OR SB744

Amends ORS 113.085 to change from permissive ("may") to mandatory ("shall") the court's requirement that petitioners make reasonable attempts to locate and notify higher-priority persons before appointing a personal representative in intestate estates

Expands the notification requirement to cover all priority categories under the statute, not just subsections (1)(b) through (g)

Maintains the existing priority order for personal representative appointments: named representative in will, surviving spouse, intestate heirs, other distributees, state agency directors, Department of Veterans' Affairs, and any other person

Applies to estates of decedents commenced on or after the effective date of the 2025 Act