Oregon Petition for Probate

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Filing: one petition for appointment of a personal representative and probate of will, filed in the probate department of the Oregon circuit court of the county with venue, usually where the decedent lived or had a place of abode at death (ORS 113.035, 113.015). No official form number is named on this page, so ask the court clerk what the court requires; the court's form controls. A filing in another county is not a jurisdictional defect.

2. 2

   No one has authority over estate assets until the court appoints a personal representative and letters issue. Being named as executor in a will does not by itself allow anyone to collect assets, pay debts or transfer property. Do not distribute, pay heirs or sell estate property before appointment or before the creditor claims period runs.

3. 3

   No statutory period to offer a will or seek letters is stated here. A will may not be admitted, or an estate reopened to admit a will, more than one year after the estate has been administered in Oregon and closed (ORS 113.027). A person holding a will must deliver it to a court with jurisdiction or to a personal representative named in it within 30 days after learning the testator has died (ORS 112.810(1)(f)).

4. 4

   Who serves: the court appoints a qualified person it finds suitable, with priority to the personal representative named in the will, then a surviving spouse who is a distributee or the spouse's nominee, then a distributee who would take by intestacy, then any other distributee, then listed public agencies and any other person (ORS 113.085(1)). ORS 113.087(1) contemplates a nonresident personal representative, who on accepting appointment submits personally to the court's jurisdiction; the ORS 113.095 disqualification list does not bar nonresidents. Appointment is not guaranteed.

5. 5

   Notice to heirs and devisees comes after appointment: the personal representative must deliver or mail information to the devisees, heirs and others named in the petition, and file proof of mailing or a waiver within 30 days after appointment (ORS 113.145). The notice warns that rights may be barred unless they proceed within four months of mailing. A failure to give it is a breach of duty but does not affect the validity of the appointment.

6. 6

   Creditors: on appointment the personal representative publishes a notice to interested persons once in a newspaper in the county (ORS 113.155), and must send notice to known claimants (ORS 115.003). A claim is barred if not presented before the later of four months after publication or 45 days after a required ORS 115.003 notice is delivered or mailed (ORS 115.005(2)).

7. 7

   Bond is required: the personal representative may not act, and letters may not issue, until a bond is provided in the amount the court sets (ORS 113.105(1)). Exceptions include a will that says no bond is required, a sole heir or devisee, or a petition stating no estate assets are known, and the court may waive on request for stated reasons (ORS 113.105(2), (4)). Not every estate needs probate: Oregon has a simple estate affidavit filed without a personal representative, covered on DocDraft's small-estate-affidavit page, and non-probate transfers may apply.

Oregon Requirements for Petition for Probate

• One Petition for Appointment and Probate

  A single petition asks the court to appoint a personal representative and to probate the will; any interested person or the nominee in the will may file it (ORS 113.035).

• Circuit Court of the County With Venue

  The petition goes to the probate department of the circuit court, generally in the county where the decedent lived or had a place of abode at death. Filing elsewhere is not a jurisdictional defect (ORS 113.015).

• Petition Contents

  The petition states decedent data, whether there is a will, venue facts, the nominee and qualifications, heirs with relationships and addresses, and that reasonable efforts were made to locate heirs (ORS 113.035).

• Will Delivery Within 30 Days

  A person with custody of a will must deliver it to a court with jurisdiction or to a named personal representative within 30 days after learning of the death (ORS 112.810(1)(f)).

• Order of Priority to Serve

  The court appoints a suitable qualified person, with priority to the representative named in the will, then a surviving spouse who is a distributee or the spouse's nominee, then an intestate distributee, then any other distributee, then listed public agencies, then any other person (ORS 113.085(1)). The State Treasurer is appointed if the decedent died wholly intestate without known heirs (ORS 113.085(3)).

• Heir and Devisee Notice After Appointment

  The personal representative delivers or mails information to devisees, heirs and others named in the petition, and files proof or a waiver within 30 days after appointment (ORS 113.145).

• Creditor Notice and Claims Bar

  The representative publishes notice once in a county newspaper and notifies known claimants. Claims are barred after the later of four months from publication or 45 days from required notice (ORS 113.155, 115.003, 115.005(2)).

• Bond Before Letters Issue

  The representative may not act, and letters may not issue, until a bond is provided in the amount the court sets, unless an exception or waiver applies (ORS 113.105).

• Verification of the Petition

  The petitioner signs a statement that the facts in the petition are true. The court's form, if it provides one, controls over this draft.