Oregon: Small Estate Affidavit Thresholds & Procedure

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Oregon's version of this procedure lives in ORS 114.505 to 114.560, a
block of the probate code captioned "Simple Estates." ORS 114.510 sets
the dollar and eligibility criteria; 114.515 governs who can file and how;
114.525 lists everything the affidavit itself must contain; and 114.535,
114.545, 114.547, 114.549, 114.555, and 114.560 cover transferring
property, the affiant's fiduciary duties, sales to third parties, the
affiant's own liability, and the remedies available to anyone harmed by
noncompliance. The chapter was called "small estate affidavit" until 2021
legislation renamed it "simple estate affidavit" — anything describing a
"small estate affidavit" under an older Oregon statute number is
describing the same thing under its former name.

Dollar threshold

Two separate flat caps, not one combined number: $75,000 for personal
property other than manufactured homes, and $200,000 for the combined
value of real property and manufactured homes (ORS 114.510(1)(a)). Both
figures are valued at full fair market value as of the date of death, with
no subtraction for liens, mortgages, or other debts — and if the affidavit
is filed more than a year after death, the property is instead valued as
of a date within 45 days before filing. Neither figure is adjusted for
inflation. A 2025 bill's original committee draft would have added
automatic annual inflation indexing of both caps, but that provision was
dropped before the bill's final passage — the figures actually in force
today are flat, unindexed numbers. A testate estate with a residual trust
gets a variant of the same test: the $75,000/$200,000 caps apply only to
property specifically devised to individual people, while anything left to
the decedent's own pre-existing trust passes with no dollar limit at all.

Court filing required?

Yes, but it's an administrative filing rather than a hearing. The affiant
files the affidavit with the clerk of the probate court in a county with
venue over the estate, and the clerk "may acknowledge" it simply by
checking the affiant's identification and sworn statement — there's no
judge's hearing unless a dispute later comes up. A certified copy of the
filed, clerk-acknowledged affidavit is what the affiant then presents to
banks and other holders.

Waiting period after death

30 days. The statute is direct about this: "A simple estate affidavit may
not be filed until 30 days after the death of the decedent."

Works with a will, intestacy, or both?

Both. The main eligibility path (ORS 114.510(1)(a)) covers intestate
estates and ordinary testate estates alike. A second, testate-only path
(114.510(1)(b)) exists specifically for a decedent who left specific
bequests within the dollar caps plus a residual estate passing to their
own inter vivos trust.

Does it cover real property?

Yes, up to $200,000 combined with any manufactured homes — but with a real
condition on transferring it. Before the affiant can sell or transfer a
specific piece of real property, every heir or devisee who would succeed
to that particular interest has to join in the conveyance. If one of them
won't cooperate, the general rule is that the property simply can't be
sold this way — the one exception is an affiant who's a Medicaid or
public-assistance recovery attorney approved under a separate section, who
can convey the property to a third party for value even without that
consent.

Signature formalities

Lighter than in many other states — no notary and no witnesses at all.
The affiant's own statement is made under penalty of perjury, and the
clerk of the probate court checks the affiant's photo identification
before acknowledging the filing. That clerk check is an identity
verification, not a notarial act.

Protection for the bank/holder

Strong, and it covers more than one kind of holder. A bank or anyone else
that pays a debt or hands over property in response to the affidavit "is
discharged and released from any liability... in the same manner... as if
[it] had been transferred or delivered to a personal representative." A
financial institution that opens a deposit account for the affiant is
separately protected — it isn't liable for opening the account or for
letting the affiant later withdraw from it, and it doesn't have to verify
the money gets spent properly. Even a buyer of estate property from the
affiant is protected: a good-faith purchaser for value takes the property
free of any claim from the people who were actually entitled to inherit
it. On the other side of the ledger, the affiant is personally a
fiduciary, and stays on the hook to creditors and to any personal
representative later appointed for the value of whatever they received.

What trips people up

The two-cap structure is the biggest source of confusion — people often
assume there's one flat number for "the estate," when Oregon actually
separates personal property ($75,000) from real property plus manufactured
homes ($200,000) and checks each one independently. A second trap: the
30-day wait is a hard floor, not a suggestion — filing even a day early
means starting over. A third: transferring real property isn't automatic
just because the estate qualifies dollar-wise — every heir or devisee with
a stake in that specific parcel has to actually join the deed, which can
stall a sale if family members disagree or can't be located. Finally, the
inflation-indexing idea that nearly made it into a 2025 bill didn't
survive to final passage — anyone who saw an early draft summary should
know the enacted law still uses flat, non-adjusted dollar figures.

Common questions

Do I have to wait a set amount of time after the death? Yes — exactly
30 days must pass before the affidavit can even be filed.

Does the affidavit require a notary? No — Oregon doesn't require
notarization or witnesses; the affiant's statement under penalty of
perjury, checked by the probate court clerk, is enough.

Can this be used to transfer my parent's house? Yes, as long as the
real property (combined with any manufactured home) is worth $200,000 or
less and every heir or devisee entitled to that specific property agrees
to join the transfer.

