Harney County probate court Guide

Oregon's simplified route, and it is unusual in two ways. It is FILED with the clerk of the probate court rather than being a purely out-of-court affidavit, and it REACHES REAL PROPERTY: ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B) allows up to $200,000 of combined real property and manufactured homes, and ORS 114.555 transfers the decedent's interest in the property the affidavit describes. A page saying an Oregon small-estate affidavit cannot move a house is wrong. Fair market value is taken as of the date of death, or, where the death was more than a year before filing, as of a date within 45 days before filing, and it is taken WITHOUT reduction for liens or other debts, so a mortgaged house counts at full value.

• At least 30 days must have passed since the death (ORS 114.515(3))
• The filer must be a claiming successor, a person named as personal representative in the will, or the state where assistance may be recoverable (ORS 114.515(1))
• The filer must not be disqualified under ORS 113.095 and must not have a felony conviction (ORS 114.515(2))
• The affidavit must contain everything ORS 114.525 requires, including the ORS 114.535 notice in at least 14-point bold type
• A $124 filing fee under ORS 21.145 as applied by ORS 114.515(5)

Qualifies:

TWO CAPS THAT MUST BOTH HOLD. Not more than $75,000 of the fair market value of the estate may be attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes, AND not more than $200,000 may be attributable to the combined fair market value of real property and manufactured homes. There is no $275,000 figure in current Oregon law; $275,000 is only the arithmetic sum of the two caps, and an estate of $250,000 that is all personal property fails the $75,000 cap and cannot use this route.

Filing fee:

$124

source

Typical duration:

4-6 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

CALL IT A SIMPLE ESTATE AFFIDAVIT. 2023 Or. Laws ch. 17 retired the name 'small estate affidavit'; ORS 114.505(3) now defines 'simple estate affidavit' and ORS 114.510 is captioned 'Simple estate criteria'. Both names still circulate on official Oregon sites, and the statute is what governs. One date matters more than it looks: the two-cap text above governs the estate of a decedent dying ON OR AFTER January 1, 2026. For an earlier death the prior text applies, and while the two dollar figures did not move, a MANUFACTURED HOME was counted against the $75,000 personal-property cap rather than the $200,000 real-property cap. For a death before January 1, 2020 the route also carried a $275,000 aggregate cap that 2019 Or. Laws ch. 165 deleted.

An interested person, or the person the will nominates, petitions the Harney County Court for probate of the will and appointment of a personal representative under ORS 113.035. Letters issue, and the personal representative then gives information to the heirs and devisees, publishes notice to interested persons once, notifies the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority within 30 days of appointment with a copy of the death record, searches for creditors, files an inventory within 90 days, and closes with a final account and a judgment of final distribution.

• Petition under ORS 113.035, in a county with venue under ORS 113.015
• Bond unless excused under ORS 113.105(2)
• Information to devisees, heirs and interested persons upon appointment (ORS 113.145(1))
• Notice to the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority, with a copy of the death record, within 30 days of appointment (ORS 113.145(6))
• Publication of notice to interested persons once (ORS 113.155)
• Inventory within 90 days of appointment (ORS 113.165)
• Final account and petition for distribution (ORS 116.093)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is the ordinary route wherever the simple estate affidavit is unavailable or unsuitable.

Typical duration:

9-18 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Filed with the Harney County Court or County Clerk, not verified. ORS 111.115 lets the county court transfer the proceeding to the circuit court at any time, and requires transfer where the county judge is a party or directly interested.

An interested person or the person nominated in the will petitions for appointment of a personal representative and for probate of the will (ORS 113.035). The court appoints a qualified and suitable person in the ORS 113.085 preference order, letters issue, and the personal representative gives information to heirs and devisees, publishes notice to interested persons once, notifies the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority within 30 days, searches for creditors over three months, files an inventory within 90 days, and closes with a final account and a judgment of final distribution.

• Petition under ORS 113.035 in a county with venue under ORS 113.015
• Bond unless excused under ORS 113.105(2)
• Information to devisees, heirs and interested persons upon appointment (ORS 113.145(1))
• Notice to DHS and OHA with a copy of the death record within 30 days of appointment (ORS 113.145(6))
• Publication of notice to interested persons once (ORS 113.155)
• Inventory within 90 days of appointment (ORS 113.165)
• Final account and petition for distribution, with 20 days' notice of the objection date (ORS 116.093)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is the ordinary route wherever the simple estate affidavit is unavailable or unsuitable.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Oregon's simplified route, filed with the clerk of the probate court rather than administered out of court. It reaches BOTH real and personal property, which is unusual, and it puts manufactured homes with real property. The affiant is a fiduciary under ORS 114.545 with a duty to administer, preserve, settle and distribute the estate.

• At least 30 days must have passed since the death (ORS 114.515(3))
• The filer must be a claiming successor, a person named as personal representative in the will, or the state where assistance may be recoverable (ORS 114.515(1))
• The filer must not be disqualified under ORS 113.095 and must not have a felony conviction in Oregon or elsewhere (ORS 114.515(2))
• The affidavit must contain the information required by ORS 114.525, including the ORS 114.535 notice of duty to pay debt or turn over property in at least 14-point bold type
• A $124 fee under ORS 21.145 as applied by ORS 114.515(5)

Qualifies:

TWO CAPS THAT MUST BOTH HOLD: not more than $75,000 of the fair market value attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes, AND not more than $200,000 attributable to the combined fair market value of real property and manufactured homes. There is no $275,000 aggregate figure in current law.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Oregon's fast exit for a small estate with a dependent family. After the four months run, the court may order that the whole estate, after claims, taxes and expenses of administration, be set apart for support. There is then no further proceeding and the estate is summarily closed.

• A personal representative must already have been appointed and notice published, because the four months run from publication
• Reasonable provision for support must warrant setting apart the whole estate

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. The gate is that reasonable provision for the support of the surviving spouse and dependent children WARRANTS setting the whole estate apart, and that four months have run from the date of publication of notice to interested persons.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Not a court proceeding at all. Where a deposit is $25,000 or less, an insured institution (ORS 708A.430) or a credit union (ORS 723.466) may pay it on an affidavit to a statutory priority list: the surviving spouse at any time; then the Oregon Health Authority or the Department of Human Services where they hold a preferred claim and demand between 46 and 75 days after the death; then adult children, a surviving parent, adult siblings, and any other heir. ORS 708A.430(7) says in terms that a probate proceeding is not necessary.

• An affidavit meeting ORS 708A.430(3), or an ORS 708A.430(4) declaration from DHS or OHA
• For anyone other than the surviving spouse, no payment earlier than 46 days after the death, and none earlier than 76 days without prior authorization from OHA and DHS

Qualifies:

A deposit of $25,000 or less at the institution

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

Oregon enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act at ORS 93.948 to 93.979 (2011 Or. Laws ch. 212). The deed is revocable whatever it says, is nontestamentary, and takes effect only at death. A statutory form is provided at ORS 93.975.

• The essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed
• A statement that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor's death
• The designated beneficiary identified BY NAME; a designation identifying beneficiaries only as members of a class is void
• RECORDED BEFORE THE TRANSFEROR'S DEATH in the deed records in the office of the county clerk for the county where the property is located

Qualifies:

Not applicable. A transfer on death deed recorded before the transferor's death passes the described real property at death without probate.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one