The Oregon probate process is the court-supervised procedure for settling a deceased person’s estate: a personal representative is appointed by the circuit court, inventories the assets, gives notice to heirs and creditors, pays valid debts and taxes in a statutory order, and then distributes what remains under the will or, if there is no will, under Oregon’s intestacy statutes in ORS Chapters 111 through 118. The steps below track a typical case from the first filing through the final judgment of distribution.
Is Probate Actually Required
Not every Oregon estate needs a full probate. Under ORS 114.515, a claiming successor or the person named as personal representative in the will can file a small estate affidavit with the circuit court instead of opening a formal case, as long as the estate meets the value limits in ORS 114.510 and at least 30 days have passed since the death.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 114.515 – Small Estate Affidavit; Who May File; Fee A person with a felony conviction in any jurisdiction cannot file. Once a formal probate has been opened, the affidavit route is no longer available.
The affidavit skips most of the court oversight that comes with formal probate. No personal representative is appointed, no creditor publication is required, and no final accounting is filed. For estates above the qualifying thresholds, or where claims are contested, full probate is the only path.
Some assets bypass probate entirely regardless of size, and those are covered further down.
Where the Case Is Filed and What It Costs
Oregon has no separate probate court. In most counties the circuit court handles probate. Six rural counties — Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman, and Wheeler — run probate through their county courts instead.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 111.075 – Probate Jurisdiction Vested The case is filed in the county where the decedent lived at death. If the decedent lived out of state but owned Oregon real estate or tangible personal property, Oregon courts can oversee probate for those in-state assets, often alongside a proceeding in the home state.
Filing fees are tiered by the estate’s value, effective January 1, 2026:3Oregon Judicial Department. Circuit Court Fee Schedule Effective 2026-01-01
- Under $50,000: $278
- $50,000 to under $1,000,000: $591
- $1,000,000 to under $10,000,000: $882
- $10,000,000 or more: $1,176
Filing fees are only the court’s slice. The estate will also pay for publishing creditor notice, appraisals, a bond premium (unless waived), and usually an attorney. Attorney fees in Oregon probate are not set by statute the way personal representative commissions are, so they are negotiated or billed by the hour.
Opening the Case and Giving Notice
Probate begins with a petition filed in the circuit court where the decedent lived. It must state the decedent’s name, age, address, date and place of death, and whether a will exists.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.035 – Petition for Appointment of Personal Representative and Probate of Will If there is a will, the original goes in with the petition.
If no one objects, the court issues letters testamentary when there is a will, or letters of administration when there isn’t. Those letters are the personal representative’s proof of authority to act for the estate. Contested appointments or challenges to the will require a hearing before administration moves forward.
Once appointed, the personal representative has two separate notice duties. The first is to deliver or mail information to all devisees, heirs, and interested persons listed in the petition, then file proof within 30 days of appointment. The second is to publish notice in a newspaper in the county where the case is pending, which starts the four-month clock for unknown creditors.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.155 – Publication of Notice to Interested Persons
Who Serves as Personal Representative and What They Do
The court appoints the personal representative by a statutory priority. If a valid will names someone who is at least 18 and not disqualified, that person comes first.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.085 – Preference in Appointing Personal Representative If not, the court works down the list, which favors the surviving spouse and other heirs.
Bond
The court generally requires a surety bond, sized to the estate, to protect beneficiaries and creditors.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.105 – Bond for Personal Representative The court can waive or reduce it when estate assets are held at a financial institution subject to withdrawal only on court order, or when the court restricts the representative from selling or encumbering property without prior approval. Many wills waive the bond outright, sparing the estate the premium.
Inventory and Other Duties
After appointment, the personal representative takes control of the property, opens estate accounts, and files an inventory of all estate assets within 90 days, showing the fair market value of each item as of the date of death.8Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.165 – Filing Inventory and Evaluation Extensions are available for complex estates, but missing the deadline without one invites scrutiny.
Compensation
Oregon pays personal representatives on a graduated commission tied to the value of estate property:9Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.173 – Compensation of Personal Representative
- First $1,000: 7%
- $1,000 to $10,000: 4%
- $10,000 to $50,000: 3%
- Above $50,000: 2%
The representative also receives 1% of non-probate property (excluding life insurance) reportable for Oregon or federal estate tax purposes. The court can approve additional compensation for extraordinary services. If the will sets its own compensation, the representative must either accept it or formally renounce it before appointment and take the statutory commission instead.
Creditor Claims and Payment Priority
Publication starts the clock on unknown creditors, but the personal representative also has to search diligently for known creditors and send them direct notice. Known creditors who receive direct notice have 45 days from that notice to present claims. Unknown creditors have four months from the date of published notice.10Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 115 – Claims, Actions and Suits Claims filed after those windows are generally barred.
Each claim gets allowed or rejected. When the estate cannot pay every debt in full, Oregon law fixes the order:11Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 115.125 – Order of Payment of Expenses and Claims
- Administration expenses, including attorney and personal representative fees
- Reasonable funeral expenses
- Debts and taxes with federal preference, including federal tax debts, which carry priority under 31 U.S.C. § 3713 when the estate is insolvent
- State-preferred taxes: Oregon taxes due during administration
- All other general unsecured claims
A personal representative who pays a lower-priority creditor ahead of a higher-priority one can be held personally liable for the shortfall. Federal tax debt is particularly risky, because paying other creditors ahead of the IRS in an insolvent estate exposes the representative to individual liability under federal law.12United States Department of Justice Archives. Priority for the Payment of Claims Due the Government
Taxes the Estate Has to Handle
Tax compliance is where personal representatives get in the most trouble. The estate may owe taxes at both levels, and the representative is personally responsible for filing and payment.
Oregon Estate Tax
Oregon imposes an estate tax on any resident decedent’s transfers, and on nonresident decedents who owned Oregon real property or tangible personal property. The tax kicks in once the Oregon taxable estate reaches $1 million.13Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 118 – Estate Tax The rate is graduated from 10% to 16%:
- $1,000,000 to $1,500,000: 10%
- $1,500,000 to $2,500,000: 10.25%
- $2,500,000 to $3,500,000: 10.5%
- $3,500,000 to $4,500,000: 11%
- $4,500,000 to $5,500,000: 11.5%
- $5,500,000 to $6,500,000: 12%
- $6,500,000 to $7,500,000: 13%
- $7,500,000 to $8,500,000: 14%
- $8,500,000 to $9,500,000: 15%
- Above $9,500,000: 16%
The return is Form OR-706, filed with the Oregon Department of Revenue.14Oregon.gov. Form OR-706 Instructions – Oregon Estate Transfer Tax The $1 million threshold is not indexed for inflation, which catches estates far below the federal exemption.
Federal Estate Tax
The 2026 federal exemption is $15 million per person after the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025.15Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax Most Oregon estates will owe state tax long before they approach the federal threshold. Married couples can preserve the deceased spouse’s unused federal exclusion by filing a timely Form 706 to elect portability, and a five-year relief procedure exists for executors who miss the deadline.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 706 Oregon does not have a comparable portability election.
Income Tax, EIN, and Fiduciary Notice
The personal representative files the decedent’s final federal income tax return covering January 1 through the date of death, due by the normal April deadline of the following year.17Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died A final Oregon income tax return is also required. The estate itself needs its own Employer Identification Number, obtained through Form SS-4 or the online application, with the estate typically named as the decedent’s name followed by “Estate.”18Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 The EIN is used for tax filings and estate bank accounts. The representative should also file IRS Form 56 to notify the IRS of the fiduciary relationship, attaching the letters testamentary or letters of administration as proof of authority.19Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 – Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship
Will Contests
A challenge to the will’s validity must be filed within four months of the date the personal representative delivered or mailed the required ORS 113.145 information. For anyone not entitled to direct notice, the four months run from the date of published notice.20Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 113 – Initiation of Estate Proceedings The person challenging the will carries the burden of proof.
Common grounds include undue influence, fraud, lack of testamentary capacity, and improper execution. Oregon requires the testator to sign or acknowledge the signature in the presence of at least two witnesses, both of whom must also sign.21Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 112 – Intestate Succession and Wills If the court invalidates the will, an earlier valid version may be admitted; if none exists, intestacy rules control.
When There Is No Will
Oregon’s intestacy statutes set who inherits when no valid will exists. The surviving spouse’s share turns on whether the decedent had children and whether those children are also the surviving spouse’s:22Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 112.025 – Share of Surviving Spouse if Decedent Leaves Descendants
- If all descendants are also the surviving spouse’s, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
- If any descendant is not the surviving spouse’s, the spouse inherits half and the descendants share the other half.
With no surviving spouse, the estate passes to descendants. With no descendants, it moves to parents, then to siblings and their descendants, and outward to more remote relatives. When a diligent search turns up no eligible heir, the estate escheats to the State of Oregon and is deposited into the Unclaimed Property and Estates Fund.23Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 112.055 – Escheat
Closing the Estate
Once debts, taxes, and disputes are resolved, the personal representative files a final account under ORS 116.083 detailing all money and property received, all disbursements, and the proposed distribution to each beneficiary.24Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 116.083 – Accounting by Personal Representative The account includes a petition asking the court to authorize the distribution. If the court is satisfied, it enters a judgment of distribution that closes the estate.
Assets That Skip Probate
Some assets pass outside probate no matter how large the estate is:
- Real estate, bank accounts, and investment accounts held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship pass automatically to the surviving co-owner.
- Bank, brokerage, and securities accounts with payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations pass directly to the named beneficiary.
- IRAs, 401(k)s, and life insurance policies follow their beneficiary designations. Without a valid beneficiary, these may fall back into probate.
- Assets titled in the name of a revocable living trust before death are distributed by the trustee under the trust terms, without court oversight.
A will cannot override a beneficiary designation on a retirement account or life insurance policy. Outdated designations are one of the most common sources of unintended results.
Medicaid Estate Recovery
Oregon’s Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority can file claims against the estate of anyone who received Medicaid-funded long-term care at age 55 or older, or who was permanently institutionalized at any age, covering medical assistance paid on that person’s behalf.25Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 416.350 – Recovery of Medical Assistance; Estate Claims The claim can also reach the estate of a surviving spouse after that spouse dies.
Federal law bars recovery while a surviving spouse is alive, against a surviving child under 21 or a blind or permanently disabled child, and in certain cases where an adult child or sibling has lived in the home and meets residency and caregiving requirements. States must also offer a hardship waiver where recovery would cause undue financial difficulty. Personal representatives should check for Medicaid liens early, because these claims sit near the top of the priority list alongside taxes and administration costs.