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Oregon personal representative compensation

Oregon executor fee calculator

ORS 116.173 sets a percentage commission on the property subject to the jurisdiction of the court (property owned at death subject to administration, plus income received, gains, and certain other amounts): 7% of the first $1,000; 4% of the next amount up to $10,000; 3% of the next up to $50,000; and 2% of all above $50,000. A SEPARATE 1% applies to property not subject to the jurisdiction of the court but reportable for Oregon or federal estate-tax purposes, so the tiered schedule does NOT apply to a single accounting figure. Additional compensation is allowed for extraordinary/unusual services, and a will provision on compensation controls.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. Compensation base

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

Oregon estate snapshot

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededPetition for appointment of personal representative2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.ORS 116.173 sets a percentage commission on the property subject to the jurisdiction of the court (property owned at death subject to administration, plus income received, gains, and certain other amounts): 7% of the first $1,000; 4% of the next amount up to $10,000; 3% of the next up to $50,000; and 2% of all above $50,000. A SEPARATE 1% applies to property not subject to the jurisdiction of the court but reportable for Oregon or federal estate-tax purposes, so the tiered schedule does NOT apply to a single accounting figure. Additional compensation is allowed for extraordinary/unusual services, and a will provision on compensation controls.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

How Oregon executor compensation works

In Oregon, the personal representative (executor) is the person the court appoints, or the will nominates, to administer the estate. Oregon compensation is governed by state statute and, where the statute permits, by the terms of the will or a court order, so the lawful Oregon fee is whatever those authorities set — not a national rule of thumb.

The calculator above applies Oregon's reviewed statutory rule to the compensable estate value you enter. The Oregon figure does not include extraordinary fees — services beyond routine administration (such as litigation, tax elections, or real-property management) that the court may approve separately on top of the ordinary compensation.

In Oregon, the compensable amount is measured against the figures shown in the estate's court accounting, so two Oregon estates with the same headline size can produce different lawful fees when what they are made of differs. Enter the figure that matches that basis rather than the gross number on the first account statement, or the Oregon result will not reflect the rule the statute actually applies.

If the Oregon will names a specific compensation amount or formula, that term controls unless a beneficiary or the representative petitions the court for modification. When no will exists, or the will is silent on the point, the Oregon statutory rule becomes the presumptive measure of reasonable compensation for the work.

Oregon pays a sliding commission — and adds 1% of property that never entered probate

ORS 116.173(3) sets a commission upon the whole estate on a declining scale: seven percent of any sum not exceeding $1,000; four percent of all above $1,000 and not exceeding $10,000; three percent of all above $10,000 and not exceeding $50,000; and two percent of all above $50,000.

Subsection (3)(b) then adds a second layer that most states have no equivalent for: one percent of the property, exclusive of life insurance proceeds, that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the court but is reportable for Oregon estate tax or federal estate tax purposes. A representative who administers a modest probate estate alongside a large pool of beneficiary-designated assets can therefore earn a commission on the second pool.

What counts as “property subject to the jurisdiction of the court” is defined in subsection (1) and is broader than the opening inventory. It takes in all property owned at death that is subject to administration, all income received during administration, realized gains to the extent they exceed the valuation used, unrealized gains on assets acquired during administration, and proceeds recovered in a wrongful death claim by judgment or settlement. Each asset is valued at its highest value shown in the inventory, any amended or supplemental inventory, any interim account, or the final account.

Two adjustments sit on top. Subsection (4) allows further compensation as is just and reasonable for extraordinary and unusual services. And under subsection (5), where the will makes special provision for compensation, the representative gets nothing else unless a written renunciation of the will’s figure is signed and filed with the clerk before appointment — and where the estate cannot pay all expenses or claims in full, the representative’s compensation may not exceed what subsections (3) and (4) would have produced. The whole scheme yields to a different determination granted by the court under ORS 113.038.

Source: ORS 116.173, read from the enacting state’s own published code on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.

Oregon compensation map

Which figure the Oregon fee rule actually measures

A percentage is not a fee answer until its base is known. This Oregon map identifies the compensation standard and the accounting figure it uses, while keeping court approval and extraordinary work outside an invented total.

