Oregon Ancillary Probate

Oregon opens a probate here when someone who lived in another state dies owning Oregon real property. ORS 113.065 admits a will already probated where the testator died domiciled, on a certified copy of the will and a certified copy of the order that admitted it. Oregon then runs the case as an ordinary probate.

Families reach this question the same way almost every time. A title officer in Deschutes, Jackson or Clatsop County stops a sale because record title still stands in a dead person's name, and the home-state probate closed two years ago in California, Idaho or Washington. The Oregon step is usually smaller than it sounds, and one route in the statute moves personal property with no Oregon case at all. Read this beside the full Oregon probate process, which covers a decedent who lived here. It is general information about Oregon law rather than advice about one estate.

Oregon Law Never Uses the Word Ancillary

The search term and the statute do not match, and that mismatch sends people looking for a chapter Oregon never wrote. Read on 2026-08-25 at the 2025 Edition chapter pages, the word "ancillary" occurs zero times in ORS chapters 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 and 116. ORS 111.005(26) says that "Personal representative" includes an "executor, administrator, administrator with will annexed and administrator de bonis non, but does not include special administrator". No domiciliary or ancillary variant of the office appears in that list.

Four sections across three chapters carry the whole subject:

• ORS 113.065, captioned "Establishing foreign wills", admits the out-of-state will.
• ORS 111.245 says which documents prove a foreign probate and who certifies them.
• ORS 116.263 delivers personal property to a foreign personal representative without any local administration.
• ORS 114.333 lets a foreign personal representative deed Oregon land once a recorded contract of sale is performed.

Nothing there creates a parallel track. Oregon admits the out-of-state will and treats what follows as an Oregon probate.

What Actually Triggers an Oregon Filing

Oregon real property standing in the decedent's own name is the trigger. Land does not travel with a person's domicile, and a court in Boise cannot pass title to a parcel in Bend.

The definitions section says the same thing from the other side. ORS 111.005(15)(b) reads: "'Estate' includes tangible and intangible personal property of a decedent domiciled in Oregon, wherever the property is situated." That reach clause switches on with Oregon domicile. Nothing in the definition pulls a nonresident's out-of-state accounts into an Oregon estate, and ORS 111.085(1)(d) puts the determination of title to and possession of property claimed by or against a personal representative in the probate court's hands.

Property carrying its own survivorship or beneficiary path never arrives here at all. A parcel held in a revocable trust, a parcel held with a right of survivorship, and a parcel covered by a transfer on death deed recorded before the owner died each move without an Oregon proceeding. More of those sit on keeping Oregon property out of court.

Personal Property Can Move Without Any Oregon Case

Read ORS 116.263 before you open a file, because it can end the question. Its catchline is "Payment of debt and delivery of property to foreign personal representative without local administration", and subsection (1) works like this:

• Three months or more after the death of a nonresident decedent.
• Anyone indebted to the estate, or holding personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or right to sue, may pay or deliver it.
• The payment or delivery goes to the foreign personal representative, on an affidavit made by or on behalf of that person and accompanied by proof of authority.
• The affidavit states the date of death, that no local administration or application for one is pending in Oregon, and that the foreign personal representative is entitled to payment or delivery.

Subsection (2) protects the payer: payment or delivery made in good faith on the basis of that affidavit discharges the debtor or the holder. Subsection (3) closes the route once a resident creditor of the nonresident decedent has notified the debtor or holder that the debt should not be paid or the property delivered.

An Oregon bank balance, an unpaid Oregon debt or a certificated security may need nothing more than that affidavit. Oregon real property is outside it, because ORS 116.263 reaches personal property only.

One narrow real property exception exists. Under ORS 114.333, once a recorded contract of sale of real property is performed, the foreign personal representative of a deceased vendor may convey the vendor's title and interest to the buyer by recording a certified copy of letters testamentary or of administration in the deed records of the county where the property sits, with a statement that the letters are in effect. That covers a land-sale contract signed before the owner died. It does nothing for an ordinary listing.

Which Oregon Court Takes the Case

Two separate questions decide where the paperwork goes: which forum, and which county.

Forum comes from ORS 111.075. Jurisdiction of all probate matters, causes and proceedings sits "in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties and in the circuit court for each other county". A family with a cabin in Harney County files in a county court, and the clerk of that probate court is the County Clerk. The Oregon probate court directory names the court, the clerk and the address for all 36 counties.

