Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit: The Two Caps That Must Both Hold

Oregon retired the small estate affidavit name in 2023. The simple estate affidavit that replaced it is filed with the probate court for $124, reaches a house as well as a bank account, and turns on two separate limits rather than one.

Based on ORS 114.510

By Settled Estate EditorialPublished: January 15, 2026Updated: May 31, 2026

Does Oregon Have a Small Estate Affidavit?

Oregon has the route and no longer has the name. 2023 Or. Laws ch. 17 renamed it the SIMPLE ESTATE AFFIDAVIT, and ORS 114.510 is captioned Simple estate criteria. It is filed with the clerk of the probate court rather than handed to a bank, it costs $124 under ORS 21.145 as applied by ORS 114.515(5), and it can carry real property, which most simplified routes cannot. What it turns on is two limits in ORS 114.510(1)(a) that must both hold at the same time: 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 real property and manufactured homes combined.

Do you qualify?

Qualifying threshold: $75,000 of fair market value attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes, and separately $200,000 attributable to real property and manufactured homes combined. ORS 114.510(1)(a) sets both, and both have to hold.The two caps are conjunctive, and that is where readers go wrong. Adding them into one $275,000 test reports a likely fit for a route that is shut: an estate of $250,000 held entirely in personal property sits under $275,000 and blows the $75,000 cap on its own. Oregon deleted the $275,000 aggregate figure in 2019 and it has no successor. Value is also taken gross. ORS 114.510(2)(b) uses the fair market value of the entire interest without reduction for liens or other debts, so a $300,000 house carrying a $280,000 mortgage counts as $300,000 rather than as $20,000 of equity. For a death on or after January 1, 2026 a manufactured home is measured with real property, under the definition ORS 114.510(3) added.
Waiting period: Thirty days. ORS 114.515(3) says a simple estate affidavit may not be filed until 30 days after the death of the decedent. Nothing shortens it and the section carries no hardship exception. A family that needs authority sooner opens a full administration instead, which has no waiting period and pays the graduated filing fee in ORS 21.170(1).
Court filing fee: $124, paid to the clerk of the probate court. ORS 114.515(5) directs the clerk to charge the fee established by ORS 21.145, and the same subsection adds that a fee may not be charged or collected for filing an AMENDED affidavit. This replaces the graduated fee rather than discounting it: ORS 21.170(1) opens with the words Except as provided in ORS 114.515, so a qualifying estate never reaches the $278 to $1,176 ladder or the accounting fee that follows it. Budget separately for certified death certificates, which the Oregon Health Authority prices at $25 for the first copy ordered by mail.
Attorney: Not typically neededNo statutory requirement, and the affidavit is written to be sworn and filed by a claiming successor. Counsel earns its cost where either cap is close, where a manufactured home has to be classified, where the estate may be insolvent, or where the decedent received medical assistance the state can recover from the estate
Real estate: Allowed in limited circumstancesOregon is one of the few states whose simplified route reaches a house, and the house is a separate limit rather than a bar. ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B) allows not more than $200,000 of fair market value attributable to real property and manufactured homes combined, so a modest home does not force a full administration on its own. Three qualifications decide most cases. The value is gross, because ORS 114.510(2)(b) takes the entire interest without reduction for liens or other debts. A manufactured home counts against this cap rather than against the $75,000 personal property cap, for a death on or after January 1, 2026. And the personal property cap has to hold at the same time, so a house at $180,000 alongside $90,000 of accounts fails on the personal property side. Where the house was handled during life, a transfer on death deed recorded before the death under ORS 93.948 to 93.979 passes it outside probate, subject to ORS 93.973, which leaves the transferred property answerable for allowed claims and the statutory allowances where the probate estate falls short.

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Main Requirements

Not More Than $75,000 of Personal Property

ORS 114.510(1)(a)(A) caps the fair market value of the estate attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes at $75,000. Bank accounts, wages, vehicles, securities and belongings all count here.

Not More Than $200,000 of Real Property and Manufactured Homes

ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B) caps the combined fair market value attributable to real property and manufactured homes at $200,000. The manufactured-home grouping applies to a death on or after January 1, 2026, using the definition in ORS 114.510(3).

Both Caps at the Same Time, With No Aggregate Figure

The two limits are conjunctive. There is no $275,000 test in current law: that number is only the arithmetic sum of the two caps, and Oregon deleted the real aggregate cap in 2019 Or. Laws ch. 165. An estate of $250,000 in accounts alone is under $275,000 and still fails, because the personal property cap is $75,000.

Values Taken Gross, With No Deduction for a Mortgage

ORS 114.510(2)(b) values the entire interest in property included in the estate without reduction for liens or other debts. A reader who thinks in equity will over-qualify: a $300,000 house with $280,000 owing on it counts as $300,000 and closes the route by itself.

Thirty Days Since the Death

ORS 114.515(3) bars filing until 30 days after the death of the decedent. This is the only waiting period on the route, and it runs from the death rather than from any notice.

A Filer the Statute Allows, With No Felony Conviction

ORS 114.515(1) lists who may file. ORS 114.515(2) disqualifies anyone who could not act as personal representative under ORS 113.095 and anyone convicted of a felony in Oregon or in another jurisdiction. The felony bar is not limited to Oregon convictions.

