If you die or become unable to manage your affairs without an estate plan, the law decides four matters for you:
- Who inherits your property
- Who settles your estate
- Who makes decisions for you if you cannot
- Who raises your minor children
This article explains how that works in Washington and Oregon. It also explains why beneficiary forms and joint accounts are not a complete substitute for a plan.
What the law cannot do for you
State law follows a fixed list of relatives. Because of that:
- It cannot leave anyone out: Each relative on the list receives their share, even one you are estranged from.
- It cannot include anyone who is not on the list: Friends, an unmarried partner and charities receive nothing. Stepchildren generally receive nothing either.
- It cannot add conditions: A child receives their share outright at 18, with no trust to manage it.
- It cannot choose the people who act for you: The law decides who settles your estate and who makes decisions if you cannot.
If you are married
Your spouse usually receives most or all of your property, but not always all of it. How it is divided depends on your state:
Your spouse or registered domestic partner receives all of your share of community property.
Your separate property is shared. If you have children, your spouse receives half and your children share the other half. If you have no children, your spouse receives three-quarters. The rest goes to your parents or, if they have died, your brothers and sisters and their children.
If all your children are also your spouse’s children, your spouse receives everything. If you have no children, your spouse also receives everything.
If you have children from another relationship, your spouse receives half and all your children share the other half.
Your spouse is also first in line to settle your estate and, in most cases, to make medical decisions for you.
If you have a partner but are not married
In both states, an unmarried partner inherits nothing if you die without a Will. Your partner comes after your relatives, if at all, to settle your estate or make medical decisions. Your partner also has no say in your final arrangements. For more, see this article.
A partner may have some rights to property you built together, but only through a court claim:
A partner in a long-term relationship may still have rights to property built together, under what Washington calls a committed intimate relationship.
But they have to go to court to claim those rights, which takes time and money, and the result is never certain. A Will or trust gives your partner what you intend without a court fight.
Oregon courts can divide property between unmarried partners based on what the couple intended, including after one partner dies.
But the surviving partner has to go to court against the estate to prove it, which takes time and money with no certain result. A Will or trust gives your partner what you intend without a court fight.
If you are single
Without a spouse, your property goes to your relatives in a set order, which is the same in both states:
- Your children and, if a child has died, that child’s children
- If you have no children, your parents
- Then your brothers and sisters, and the children of any who have died
- Then your grandparents, and then aunts, uncles and cousins
If no relative can be found, your property goes to the state. There is also no spouse with authority to act for you if you become ill, so a court may need to appoint someone.
If you have minor children
In both states, if you have minor children and no Will naming a guardian, a court decides who raises them. A child who inherits without a trust generally receives their share outright at 18.
If you are married and have children from an earlier relationship, the shares your spouse and children receive can change. See the section on married couples above.
Who settles your estate
Without a Will, someone must ask a court to be appointed to settle your estate. Both states set a default order of who may serve, usually a spouse first, then adult children, then other relatives. It may not be the person you would have chosen.
Medical decisions
If you cannot make your own medical decisions and have not named someone to make them, state law sets the order of who decides:
The order is: a spouse or registered domestic partner, then adult children, then parents, then brothers and sisters, then more distant relatives. A close friend or unmarried partner comes last.
When several people share a place on the list, such as your adult children, they must all agree. Otherwise no one in that group can decide.
For decisions about life support, the order is:
- A spouse
- A majority of your adult children
- Your parents
- A majority of your brothers and sisters
- Another relative or a friend
Naming a health care representative in an Advance Directive lets you choose instead.
If you become unable to manage your affairs
In both states, if you have no powers of attorney, your family may need to go to court. A judge would appoint a guardian or conservator to handle your care and your money. Those court processes can be slow and expensive.
If you are relying on beneficiary forms and joint accounts
Beneficiary forms, payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death deeds and joint ownership pass outside the rules above. Many people rely on them in place of a plan. They can work, but they often fall short:
- If the person you named dies first and there is no backup, the account may go to your estate. It then follows the rules above after all.
- A child cannot receive money directly, so naming a minor can require a court process.
- Money passes outright, with no trust for a young adult or for someone who receives benefits.
- They work only at death. They name no one to act for you if you become ill, and no guardian for your children.
- They leave out anything without a beneficiary option, such as your belongings and vehicles.
- A joint account with one child belongs to that child, who has no duty to share it with brothers and sisters.
- A joint owner can reach the money now, and it can be exposed to their creditors or divorce.
Update your forms after any marriage, divorce, separation, birth or death. Do not count on the law to do it for you. For more, see this article.
What a plan does instead
A plan lets you decide each of these matters yourself, and choose the people you trust to carry out your wishes.
Want to read more?
These articles are optional.
- Getting started: What estate planning is and where to begin. See this article.
- Will or Revocable Trust: Choosing the core document for your plan. See this article for Washington or for Oregon.
- Guardians: Choosing someone to raise your minor children. See this article.
- Financial power of attorney: What your Financial Agent can do and how to choose one. See this article.
- Glossary: Common estate planning terms. See this article.