Oregon Family Allowance

Oregon sets no family allowance figure. ORS 114.015 tells the probate court to make necessary and reasonable provision from the estate for the support of the surviving spouse and dependent children, and the court fixes the amount case by case. A separate right under ORS 114.005 lets them keep living in the decedent's principal dwelling for one year.

That combination is unusual, and it is why a search for an Oregon family allowance amount returns nothing useful. Most states publish a number. Oregon publishes a standard. This page covers who may petition, what the petition has to contain, the forms the support can take, the two ceilings that do exist, where support ranks against creditors, and the section that lets a court hand the surviving family the entire estate and close the case. It is general information about Oregon law rather than advice about one estate. Take a live question to the court handling the file or to a licensed Oregon attorney.

The Number Does Not Exist, and That Is the Answer

Oregon skipped the Uniform Probate Code trio of homestead allowance, exempt-property allowance and family allowance. ORS 111.005 says the probate law is ORS chapters 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 and 117. Read all seven in the 2025 Edition and the word "homestead" never appears, "exempt property" never appears as a set-aside, and "family allowance" appears exactly once. That single appearance sits in ORS 116.007(1), an allocation-of-income rule that charges "family allowances" against the principal of the estate alongside debts, funeral expenses and taxes. It describes how such an expense is booked. It creates none.

What Oregon has instead is a nine-section division of ORS chapter 114 headed SUPPORT OF SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.

Nothing in that list carries a dollar figure. The only quantity anywhere in the division is a fraction, and it applies to an insolvent estate.

What Triggers the Order

ORS 114.015 is one sentence and a list. The court "by order shall make necessary and reasonable provision from the estate of a decedent for the support of the spouse and dependent children of the decedent, or any of them," on four things happening:

1. A petition by or on behalf of the spouse or any dependent child.
2. Service of the petition and notice of hearing on the personal representative, unless the petitioner is the personal representative.
3. Notice to persons whose distributive shares may be diminished if the petition is granted, unless the court directs otherwise.
4. A hearing.

Two phrases in that sentence carry most of the weight. The word "shall" means the court is not free to ignore a properly presented petition. The measure "necessary and reasonable" means the size of what the court orders is a finding on the facts rather than a lookup.

The word "dependent" modifies children and not the spouse. A surviving spouse petitions without having to prove dependency. A child's claim turns on it, and Oregon leaves the term undefined: the probate definitions in ORS 111.005 run from "abate" to "will" and define neither "spouse" nor "dependent," and the word "dependent" appears nowhere in that chapter. Dependency is a finding the judge makes on the facts, and the section prints no age limit and no support-percentage test of the kind some states write in.

Registered domestic partners are inside the door. ORS 106.340(1), part of what ORS 106.300 calls the Oregon Family Fairness Act, grants any privilege, right or benefit given by statute to a person because that person is or was married "on equivalent terms, substantive and procedural" to a person in a domestic partnership.

What the Papers Have to Say

ORS 114.025 makes the petition a disclosure document rather than a request. The petition must describe property, other than property of the estate, that is available for the support of the spouse and children, and estimate the expenses anticipated for their support. A petitioner who is also the personal representative adds a statement of the nature and estimated value of the estate property and of the nature and estimated amount of claims, taxes and expenses of administration.

Where the personal representative is not the petitioner, ORS 114.025(2) requires an answer, and the answer carries that same estate-side statement. So the court reaches the hearing holding both halves of the picture: what the family needs, and what the estate can stand.

A family does not have to wait out the hearing to eat. ORS 114.035 lets the court allow temporary support by order while the ORS 114.015 petition is pending, "in an amount and of a nature the court considers reasonably necessary for the welfare" of the surviving spouse and dependent children. What the court settles on afterwards stays open too. ORS 114.045 lets the court modify or terminate an order for support by further order, so a change in the estate or in the family's circumstances reopens the question.