A Will Does Not Close the Route

ORS 114.510(1)(b) is an express testate alternative. Where the decedent died testate, the specifically devised property to devisees other than the trustee stays inside the same two caps, and the balance of the estate is devised to the trustee of a trust the decedent settled before the date of death, the route is open. ORS 114.515(1)(b) also lets the person named as personal representative in the will be the one who files.

Available Small-Estate Options

Simple Estate Affidavit, ORS 114.510 to 114.560

Limit: Two caps that must both hold: not more than $75,000 of personal property other than manufactured homes, and not more than $200,000 of real property and manufactured homes combined, valued gross
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 5 to 6 months, floored by the 30-day wait and the four-month claim window that starts at filing
Typical Fee: $124 under ORS 21.145 as applied by ORS 114.515(5). An amended affidavit is free

Full Administration, ORS 113.035

Limit: No dollar threshold. The ordinary route wherever the simple estate affidavit is unavailable or unsuitable, ending in a final account and a judgment of final distribution under ORS 116.113
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: Usually 9 to 18 months
Typical Fee: $278, $591, $882 or $1,176 to open under ORS 21.170(1) by the value of the estate, plus $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 on every annual and final accounting under ORS 21.170(2)

Estate Set Apart for Support, ORS 114.085

Limit: 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 publication of the notice to interested persons
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 5 months, because the four months run from publication and a personal representative has to be appointed first
Typical Fee: The ORS 21.170(1) petition fee, because an administration is opened before the estate is set apart

Bank Deposit Affidavit, ORS 708A.430 and ORS 723.466

Limit: A deposit of $25,000 or less at one insured institution or credit union. Not a general route: it reaches that deposit and nothing else
Real Estate: Not included
Timeline: About 2 months for anyone other than the surviving spouse, who may be paid at any time
Typical Fee: $0. No court is involved, and ORS 708A.430(7) says a probate proceeding is not necessary

Transfer on Death Deed, ORS 93.948 to 93.979

Limit: Planning done during life rather than a route after a death. The deed is revocable whatever it says, is nontestamentary, and must be recorded in the deed records of the county where the property sits BEFORE the death
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: The property passes at the death with no probate step
Typical Fee: County clerk recording, $5 per page under ORS 205.320(1)(d)(A) plus the ORS 205.323 surcharges. Not a court charge

Gross values and a one-way door: the two ways this route goes wrong

Both failures come from the same place, which is treating the affidavit as a form rather than as a sworn valuation. ORS 114.510(2)(b) values the entire interest without reduction for liens or other debts, so a family that answers from the equity in the house will qualify on paper and fail on the statute. And ORS 114.515(7) gives no second chance: if the estate later exceeds either limit the affiant may not amend, the authority ends, and the assets have to be delivered to a personal representative. The affiant is a fiduciary under ORS 114.545 and stays answerable to a court petition for summary review for two years under ORS 114.550. Talk to an Oregon probate attorney where either cap is close, where a manufactured home has to be classified against the real property cap, where the estate may be insolvent, or where the decedent received medical assistance or institutional care that the Department of Human Services or the Oregon Health Authority can recover from the estate.

Step-by-Step Process

Wait Thirty Days From the Date of Death

Covered in the "Do you qualify?" checklist at the top of this page.

Value the Estate Gross, Against Both Caps Separately

Sort the property into two piles and test each one. Personal property other than manufactured homes has to come in at $75,000 or less under ORS 114.510(1)(a)(A). Real property and manufactured homes combined have to come in at $200,000 or less under ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B). ORS 114.510(2)(b) values the entire interest without reduction for liens or other debts, so use the full fair market value rather than equity, and do not add the two piles together looking for a single ceiling.

Check Which Valuation Date Applies

ORS 114.510(2)(a) values the property as of the date of death, unless the death is more than one year before the affidavit is filed, in which case the values must be as of a date within 45 days before filing. An affidavit prepared for an older death from date-of-death numbers is using the wrong figures.

Confirm You Are a Person the Statute Lets File

ORS 114.515(1) allows one or more claiming successors, a person named as personal representative in the will where the decedent died testate, and the Director of Human Services, the Director of the Oregon Health Authority or an attorney approved under ORS 114.517 where the decedent received public or medical assistance or institutional care recoverable from the estate. ORS 114.515(2) closes the door on anyone disqualified under ORS 113.095 and on anyone convicted of a felony, in Oregon or in another jurisdiction.

Draft the Affidavit to ORS 114.525 and File It With the Clerk

The affidavit has to carry the information ORS 114.525 requires, including the ORS 114.535 notice of the duty to pay a debt or turn over property in at least 14-point bold type. File it with the clerk of the probate court for the county where venue lies and pay the $124 fee under ORS 21.145. If the estate later turns out to exceed either limit, ORS 114.515(7) does not let you amend your way out: the authority terminates, assets go to a personal representative on request, and notice has to be filed with the court and served on everyone who received a copy.

