Brother in law died with no will. He has few belongings. The family chooses to pass them out to other family members. Is this legit? State of Oregon

As long as no one objects, its fine. If the estate was minimal and mostly included possessions, not valued assets then probate would be overkill. If everyone agrees, then its legit.

It's not legally legit. Individuals who may be leaglly entitled to certain of his assets may be short-changed. Another concern is that legally his estate must be probated so that any creditors out there which you might not be aware of have an opportunity to demand payment. And there may have to be a final income tax return prepared on his behalf. Somebody needs to step forward to be the executor of the estate, and follow rules to be so named by the court to handle these issues.

Ebaines, you have got to be kidding.

Suppose decedent died yesterday. Yes, someone should prepare an income tax return for '13 and, I suppose, the first month or so of '14. But what's the IRS going to do about it? Unless his income was huge, nothing. In theory, they could go after those assets which the family passed around but, again, unless their value was very high, it's not going to happen.

If an heir or creditor wants to start a probate case for a few bucks worth of assets, they can apply to be personal representative. The law doesn't, however, require anyone to do so.

Also, many states have abbreviated procedures for "small estates". I don't know how Oregon handles it, but such rules often allow collection and distribution of estates by the filing of an affidavit with the court, or by the delivery of an affidavit to those who may hold decedent's property (such as banks, etc.)

I agree with Scott, this is how most people do it in real life. If he had almost noting, did not own a house, perhaps a old car and some household items, maybe a few hundred dollars in bank. Yes the family just divides up things and goes on with life after funeral.

In most cases, the issues of an estate and probate is not worth the trouble for a person who has very little.

If no one is objecting, there is no problem.

? Is there someone objecting ?

From: What is Probate? (http://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/1117_probate.htm) (a site run by the Oregon bar)
When is probate needed?

Probate is not always necessary. If the deceased person owned bank accounts or property with another person, the surviving co-owner often will then own that property automatically. If a person dies leaving very few assets, such as personal belongings or household goods, these items can be distributed among the rightful beneficiaries without the supervision of the court.

I think that's pretty much what I said.