Oregon Small Estate Affidavit

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Oregon lets a small estate be settled with a sworn affidavit, usable 30 days after death, and it is either route, depending on which track you use. Real estate: yes.

The verdicts

What the statute actually says

A simple estate affidavit may not be filed until 30 days after the death of the decedent (ORS 114.515(3)); filed with the clerk of the probate court in any county where there is venue (ORS 114.515(1)); 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 (ORS 114.547(1)(a)).

— ORS 114.505-114.560

The dollar limit

Simple estate (small estate) affidavit: ≤$75,000 fair-market-value personal property AND ≤$200,000 real property (ORS 114.510, criteria renamed ‘simple estate’ by 2023 SB 308). Verified.

All 51 limits, compared.

The form

We did not locate an official free state form. That does not mean none exists — many states publish forms through individual county or probate offices rather than a single statewide page, and several court websites blocked automated access entirely. Ask the probate court or register of wills in the county where the person lived before paying anyone for a form.

The waiting period is the part that voids transfers

Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.

What could not be verified

Notarization is not required in the traditional sense: the statute provides the probate court clerk may acknowledge the affidavit upon presentation of ID (ORS 114.515(8)), rather than requiring a notary. Official court form URL (courts.oregon.gov) was not attempted/verified — left null rather than guessed.

When this route is the wrong one

• The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
• There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
• Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
• Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.

Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.

General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.