Three Forms, and One Two-Year Fence

ORS 114.055(1) lists what support may consist of, and it is broader than a monthly check:

• Transfer of title to personal property.
• Transfer of title to real property.
• Periodic payment of moneys during administration of the estate.

A transfer of title to the family car or to the house is support under this section, delivered once. That matters where the estate holds an asset the family already relies on and no cash to speak of.

The periodic option carries a fence. Payments "may not continue for more than two years after the date of death of the decedent." The clock runs from the death, not from the order, so a petition filed late in a slow administration reaches a shorter runway.

ORS 114.055(2) then tells the court what to weigh in setting any of it: the solvency of the estate, property available for support other than property of the estate, and property of the estate inherited by or devised to the spouse and children. A surviving spouse who is already taking the bulk of a solvent estate is asking the court to advance what is coming anyway, and the statute expects the court to see that.

The Two Ceilings

ORS 114.065 is the only place a quantity appears, and it is conditional. If it appears to the court that the estate will be insolvent after provision for support is made, then the provision "shall not exceed one-half of the estimated value of the property of the estate," and any periodic payment "shall not continue for more than one year after the date of death of the decedent."

Read the trigger carefully. Both limits attach to the insolvency finding. A solvent Oregon estate has no statutory cap on support at all, and an insolvent one has a fraction rather than a figure, measured against the estimated value of the estate property. The two-year fence in ORS 114.055(1)(c) shortens to one year in the same breath.

Where Support Sits Against Creditors

Oregon puts the family in front, and the rule surfaces in four different chapters.

ORS 114.075 gives court-ordered support priority over claims and expenses of administration, subject to the ORS 114.065 limits. The same section adds two rules people miss. The provision "is not charged against the distributive share of the person receiving support", so what a spouse receives as support is not later deducted from that spouse's share of the estate. And the provision is treated as an expense of administration "but not as a deduction for estate tax purposes", which keeps a support order out of the estate-tax computation even though the estate books it as an administration expense.

ORS 115.125(1) sets the order a personal representative pays in when the assets cannot cover everything, and the first of its fourteen classes is "Support of spouse and children, subject to the limitations imposed by ORS 114.065." Expenses of administration are second. Funeral expenses are third. Ordinary creditors are last. Where support sits against creditors works through the rest of that ladder, and Oregon creditor claims covers how a claim reaches the estate in the first place.

ORS 115.115 makes the sequencing concrete: once known claims are barred, the personal representative pays allowed claims in the ORS 115.125 order only "after making provision for support of spouse and children ordered by the court". ORS 116.013(1) applies the same test before any partial distribution, which the court may order only where sufficient assets will remain to pay support of spouse and children, expenses of administration, unpaid claims and known unpaid creditors.

The definitions section closes the circle. ORS 111.005(23) defines "net estate" as the decedent's property "except property used for the support of the surviving spouse and children" and for administration expenses, funeral expenses, claims and taxes. Support comes off the top before there is a net estate to divide, which is why ORS 114.215 vests title in the heirs or devisees "subject to support of spouse and children" whether the estate passes by will or by Oregon intestate succession.

Setting Apart the Whole Estate

ORS 114.085 is the section that makes Oregon's approach genuinely different from a fixed allowance, and it is the reason the absence of a figure is not a gap.

Once four months have run from the date the notice to interested persons was published, the court may order that "the whole of the estate, after payment of claims, taxes and expenses of administration, be set apart for such support". What unlocks the order is a finding that reasonable provision for the support of the spouse and dependent children, "or any of them", warrants it. The section then ends the case in one line: "There shall be no further proceeding in the administration of the estate, and the estate shall summarily be closed."

So a modest Oregon estate can be routed entirely to the surviving family, and the administration stops rather than grinding through to a final account. No dollar threshold gates it. The gate is the court's finding that support warrants it.