County comes from ORS 113.015(1), which lists four grounds:

Ground (b) is the one an out-of-state family uses, and it points at the county holding the land. A filing that lands in the wrong county is not fatal: ORS 113.015(2) says filing in a county other than one subsection (1) specifies "does not constitute a jurisdictional defect". If two counties both get a petition, ORS 113.025(1) stays everything except the county where the proceeding was first commenced until venue is settled, and lets the court transfer the case where the estate is better served.

What the Oregon Court Needs From the Home State

ORS 113.065(1) asks for two documents and no more. A written will of a testator who died domiciled outside Oregon, which on probate may operate on property here, "may be admitted to probate upon petition, by filing a certified copy of the will and a certified copy of the order admitting the will to probate or evidencing its establishment in the jurisdiction where the testator died domiciled."

ORS 111.245 says who certifies:

• The will, by a certified copy, under subsection (1)(a).
• The foreign probate, under subsection (1)(b), by a certified copy of the document entered in the foreign jurisdiction "admitting the will to probate or recognizing the validity of the will".
• Letters, under subsection (1)(c), by a certified copy, and the certification may include a statement that the letters have not been revoked.
• Who signs the certificate, under subsection (2): a clerk of the court where the document was filed or entered, "or by any other official having legal custody of the original document".

Nobody re-proves the signing. The attesting-witness machinery in ORS 113.055 belongs to a will offered in Oregon first, and a will the home court already established comes in on the record instead. If any part of the paperwork is not in English, ORS 111.255 accepts a translation certified by the translator as accurate, and it protects anyone who relies on that translation in good faith.

ORS 113.035(10) tells the petitioner what to say about the original will, and it names the alternative directly: the petition states whether the original is with the court or accompanies the petition, and it treats "an authenticated copy of the will probated in another jurisdiction" as the other way in.

Order the certified packet from the home-state clerk before anything else. It is the item that takes weeks, and every later step waits on it.

No Oregon Clock Runs From the Date of Death

This is the fear that brings most families in, and Oregon's answer is narrower than it looks. ORS 113.027 reads in full: "A will may not be admitted to probate or an estate reopened to admit a will to probate more than one year after the estate of the decedent has been administered in Oregon and closed."

Read the trigger carefully. The year runs from an Oregon administration closing. It does not run from the date of death, and it does not run from the home-state case closing. A family that finished a Nevada probate in 2019 and found an Oregon parcel this spring has not walked past this section, because no Oregon estate was ever administered or closed. Dates do start once a case opens, and those live on the Oregon probate deadline reference.

The Foreign Will Can Still Be Contested Here

An order from another state settles that state's question. ORS 113.065(2) keeps Oregon's open: a will offered under that section "may be contested for a cause that would be grounds for rejection of a will of a testator who died domiciled in this state."

ORS 113.075(1) sets the grounds, which reach a will that is ineffective in whole or part, the existence of a will the petition did not allege, and a promise to make or revoke a will or to die intestate. Subsection (3) sets the clock at the later of four months after the ORS 113.145 information is delivered or mailed, and four months after publication of notice for someone who did not have to be named in the petition. The Oregon signing rules a contest measures against sit on Oregon will requirements.

An Out-of-State Person Can Serve as Personal Representative

Oregon sets no residency condition on the office, which surprises families used to states that do.

ORS 113.095 lists everyone who is not qualified to act: a person who is incapacitated or financially incapable as ORS 125.005 defines those terms, a minor, a lawyer suspended for misconduct or disbarred during the suspension or disbarment, a lawyer who resigned from the Oregon State Bar while misconduct charges were under investigation or disciplinary proceedings were pending, and a licensed funeral service practitioner outside two family and partnership exceptions. Living in another state is not on the list.

ORS 113.087(1) then says it affirmatively: "By accepting appointment, a personal representative, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate that may be instituted by any interested person." Oregon does not make a nonresident appoint a local agent for service either. ORS 113.135 asks only that a personal representative who has employed an attorney file that attorney's name and post-office address in the estate proceeding.

ORS 113.085(1) sets the preference order the court works through: the personal representative named in the will, then a surviving spouse who is a distributee or that spouse's nominee, then an intestate taker who is a distributee, then any other distributee, then the named state agencies, then any other person.

Bond is the item to settle before filing. ORS 113.105(1)(a) keeps the personal representative from acting and blocks letters until that person provides a bond to the clerk of the court in an amount the court sets, executed by a surety qualified under ORCP 82 D to G, and subsection (1)(b) tells the court to size it against the nature, liquidity and apparent value of the assets, the anticipated income and the probable debts and taxes. Subsection (2) lifts the requirement where the will says no bond is required, where the personal representative is the sole heir or devisee, for the named public fiduciaries, and where the petition states that no assets are known to the petitioner. A will drafted in another state that waives bond does that work here. Getting Oregon letters testamentary covers the rest of the appointment.

