (or to have it taken into consideration in the over-all distribution of marital property).

But nice try anyway!