The four months are the same four months every Oregon estate already runs. ORS 113.155(1) has the personal representative publish the notice to interested persons once upon appointment, and ORS 113.155(2)(d) prints the four-month claim warning inside that notice. Chapter 18, Oregon Laws 2023 (Senate Bill 309) moved publication from three consecutive weeks to a single insertion and rewrote ORS 114.085 to match, so its four months now run from "the date of publication of notice to interested persons" rather than from the first of three. That act took effect on January 1, 2024 and applies to probate proceedings commenced on or after that date, so an older file still measures from its first notice. The Oregon probate timeline sets those months against the rest of the administration.

Staying in the House for a Year

ORS 114.005 works on its own, without a petition or an order. The spouse and dependent children who were occupying the decedent's principal dwelling at the time of death, "or any of them," may continue to occupy it until one year after the death. Where the decedent held a leasehold or anything less than a fee interest, the right runs to the earlier of that one year and the end of the interest.

Four duties travel with the year, and they are the price of it. Occupants may not commit or permit waste, and may not cause or permit construction liens or other liens to attach. They pay the cost of keeping the dwelling insured to the extent of the fair market value of the improvements, against fire and the other hazards inside extended coverage, with loss payable to the estate. They pay taxes and improvement liens as those liens come due. And the dwelling stays subject to the rights of anyone holding a security interest in it, so a mortgage is untouched by the year.

The protection inside the year is the closest thing Oregon has to an exempt-property set-aside. ORS 114.005(2)(d) keeps the dwelling "exempt from execution to the extent that the dwelling was exempt when the decedent was living", carrying the living exemption across the death. ORS 18.312 goes further for the rest of the estate: execution generally may not issue against the property of a deceased party, and a judgment against the decedent is collected by presenting a claim under ORS chapter 115 or the simple estate affidavit route in ORS 114.505 to 114.560. The section carries its own exception, and the catchline says so: subsection (2) still allows execution and sale under a judgment of foreclosure and sale of the decedent's property, with any deficiency collected as a claim against the estate. The Oregon simple estate affidavit covers that second route.

ORS 114.005(3) leaves the court a valve. For good cause shown it may waive or alter the one-year right, which is the route an estate takes when the dwelling has to be sold to pay what the estate owes.

Support and the Elective Share Are Separate Claims

A surviving spouse asking about support usually has a second question behind it, and Oregon answers it in a single sentence. ORS 114.600(2) says any amounts received under ORS 114.015 "are in addition to the elective share provided for in ORS 114.600 to 114.725." Support is not an advance on the election and does not reduce it.

The two claims also behave differently on separation. ORS 114.725 lets a court deny or reduce an elective share where the decedent and the surviving spouse were living apart at death, weighing whether the marriage was a first or a later one, what the survivor contributed, and the length and cause of the separation. The support division has no counterpart, so a separation reaches a support petition through the general "necessary and reasonable" standard and the ORS 114.055(2) factors instead. The elective share and the rest covers the election itself, including the sliding scale and its nine-month deadline.

One more difference is worth holding on to. The support division prints no deadline for filing an ORS 114.015 petition, where the election carries a hard nine months. What bounds the support petition is the estate itself: periodic payments stop two years after the death under ORS 114.055(1)(c), one year in an insolvent estate under ORS 114.065, and there is nothing left to petition against once the administration closes. So the earlier a petition lands, the more of those windows are still open, and the personal representative's duties keep running on their own schedule while it is pending.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Oregon have a family allowance?

Not under that name and not as a fixed sum. Oregon runs a court-ordered support provision instead. ORS 114.015 says the court by order shall make necessary and reasonable provision from the estate of a decedent for the support of the spouse and dependent children of the decedent, on a petition, service on the personal representative, notice to anyone whose share may shrink, and a hearing. The phrase family allowance appears once in the Oregon probate code, in the ORS 116.007(1) rule that charges such expenses against the principal of the estate, and it grants nothing.

How much is the Oregon family allowance?