Hold the Estate Open Through the Four-Month Claim Window

Filing starts a clock rather than ending one. ORS 114.540(1)(a) lets a creditor present a claim to the affiant within four months after the affidavit was filed, and within four months after any amended affidavit. There is no publication on this route. The affiant is a fiduciary under ORS 114.545 with a duty to administer, preserve, settle and distribute the estate, and ORS 114.550(1)(a) leaves the administration reviewable by the court on a petition for summary review for two years after filing. Do not distribute everything on day one.

County Note: Where you file is the Oregon question a borrowed template gets wrong. ORS 111.075 vests jurisdiction of all probate matters in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler counties and in the circuit court for each other county, so 30 counties file with the circuit court and six file with the county clerk as clerk of the county court. Those six also have a circuit court, and it has no probate jurisdiction, so confirm the counter before mailing anything. The money does not move with the forum: ORS 21.170(5) says the fees established under that section apply to county courts exercising probate jurisdiction, and the $124 affidavit fee is the same in all 36 counties. Copies do differ. A circuit court certifies a copy at $5.00 under Chief Justice Order 23-016 section 2.b.(1), while a county clerk charges $3.75 for an official certificate under ORS 205.320. A county court may also transfer an estate proceeding to the circuit court under ORS 111.115, and must do so where the county judge is a party or is directly interested, so the county court is the default forum in those six counties rather than the only one.

FAQ: Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit

Does Oregon have a small estate affidavit?

Oregon has the procedure under a different name. 2023 Or. Laws ch. 17 renamed the small estate affidavit the simple estate affidavit, and ORS 114.510 now prints the catchline Simple estate criteria. The Oregon DMV has adopted the new vocabulary on its Simple Estate Certification, so a page still saying small estate affidavit will not match what a reader finds at the courthouse or on the form. Unlike the out-of-court affidavits some states use, this one is filed with the clerk of the probate court and costs $124.

What is the Oregon simple estate affidavit limit?

Two limits, and both have to hold. ORS 114.510(1)(a)(A) allows not more than $75,000 of fair market value attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes. ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B) allows not more than $200,000 attributable to real property and manufactured homes combined. There is no combined $275,000 test: that figure is only the sum of the two, and the genuine aggregate cap was deleted by 2019 Or. Laws ch. 165 for deaths on or after January 1, 2020. Values are gross, because ORS 114.510(2)(b) takes the entire interest without reduction for liens or other debts.

How much does an Oregon simple estate affidavit cost?

$124 at the courthouse. ORS 114.515(5) directs the clerk to collect the fee established by ORS 21.145, and the Oregon Judicial Department circuit court fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 prints the same figure against the same authority. An amended affidavit is free, because ORS 114.515(5) says a fee may not be charged or collected for filing one. Compare that with a full administration, where ORS 21.170(1) charges $278, $591, $882 or $1,176 by the value of the estate and ORS 21.170(2) charges a further $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 on every annual and final accounting.

Can an Oregon simple estate affidavit transfer a house?

Yes, within its own limit, which makes Oregon unusual. ORS 114.510(1)(a)(B) allows up to $200,000 of real property and manufactured homes combined, so the route is not closed by the existence of a house the way it is in most states. Two things still catch people. The value is gross under ORS 114.510(2)(b), so a mortgage does not bring the house down to its equity. And the $75,000 personal property cap has to hold at the same time. Where the house was dealt with during life, a transfer on death deed under ORS 93.948 to 93.979 recorded before the death keeps it out of probate altogether.

How long do you have to wait to file in Oregon?

Thirty days from the date of death, under ORS 114.515(3). The section says a simple estate affidavit may not be filed until 30 days after the death of the decedent, with no exception written into it. A petition for appointment of a personal representative under ORS 113.035 has no waiting period, so an estate that needs authority in the first month opens a full administration and pays the graduated fee instead.

Does a will stop the Oregon simple estate affidavit?

No. ORS 114.510(1)(b) sets out a testate alternative: the decedent died testate, the property specifically devised to devisees other than the trustee stays inside the $75,000 and $200,000 caps, and the balance of the estate is devised to the trustee of a trust of which the decedent was a settlor as defined in ORS 130.010 and which came into existence before the date of death. ORS 114.515(1)(b) then lets the person named as personal representative in the will file the affidavit. Any page saying the Oregon route is intestate-only is describing another state.

Official Forms, Sources, and VerificationOfficial references used for this page

ORS 114.510, Simple estate criteria (ORS chapter 114)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
ORS 114.515, Simple estate affidavit; who may file; fee; amended affidavit (ORS chapter 114)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
ORS 114.540, Procedure for claims (ORS chapter 114)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
ORS 114.550, Summary review of administration of estate (ORS chapter 114)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
ORS 21.145, Simple proceeding filing fee (ORS chapter 21)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
ORS 111.075, Probate jurisdiction vested (ORS chapter 111)Oregon State Legislature (Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition). Current official statute text, accessed August 25, 2026.
Circuit Court Fee Schedule (Public Version), effective January 1, 2026Oregon Judicial Department. Current official fee schedule, accessed August 25, 2026.

Information current as of May 31, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Oregon can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.