Simplified route
$75,000
Simple estate affidavit; usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsOregon estate administration
Oregon probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $75,000
This guide explains probate in Oregon: Oregon settles decedents' estates in the Circuit Court, except in six counties — Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler — where probate jurisdiction is vested in the county court (ORS 111.075). Small estates use a simple estate affidavit with two separate value caps ($75,000 personal / $200,000 real + manufactured homes). Personal-representative compensation follows a statutory percentage schedule under ORS 116.173.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
Answer first
Oregon simplified probate route
Up to $75,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: ORS 114.505 to 114.560.
Simple estate affidavitScreen a specific Oregon estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Tiered
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Statutory schedule
A statutory percentage schedule applies. Source: ORS 116.173.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
ORS 115.005 (Oregon Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Oregon
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| ORS 21.170 (probate filing fees and accounting fees) | Oregon sets its probate filing fee by estate value, and charges a second fee every time an accounting is filed — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
| ORS 114.510, 114.515 | Oregon splits its threshold in two, and counts manufactured homes with the real property — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| ORS 116.173 | Oregon pays a sliding commission — and adds 1% of property that never entered probate — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
| ORS 115.005, ORS 115.185 | The four-month Oregon claims window is a floor, not a deadline — the real cut-off is the final account — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
Oregon decision map
The four facts that change the Oregon route
Each Oregon answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Oregon answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Simple estate affidavit |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $75,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory percentage schedule, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- ORS 116.173 has a separate 1% component on non-jurisdiction reportable property, so the four-tier schedule must not be applied to one accounting figure (no schedulingBase set).
- Creditor correction applied: the prior 'outer limit measured from date of death' was unsupported by ORS 115.005; the bar is the LATER of four months from publication (ORS 115.005(2)(a)) or 45 days from actual notice (ORS 115.005(2)(b)), each subject to the claim's own statute of limitations. There is no independent nonclaim period running from death.
- Court-resource URLs corrected: /forms/Pages/probate.aspx and /courts/Pages/probate.aspx return the OJD 404 page; replaced with /forms/Pages/estate.aspx and /courts/Pages/default.aspx.
- County-court exception added: ORS 111.075 vests probate in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties rather than the circuit court.
Continue
What Oregon courts publish
Every link is probed before each release.
- Court resourceOregon Judicial Department estate (probate) formsOregon Judicial Department
- Self-help centreOregon Judicial Department courts directoryOregon Judicial Department
Limits on court material
- Oregon probate is generally handled by the Circuit Court in each county, EXCEPT that under ORS 111.075 jurisdiction of all probate matters is vested in the COUNTY COURTS of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties; ORS 111.115 lets an estate proceeding be transferred from a county court to the circuit court. The Oregon Judicial Department publishes a statewide estate/small-estate affidavit form set. (The previously listed /forms/Pages/probate.aspx and /courts/Pages/probate.aspx URLs return the OJD 404 page and were replaced with the working estate-forms and courts-directory pages.)
Oregon primary sources
- ORS 114.505 to 114.560 — ORS Chapter 114, Small Estates (Simple Estate Affidavit)
- ORS 116.173 — ORS 116.173 Compensation of personal representative
- ORS 21.170 — ORS 21.170 Probate filing fees and accounting fees
- ORS 21.145 — ORS 21.145 Simple proceeding filing fee
- ORS 115.005 — ORS 115.005 Presentation of claims; time limitations
- ORS 111.075 — ORS 111.075 Probate jurisdiction vested
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the Oregon source record.
Oregon record: 6/6 verified, 26 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction