Oregon estate administration

Oregon probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $75,000

In Oregon, estates up to $75,000 can use the small-estate route; executor fees run 7% down to 2% on a sliding scale (ORS 116.173); and claims are due four months after publication, or 45 days after mailed notice if later. 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. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .

Answer first

Oregon simplified probate route

Up to $75,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: ORS 114.505 to 114.560.

Simple estate affidavit

No combined Oregon probate total

The Circuit Court (county court in Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties) filing charge is statewide: priced by estate value (ORS 21.170). The commission rates (ORS 116.173) run on the totals in the estate’s court accounting. Each side in full: Oregon probate filing cost and Oregon executor fees.

Screen 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

Executor compensation

Statutory schedule

A statutory percentage schedule applies. Source: ORS 116.173.

Compensation detail

Statutes read in full for Oregon

Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead 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 note2026-09-17
ORS 114.510, 114.515Oregon splits its threshold in two, and counts manufactured homes with the real property — small estate route note2026-09-17
ORS 116.173Oregon pays a sliding commission — and adds 1% of property that never entered probate — representative pay note2026-09-17
ORS 115.005, ORS 115.185The four-month Oregon claims window is a floor, not a deadline — the real cut-off is the final account — creditor deadline note2026-09-17

Oregon decision map

The four facts that change the Oregon route

Each Oregon answer below links to the page that sets out its source.

Oregon estate administration decision map
QuestionRecorded 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 adds a separate 1% charge on reportable property outside the court's jurisdiction, so the four-tier schedule is not applied to a single combined value.
  • Under ORS 115.005 the creditor 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.
  • County-court exception: ORS 111.075 vests probate in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties rather than the circuit court.

What Oregon courts publish

Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.

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

Each rule on the Oregon pages comes from one of these 6 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.

  1. Simplified-procedure rule

    ORS 114.505 to 114.560, ORS Chapter 114, Small Estates (Simple Estate Affidavit).

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

  2. Executor compensation rule

    ORS 116.173, Compensation of personal representative.

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

  3. Court cost rule

    ORS 21.170, Probate filing fees and accounting fees.

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

  4. Court cost rule

    ORS 21.145, Simple proceeding filing fee.

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

  5. Creditor deadline rule

    ORS 115.005, Presentation of claims; time limitations.

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

  6. Court and venue rule

    ORS 111.075, Probate jurisdiction vested.

    Oregon Legislature · 2025 EDITION

Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Oregon source list · how sources are checked · report a correction