Oregon Small Estate Affidavit: Limits, Filing Steps, and 2026 Costs

For families dealing with a modest Oregon estate, the Small Estate Affidavit — officially called the Simple Estate Affidavit in Oregon law — is the most valuable tool available. It lets eligible heirs bypass formal probate entirely, avoiding the months of court supervision and attorney fees that come with it.

But the eligibility rules have hard limits and strict sub-limits that many families discover too late — often after they've already waited the mandatory 30 days.

What Is the Simple Estate Affidavit?

Governed by ORS 114.505 through 114.560, Oregon's Simple Estate Affidavit is a non-judicial settlement procedure that allows an heir, devisee, or unpaid creditor to collect and distribute a decedent's probate assets without opening a formal probate case in circuit court.

It's not automatic and it's not informal. The affiant (the person filing) takes on significant fiduciary responsibilities and swears under penalty of perjury that the valuations and heir identifications are accurate.

The 2026 Eligibility Limits

To qualify for the Simple Estate Affidavit pathway, the decedent's probate-eligible property must not exceed:

• $275,000 total across all probate assets
• $200,000 maximum for all real property
• $75,000 maximum for all personal property (vehicles, bank accounts, personal effects)

All three limits must be satisfied simultaneously. An estate with $100,000 in personal property fails even if the total is under $275,000.

How values are calculated: These caps are based on the fair market value at the time of death, not the net equity. A house worth $180,000 with a $150,000 mortgage counts as $180,000 toward the real property limit — not $30,000.

What doesn't count: Non-probate assets are completely excluded from this calculation. Joint tenancy accounts with right of survivorship, Transfer on Death (TOD) designated bank accounts, life insurance payouts to named beneficiaries, and retirement accounts with beneficiary designations — none of these count toward the $275,000 limit.

The practical problem: Oregon housing prices mean many estates with a single modest home immediately exceed the $200,000 real property cap, knocking them out of eligibility even if the home is the only significant asset.

The 30-Day Mandatory Waiting Period

You cannot file the Simple Estate Affidavit immediately after the death. Oregon law imposes a mandatory 30-day waiting period from the date of death before the affidavit can be submitted.

Use this waiting period to:

• Locate the original will (if any) — it must be filed with the affidavit
• Inventory and value all probate assets
• Identify all heirs and devisees
• Verify that no one else has already petitioned the court for a personal representative appointment

If a petition for the appointment of a personal representative has already been granted in Oregon, the Simple Estate Affidavit process is barred.

Where to File and What It Costs

File the Simple Estate Affidavit at the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent:

• Died, or
• Resided at the time of death, or
• Owned property

Required documents at filing:

1. The completed state-approved Simple Estate Affidavit form
2. A certified copy of the death certificate
3. The original will (if the estate is testate — i.e., if the decedent left a will)

Filing fee: The 2026 filing fee for a Simple Estate Affidavit is $124, set by the Oregon Judicial Department fee schedule.

After filing, the court returns a file-stamped copy of the affidavit. This file-stamped copy is your legal authority to act on behalf of the estate.

Mandatory Notifications After Filing

Within 30 days of the filing date, the affiant must mail or deliver a file-stamped copy of the affidavit and a formal notice of duties to:

• All identified heirs and devisees
• All known creditors
• The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Estate Administration Unit — required to check for any Medicaid recovery claims
• The Oregon Health Authority
• If the decedent was imprisoned at any point during the 15 years before death: the Oregon Department of Corrections

The Medicaid notification is not optional. Oregon's DHS recovery program is one of the most aggressive in the country — the state can pursue claims against assets that pass outside of probate (including joint accounts and TOD designations). Notifying the EAU correctly is how you establish a clear record that you acted properly.

The Four-Month Creditor Window

After filing, the affiant must hold all estate assets and observe a four-month creditor waiting period, calculated from the date of filing.

During this time:

• Creditors may present valid claims against the estate
• The affiant must pay valid claims, funeral expenses, and taxes from estate assets in the correct statutory order of priority
• No distribution to heirs can be made until this period expires and all obligations are resolved

If a creditor isn't paid what they're owed, they have two years from the filing date to petition the court for a summary review. If the affiant acted improperly — or if the estate turns out to exceed the $275,000 threshold — the affiant's authority is terminated and formal probate must be opened.

How the Simple Estate Affidavit Grants Authority

Once filed, the affidavit gives the affiant legal authority to compel third parties — banks, credit unions, vehicle holding companies — to transfer the decedent's property or pay debts owed to the decedent.

In practice, you present the file-stamped affidavit and a certified death certificate to each institution. Banks will release account funds; the DMV will accept the affidavit for vehicle transfers (alongside Form 735-516 for the Inheritance Affidavit); county assessors will update property tax records.

When the Simple Estate Affidavit Won't Work

The Simple Estate Affidavit is not appropriate if:

• The estate includes real property valued over $200,000
• Total probate assets exceed $275,000
• There are disputes among heirs about how assets should be distributed
• A creditor (especially ODHS) has threatened litigation over recovery claims
• The estate involves a business or complex assets requiring court-supervised accounting

In those cases, formal probate in Oregon Circuit Court is the required path — with its own tiered filing fees ($278 to $1,176 depending on estate value), 90-day inventory requirements, and annual accounting obligations.

If you're working through the Simple Estate Affidavit process in Oregon and want a step-by-step guide to notifications, deadlines, and creditor management, the Oregon Estate Settlement Guide covers the full sequence — from filing the affidavit to distributing assets to heirs.

See more Oregon guides →