Distribution of Assets

[wreneeriggs]

I live in CA but my family is in Oregon. My dad passed away on October 22. We have been estranged for nearly a year. Apparently, he learned he had cancer and very little time in May of this year, rewrote his will and left everything to my 1/2 sister and 1/2 brother which, to me, isn't an issue. I have had questions specific to how this works out and have received no responses from the sister and brother or the attorney. Apparently, my dad gave my kids some stock accounts but handed them over to my ex-husband (even though the boys are 19 and 20). His will (a very short four pages which did not create a trust) "gifted" me a one-time gift of 75,000. I am not sure how this works, when it will get paid out, etc. It is apparently, the only thing I will receive from the estate and I am curious about the process. Any thoughts on how this works? When it will be paid out? Do I really need to deal with the rest of the siblings, etc.? There was no trust and my dad was a financial planner so I suspect everything was in his name and that of my brother and sister.

Thanks,
Wendy

[anteater]

Well, if you were left $75K, then not everything was left to the "halfs."

The Oregon State Bar has a brief intro to probate here:

[url=http://www.osbar.org/public/pamphlets/probate.html]Probate Court[/url]

If you want to do the deep dive, the Oregon statutes are here - beginning at Chapter 111:

[url=http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/]Oregon Revised Statutes[/url]