The Simple Estate Affidavit Is Not Closed to a Nonresident

Oregon's affidavit route sets value limits rather than a residency test, and it reaches real property, which most states' small-estate affidavits do not.

ORS 114.510(1)(a) allows a simple estate affidavit where two limits both hold: not more than $75,000 of the estate's fair market value is attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes, and not more than $200,000 is attributable to the combined fair market value of real property and manufactured homes. Neither limb asks where the decedent lived.

ORS 114.515(1) then says where it goes. A claiming successor, a person named as personal representative in the will, or one of the named public officials may file it "with the clerk of the probate court in any county where there is venue for a proceeding seeking the appointment of a personal representative for the estate." ORS 113.015(1)(b) supplies that venue for the county holding the Oregon land. ORS 114.515(3) bars filing until 30 days after the death.

For a family whose only Oregon asset is one modest parcel, that is a much shorter road than a full administration. The Oregon simple estate affidavit works the two limits, the claiming-successor rules and the deed step that follows.

Creditors Run on the Oregon Clock

Opening a case here starts an Oregon claims sequence, whatever the home state already did. ORS 113.155(1) has the personal representative publish notice to interested persons once, in a newspaper published in the county where the proceeding is pending or a newspaper the court designates, and subsection (2)(d) puts a four-month presentment warning in the notice itself.

ORS 115.005(2) bars a claim not presented within its own statute of limitations and before the later of four months after the date of publication, or 45 days after an individual notice meeting ORS 115.003(3) is delivered or mailed. Claims go to the personal representative, and ORS 115.005(1)(a) is blunt that filing a claim with the court is not presentation. Oregon creditor claims walks the search, the notice and the disallowance steps.

What It Costs to Open the Case

Oregon charges an out-of-state estate exactly what it charges a resident estate. The petition fee bands by the value of the estate.

ORS 21.170(5) applies the same schedule in the six county courts, so the forum split does not change the price. An amended simple estate affidavit costs nothing, by the closing clause of ORS 114.515(5). An annual or final accounting runs $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 on the same value bands under ORS 21.170(2). The Oregon Judicial Department circuit court fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 prints the same figures and cites the same subsections beside each row.

Copy and certification charges split by forum, and a single statewide figure would be wrong in six counties. In a circuit court those charges come from a Chief Justice Order rather than a statute, because ORS 21.258(1) lets the Chief Justice set fees for any service "for which no fee is provided by law", and ORS 21.258(2) forbids a fee for locating or inspecting court records. In the six county-court counties the clerk of the probate court is the County Clerk, and ORS 205.320 governs instead: not more than $3.75 to locate a requested record plus 25 cents a page under subsection (1)(d)(B), and $3.75 for an official certificate under subsections (1)(c) and (1)(d)(C). Order several certified copies of the letters at once, because a title company, an escrow officer and a lender each want their own.

Recording the Result With the County Clerk

The court file and the deed records are two different offices. A case that ends in the court's file without reaching the deed records leaves record title exactly where it started, and the sale stalls again.

ORS 116.223 puts that duty on the personal representative, who "shall cause to be recorded in the deed records of any county in which real property belonging to the estate is situated, a deed from the personal representative executed in the manner required by ORS chapter 93." The same section adds a point that reassures family members who take the job: executing the bargain and sale deed does not put the personal representative in the chain of title unless that person is also an heir, devisee or claiming successor.

ORS 116.113(1) makes the general judgment of final distribution designate the persons in whom title to "the estate available for distribution" is vested and the portion of the estate or property each is entitled to, and subsection (3) calls that judgment "a conclusive determination of the persons who are the successors in interest to the estate and of the extent and character of their interest", subject only to appeal and the court's power to vacate.

Do not expect the home-state court file to record here on its own. ORS 205.220 lets certified copies of estate records be recorded in the deed records and received as prima facie evidence, and it reaches copies of records "of any estate administered in this state".

Recording is priced partly by statute and partly by the county. ORS 205.320(1)(d)(A) charges $5 for each page with a $5 minimum, and ORS 205.323(1) adds three more fees of $1, $10 and $60 on an instrument described in ORS 205.130, which covers deeds. That is $76 of statutory charges on a one-page deed, before any county-added line item, and Oregon counties publish first-page totals well above it. Confirm the current figure with the County Clerk where the parcel sits, then read selling the Oregon property before it goes on the market.

