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Oregon timeline

Oregon probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines

The simplified route starts 30 days after death.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Oregon they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

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

The one date this page can source

The simple estate affidavit route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.

Not more than $75,000 of the fair market value of the estate is attributable to personal property other than manufactured homesORS 114.505 to 114.560 — Oregon Legislature; 2025 EDITION.

Creditor deadlines

Oregon does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From publication of notice to creditors
Four months after the date of publication of notice to interested persons (ORS 115.005(2)(a)).
From actual notice to a known creditor
If the personal representative was required to deliver or mail notice under ORS 115.003(2), 45 days after a notice meeting ORS 115.003(3) is delivered or mailed to the last-known address of the person asserting the claim (ORS 115.005(2)(b)). A claim is barred only if not presented before the LATER of the publication and actual-notice periods, and within the statute of limitations applicable to the claim.

How these combine. 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.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a claim is barred from payment from the estate if 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) If the claim was one with respect to which the personal representative was required to deliver or mail a notice under ORS 115.003 (2), 45 days after a notice meeting the requirements of ORS 115.003 (3) is delivered or mailed to the last-known address of the person asserting the claim.ORS 115.005 — Oregon Legislature; 2025 EDITION.

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Circuit Court (county court in Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties) before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

Oregon timeline decision map

What must be established before the Oregon clock matters

The Oregon waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

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.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the Oregon deadlines into one date

The Oregon record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Publication of noticeFour months after the date of publication of notice to interested persons (ORS 115.005(2)(a)).ORS 115.005
Actual notice to a known creditorIf the personal representative was required to deliver or mail notice under ORS 115.003(2), 45 days after a notice meeting ORS 115.003(3) is delivered or mailed to the last-known address of the person asserting the claim (ORS 115.005(2)(b)). A claim is barred only if not presented before the LATER of the publication and actual-notice periods, and within the statute of limitations applicable to the claim.ORS 115.005

How the periods combine: 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.

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.

Compensation context

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.

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.

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

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  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 general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Oregon periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue in Oregon