What if my parent left a will? The procedure still works for testate
estates in general, and there's a separate version specifically for a
will that leaves the residual estate to the decedent's own trust.

Statutes and sources

• ORS 114.510 — "(1) A person who meets the requirements of ORS 114.515
  may file a simple estate affidavit only with regard to an estate in
  which: (a)(A) Not more than $75,000 of the fair market value of the
  estate is attributable to personal property other than manufactured
  homes; and (B) Not more than $200,000 of the fair market value of the
  estate is attributable to the combined fair market value of real
  property and manufactured homes; or (b) The decedent died testate
  and: (A) Not more than $75,000 of the fair market value of the estate
  is attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes
  that is specifically devised to devisees other than the trustee of a
  trust described in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph; (B) Not more
  than $200,000 of the fair market value of the estate is attributable
  to real property and manufactured homes that is specifically devised
  to devisees other than the trustee of a trust described in
  subparagraph (C) of this paragraph; and (C) The balance of the fair
  market value of the estate is attributable to property that is devised
  to the trustee of a trust of which the decedent was a settlor... (2)(a)
  The fair market value of the estate under subsection (1) of this
  section shall be determined: (A) As of the date of death; or (B) If
  the date of death is more than one year before the date of filing of
  the affidavit, as of a date within 45 days before the filing of the
  affidavit. (b) In determining fair market value under this subsection,
  the fair market value of the entire interest in the property included
  in the estate shall be used without reduction for liens or other
  debts." — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.515 — "(1) If the estate of a decedent meets the requirements
  of ORS 114.510, any of the following persons may file a simple estate
  affidavit 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: (a) One or more of the claiming
  successors of the decedent. (b) If the decedent died testate, any
  person named as personal representative in the decedent's will...
  (3) A simple estate affidavit may not be filed until 30 days after
  the death of the decedent... (8) The clerk of the probate court may
  acknowledge a simple estate affidavit upon presentation of the
  identification of the affiant and the affiant's statement under
  penalty of perjury." —
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.535 — "(4) Any person that pays a debt owing to the decedent
  or transfers, delivers, provides access to or allows possession of
  property of a decedent in the manner provided by this section is
  discharged and released from any liability or responsibility for the
  debt or property in the same manner and with the same effect as if
  the debt had been paid or the property had been transferred or
  delivered to a personal representative of the estate of the
  decedent." — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.545 — "(1) The affiant: (a) Is a fiduciary who is under a
  general duty to administer, preserve, settle and distribute the
  estate in accordance with the terms of the will, the law of intestate
  succession and ORS 114.505 to 114.560 as expeditiously and with as
  little sacrifice of value as is reasonable under the circumstances...
  (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or ORS
  114.547, when an heir or devisee entitled to succeed to a conveyance
  fails or refuses to join in the conveyance as required by ORS 114.547,
  an affiant approved under ORS 114.517 may convey any real or personal
  property that is part of the estate at any time to a third party for
  a valuable consideration... (4) Any claiming successor to whom
  property of the estate is delivered or transferred under ORS 114.505
  to 114.560 is personally answerable and accountable: (a) To the
  extent of the value of the property received, to creditors of the
  estate to the extent such creditors are entitled to payment under
  subsection (1) of this section; and (b) To any personal representative
  of the estate of the decedent appointed after the payment, delivery
  or transfer is made. (5) A financial institution as defined in ORS
  706.008 that opens one or more deposit accounts for an affiant
  pursuant to subsection (1)(e) of this section is not liable to any
  other person for opening the account or accounts or for permitting
  the affiant to withdraw funds from the account or accounts by means
  of checks, drafts, negotiable orders of withdrawal or otherwise. The
  financial institution is not required to ensure that the funds of the
  decedent that are paid out by the affiant are properly applied." —
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.547 — "(1) ...in exchange for adequate consideration: (a) The
  affiant may transfer or sell any real property if each heir or
  devisee who would succeed to the interest conveyed joins in the
  conveyance... (6) Any transfer or conveyance under this section to a
  purchaser in good faith and for a valuable consideration transfers or
  conveys the interest stated in the transfer or conveyance free of any
  interest of the claiming successors, and the purchaser has no duty
  with respect to application of the consideration paid for the
  transfer or conveyance." —
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.555 — "(3) When the affiant transfers an interest in real
  property under this section, the affiant shall cause to be recorded
  in the deed records of the county in which the real property is
  situated a bargain and sale deed conveying the property to the person
  entitled to the property, executed in the manner required by ORS
  chapter 93." — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• ORS 114.560 — "The exclusive remedy of a person injured by the
  failure of the affiant or any claiming successor to comply with the
  requirements of ORS 114.505 to 114.560 is a summary determination
  under ORS 114.542, a summary review of administration under ORS
  114.550 or the filing of a petition for appointment of a personal
  representative for the estate within the time allowed by ORS
  114.555." — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html
  (accessed 2026-07-06)