Oregon Estate Tax Reaches a Nonresident's Oregon Property

Oregon runs one tax at death under two names, and the decedent's date of death picks the form. The Department of Revenue directs a death before January 1, 2012 to Form IT-1, the Oregon Inheritance Tax Return, and a death on or after that date to Form OR-706, the Oregon Estate Transfer Tax Return, and it states that the purpose and filing requirements for both are the same. That tax reaches a nonresident decedent.

ORS 118.010(1)(a) defines a nonresident decedent as an individual domiciled outside Oregon on the date of death. ORS 118.010(2)(b) imposes the tax on a transfer of the property of a nonresident decedent "whose estate includes any interest in: (A) Real property located in Oregon; or (B) Tangible personal property located in Oregon." Intangible property owned by a nonresident sits outside that sentence, so out-of-state accounts and securities are not what brings Oregon in.

ORS 118.010(6) then apportions the bill. The tax is the whole-estate figure computed under subsection (4), multiplied by a ratio whose numerator is the value of the decedent's Oregon real property and Oregon tangible personal property, less the ORS 118.145 natural resource property exemption, over the total value of the gross estate less that same exemption.

The filing line is measured on everything, not on the Oregon slice, and that is the part people get backwards. ORS 118.160(1)(c) requires an estate tax return for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2012 once the value of the gross estate is $1 million or more. The Department of Revenue states the same rule in operating terms: a return is due where the estate was worth $1 million or more and the decedent was an Oregon resident, or a nonresident who owned Oregon real property or Oregon tangible personal property. The rate table in ORS 118.010(4) begins at $1,000,000 and runs from 10.0 to 16.0 percent. The Department gives 12 months from the date of death to file and pay for deaths on or after January 1, 2022, on Form OR-706, with a six-month extension to file on Form OR-706 EXT that does not extend the time to pay.

A large out-of-state estate with a modest Oregon cabin can owe Oregon estate tax. A small estate whose only asset anywhere is that cabin will not.

Sending the Balance Home

ORS 116.163 closes the loop, and its catchline is plain: "Distribution to foreign personal representative". Once administration of an estate in Oregon has been completed and the estate is ready to distribute, the court may authorize delivery, on application by the Oregon personal representative, of property it finds appropriate for the payment of debts, taxes or other charges, or for distribution to the distributees, to the personal representative of the estate pending in the foreign jurisdiction.

The Oregon case pays what Oregon creditors presented and what Oregon taxes require. The balance can go back to the home-state file rather than being distributed twice.

Keeping the Parcel Out of a Second Case

An out-of-state owner can remove this filing while alive, and the cheapest tool records during life. Oregon's transfer on death deed sits at ORS 93.948 to 93.979 and takes effect at death only where it was recorded before the owner died, so a signed deed left in a drawer in another state does nothing. A revocable trust holding the parcel works the same way, with the deed into the trust recorded during life. The Oregon transfer on death deed covers the drafting, the recording step and revocation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Oregon have ancillary probate?

Oregon reaches the result without using the word. Read at the 2025 Edition chapter pages, the word ancillary appears zero times in ORS chapters 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 and 116, and ORS 111.005(26) says that personal representative includes an executor, administrator, administrator with will annexed and administrator de bonis non, but does not include a special administrator, with no domiciliary or ancillary version of the office in that list. What Oregon has instead is ORS 113.065, Establishing foreign wills, which admits a will already probated where the testator died domiciled, on a certified copy of the will and a certified copy of the order that admitted it.

Which Oregon court handles a nonresident decedent's Oregon property?

The forum depends on the county. ORS 111.075 vests probate jurisdiction in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties and in the circuit court for every other county. Venue then comes from ORS 113.015(1)(b), which reaches any county where property of the decedent was located at death or is located when the proceeding starts. ORS 113.015(2) adds that filing in a county other than one the section names is not a jurisdictional defect.

What does Oregon need to accept a will probated in another state?

Two documents. ORS 113.065(1) asks for a certified copy of the will and a certified copy of the order admitting the will to probate, or evidencing its establishment, in the jurisdiction where the testator died domiciled. ORS 111.245(2) lets a clerk of the court where the document was entered certify it, or any other official having legal custody of the original. The attesting witnesses are not called again.

Can Oregon personal property be released without opening a probate here?

Often yes. ORS 116.263(1) lets anyone indebted to the estate of a nonresident decedent, or holding personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or right to sue, pay or deliver it to the foreign personal representative three months or more after the death, on an affidavit with proof of authority stating the date of death, that no local administration or application for one is pending in Oregon, and that the foreign personal representative is entitled to payment. ORS 116.263(3) shuts the route down once an Oregon creditor tells the holder not to pay.

Can an out-of-state executor serve as an Oregon personal representative?