QuestionRecorded Oregon answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Simple estate affidavitConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$75,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; Oregon bars a claim under ORS 115.005(2) if it is not presented within the statute of limitations applicable to the claim and before the LATER of (a) four months after the date of publication of notice to interested persons, or (b) 45 days after actual notice is delivered or mailed to a known claimant under ORS 115.003. There is no independent nonclaim period measured from death: the underlying limitations period on each claim continues to apply, so the four-month/45-day bars are the estate-specific clocks and cannot be collapsed into one figure.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the Circuit Court (county court in Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?ORS 116.173 sets a percentage commission on the property subject to the jurisdiction of the court (property owned at death subject to administration, plus income received, gains, and certain other amounts): 7% of the first $1,000; 4% of the next amount up to $10,000; 3% of the next up to $50,000; and 2% of all above $50,000. A SEPARATE 1% applies to property not subject to the jurisdiction of the court but reportable for Oregon or federal estate-tax purposes, so the tiered schedule does NOT apply to a single accounting figure. Additional compensation is allowed for extraordinary/unusual services, and a will provision on compensation controls. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Compensation record

The Oregon fee record, band by band

This is the registry view of the compensation rule, separate from the calculator result. It shows whether a rate schedule exists and what accounting base the schedule names. A blank band is not permission to borrow a percentage from another state.

Compensation bandRateRead with
Up to $1,0007%the estate accounting
The next band through $10,0004%the estate accounting
The next band through $50,0003%the estate accounting
Above the prior band2%the estate accounting

Case-file context

Keep the Oregon answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Oregon descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

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.

Oregon's simple (small) estate affidavit has TWO distinct fair-market-value caps that must both be satisfied: not more than $75,000 attributable to personal property (other than manufactured homes) AND not more than $200,000 attributable to the combined value of real property and manufactured homes. Value is fair market value of the entire interest without reduction for liens or debts (gross), measured as of the date of death. The affidavit may not be filed until 30 days after death. Filing fee is $124 (ORS 21.145).

Cost context

For a petition for appointment of a personal representative (full probate) the statewide circuit-court filing fee is banded by estate value: $278 if the estate is under $50,000; $591 if $50,000 to under $1 million; $882 if $1 million to under $10 million; $1,176 if $10 million or more (ORS 21.170). A simple (small) estate affidavit costs a flat $124 (ORS 21.145).

1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Deadline context

Oregon bars a claim under ORS 115.005(2) if it is not presented within the statute of limitations applicable to the claim and before the LATER of (a) four months after the date of publication of notice to interested persons, or (b) 45 days after actual notice is delivered or mailed to a known claimant under ORS 115.003. There is no independent nonclaim period measured from death: the underlying limitations period on each claim continues to apply, so the four-month/45-day bars are the estate-specific clocks and cannot be collapsed into one figure.

  • 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.

Court-material note: 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.)

Arithmetic illustration

See the Oregon amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Oregon ceiling is $75,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $56,300 sits below the Oregon figure and $93,800 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Oregon counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Oregon ceilingWhat it does not decide
$56,300Below $75,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$93,800Above $75,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Bring the stated accounting base and the will or court instructions to the compensation discussion.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official 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.)

Source trail

Records used by this Oregon map

  • ORS 114.505 to 114.560ORS Chapter 114, Small Estates (Simple Estate Affidavit); reviewed August 9, 2026
  • ORS 116.173ORS 116.173 Compensation of personal representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • ORS 21.170ORS 21.170 Probate filing fees and accounting fees; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • ORS 21.145ORS 21.145 Simple proceeding filing fee; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • ORS 115.005ORS 115.005 Presentation of claims; time limitations; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • ORS 111.075ORS 111.075 Probate jurisdiction vested; reviewed August 9, 2026

The Oregon commission schedule, band by band

Oregon does not set one flat percentage. The rate steps down as the compensable figure grows, and each rate applies only to its own band — so the whole figure is never multiplied by the top rate or the bottom one. The published bands are:

Band of the compensable figureRate
on the first $1,0007%
on the next $9,0004%
on the next $40,0003%
on the balance above $50,0002%

The bands are read against the figure the estate’s court accounting establishes, which is not the same as the gross value on an opening statement. That distinction changes the Oregon answer: two estates of the same headline size produce different lawful commissions when the figure the schedule actually measures differs between them.

No single band is priced for you here, because Oregon keys the schedule to a figure the estate’s own accounting establishes rather than to a number an asset list can supply. Use the calculator above once you have that figure, and treat any court-approved extraordinary compensation, or a fee a will fixes, as separate from this ordinary schedule.

Compensation source

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.

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