Oregon publishes no amount, no floor and no ceiling for a solvent estate. The measure is whatever the court finds necessary and reasonable under ORS 114.015, and ORS 114.055(2) tells the court to weigh the solvency of the estate, property available for support outside the estate, and property of the estate the spouse and children already inherit or take under the will. Two hard limits exist and both attach only to an insolvent estate or to periodic payments. Any page quoting an Oregon dollar allowance has imported another state's law.

Who can ask an Oregon court for support?

ORS 114.015(1) allows a petition by or on behalf of the spouse or any dependent child. The word dependent modifies children, so a surviving spouse petitions without proving dependency while a child's claim turns on it. The Oregon probate definitions in ORS 111.005 define neither spouse nor dependent, which leaves dependency to the court on the facts. ORS 106.340(1), part of the Oregon Family Fairness Act, extends any right granted because a person is or was married to a registered domestic partner on equivalent terms.

Can a surviving spouse stay in the house after an Oregon death?

Yes, for one year, and no court order is needed to start. ORS 114.005(1) lets the spouse and dependent children who were occupying the principal dwelling at the time of death continue to occupy it until one year after the death, or until the earlier end of the interest where the decedent held a leasehold or less than a fee. Occupants must avoid waste and liens, keep the dwelling insured with loss payable to the estate, and pay taxes and improvement liens as they come due. A court may waive or alter the year for good cause under ORS 114.005(3).

Does support come before creditors in an Oregon estate?

Yes. ORS 114.075 gives court-ordered support priority over claims and expenses of administration, subject to the ORS 114.065 limits, and ORS 115.125(1)(a) makes support of spouse and children the first of the fourteen classes an Oregon personal representative pays when the assets cannot cover everything. ORS 114.075 also keeps the support from being charged against the recipient's distributive share, and treats it as an expense of administration but not as a deduction for estate tax purposes.

Can an Oregon court give the whole estate to the surviving family?

ORS 114.085 allows exactly that. After four months have run from the date the notice to interested persons was published, the court may set the whole of the estate apart for the support of the spouse and dependent children, after payment of claims, taxes and expenses of administration. What unlocks the order is a finding that reasonable provision for their support warrants it, and no dollar threshold gates it. The section then ends the case: there shall be no further proceeding in the administration of the estate, and the estate shall summarily be closed.

Related Guides

• Oregon Surviving Spouse Rights
• Oregon Debt Payment Priority
• Oregon Intestate Succession
• Oregon Creditor Claims
• Oregon Executor Duties
• Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit
• Oregon Probate Guide

Sources:

• Title: ORS Chapter 114, Administration of Estates Generally, 2025 Edition, including ORS 114.005 (occupancy of principal dwelling of decedent by spouse and children), 114.015 (support of spouse and children), 114.025, 114.035, 114.045, 114.055, 114.065, 114.075, 114.085 (setting apart whole estate for support), 114.215 and 114.600. 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 115.115 (payment of claims) and ORS 115.125 (order of payment of expenses and claims). 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 116, Accounting, Distribution and Closing, 2025 Edition, including ORS 116.007 (allocation of income) and ORS 116.013 (petition and order for partial distribution). 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 111, General Provisions, 2025 Edition, including ORS 111.005 (definitions for probate law) and ORS 111.075 (probate jurisdiction vested). 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 113, Initiation of Estate Proceedings, 2025 Edition, including ORS 113.155 (publication of notice to interested persons). 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 106, Marriage and Domestic Partnership, 2025 Edition, including ORS 106.300 (Oregon Family Fairness Act) and ORS 106.340 (certain privileges, immunities, rights, benefits and responsibilities granted or imposed). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors106.html
• Title: ORS Chapter 18, Judgments, 2025 Edition, including ORS 18.312 (execution not to issue against property of deceased party; exception). Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-08-25. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors018.html
• Title: Oregon Laws 2023, Chapter 18 (Senate Bill 309), relating to publication of notice to interested persons, amending ORS 113.155 and ORS 114.085. Publisher: Oregon Legislative Assembly. Publication Date: 2023. URL: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/lawsstatutes/2023orLaw0018.pdf

It is not legal advice.