Yes. ORS 113.095 lists who is not qualified, and residence is not on the list. ORS 113.087(1) says it affirmatively: by accepting appointment, a personal representative, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court. Oregon does not require a local agent either. Plan for the bond instead, because ORS 113.105(1)(a) blocks letters until the personal representative provides a bond to the clerk of the court in an amount the court sets, unless one of the ORS 113.105(2) exceptions applies.

Can a nonresident decedent's estate use the Oregon simple estate affidavit?

The statute sets value limits rather than a residency test. ORS 114.510(1)(a) allows the affidavit where not more than $75,000 of fair market value comes from personal property other than manufactured homes and not more than $200,000 comes from real property and manufactured homes combined. ORS 114.515(1) files it with the clerk of the probate court in any county where there is venue for appointing a personal representative, and ORS 113.015(1)(b) supplies that venue for the county holding the Oregon land.

Does Oregon tax a nonresident's Oregon property at death?

It can. ORS 118.010(2)(b) imposes the estate tax on a transfer of the property of a nonresident decedent whose estate includes an interest in real property located in Oregon or tangible personal property located in Oregon, and ORS 118.010(6) apportions the bill by a ratio whose numerator is that Oregon property. The filing line is measured on the whole estate: ORS 118.160(1)(c) requires a return for a death on or after January 1, 2012 once the gross estate is $1 million or more.

Related Guides

• Oregon Probate Guide
• Oregon Probate Courts by County
• Selling Inherited Property in Oregon
• Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit
• Oregon Letters Testamentary
• Oregon Creditor Claims
• Oregon Transfer on Death Deed
• How to Avoid Probate in Oregon

This page describes ORS chapters 21, 111, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118 and 205 as they read in the 2025 Edition on the date above, and it is general information rather than advice about one estate. Whether a home-state probate record satisfies ORS 113.065 as a particular clerk reads it, whether ORS 116.263 covers a specific account, whether a parcel fits the ORS 114.510 limits, and what an apportioned Oregon estate tax return owes are questions that turn on facts a statute cannot settle from a distance. Take them to an Oregon attorney, to the probate court in the county where the property sits, and to the Oregon Department of Revenue. It is not legal advice.

Sources:

• Title: ORS Chapter 113, Initiation of Estate Proceedings, 2025 Edition, including ORS 113.015 (venue), 113.025 (proceedings commenced in more than one county), 113.027 (limitation on admission of will to probate), 113.035 (petition for appointment of personal representative and probate of will), 113.055, 113.065 (establishing foreign wills), 113.075 (will contest), 113.085, 113.087, 113.095, 113.105, 113.135, 113.145 and 113.155. Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors113.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 111, General Provisions, 2025 Edition, including ORS 111.005 (definitions for probate law), 111.075 (probate jurisdiction vested), 111.085 (probate jurisdiction described), 111.115, 111.245 (proof of documents; certification) and 111.255. Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors111.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 116, Accounting, Distribution and Closing, 2025 Edition, including ORS 116.113 (judgment of final distribution), 116.163 (distribution to foreign personal representative), 116.223 (recording of deed from personal representative) and 116.263 (payment of debt and delivery of property to foreign personal representative without local administration). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors116.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 114, Administration of Estates Generally, 2025 Edition, including ORS 114.333 (transfer of title and interest to real property by foreign personal representative), 114.510 (simple estate criteria) and 114.515 (simple estate affidavit; who may file; fee). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 115, Claims; Actions and Suits, 2025 Edition, including ORS 115.003 and ORS 115.005 (presentation of claims; time limitations). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors115.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 21, State Court Fees, 2025 Edition, including ORS 21.135 (standard filing fee), 21.145 (simple proceeding filing fee), 21.170 (probate filing fees and accounting fees) and 21.258 (fees for other court services). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors021.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 118, Estate Tax, 2025 Edition, including ORS 118.010 (imposition and amount of tax in general; Oregon taxable estate; out-of-state property; nonresident decedents), 118.145 and 118.160 (when tax return is required). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors118.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 205, County Clerks, 2025 Edition, including ORS 205.130 (recording duties of county clerk), 205.220 (recording copies of estate records), 205.320 (fees collected by county clerk) and 205.323 (additional fees for recording certain instruments). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors205.html
• Title: Estate Transfer Taxes and Fiduciary Income Taxes. Publisher: Oregon Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregon.gov/dor/programs/businesses/Pages/estate.aspx
• Title: Court Fees. Publisher: Oregon Judicial Department. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.courts.oregon.gov/Pages/fees.aspx

It is not legal advice.