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Benton County, OR Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Circuit Court in Benton County, Oregon's general-jurisdiction trial court and the Twenty-First Judicial District. Oregon has no separate probate court as an institution; probate jurisdiction in Benton County is vested in the circuit court (ORS 111.075), which handles estates under Title 12 of the Oregon Revised Statutes. The court has three elected circuit judges, Joan E. Demarest, Matthew J. Donohue and Keri J. Smith, and it puts probate and adoption in chapter 9 of its own local rules (Benton County SLR chapter 9) |
| Filing office | The court's Probate Unit, inside the Office of the Trial Court Administrator. The court names the Probate Unit on its own Programs and Services pages and describes it as handling protective proceedings such as guardianships and conservatorships and, in part, the court-supervised distribution of a deceased person's assets; the district's local rules use the name Probate Department when they say where a fiduciary education certificate is filed (Benton County SLR 9.076(6)). The Trial Court Administrator is Chris Westfall, 541-243-7819. The unit takes the petition, holds the original will, issues letters testamentary and letters of administration, and keeps the estate file |
| Courthouse | Benton County Courthouse, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330. Conventional in-person filings permitted or required under UTCR chapter 21 are accepted at the courthouse (Benton County SLR 1.161(1)), and the court also keeps a secure drop box on the first floor for in-person filings (court notice dated July 14, 2026). Room 106 is where probate oral objections are made (SLR 9.081(1)), where the rules place Circuit Civil (SLR 7.045(2)(a)) and where the court's What to Expect page sends civil visitors; the court's Civil Unit page says the Civil Unit is in Room 101, so confirm the counter with the Probate Unit before you travel. Courtroom 4 is on the first floor and Courtrooms 1, 2 and 3 are on the second floor. Everyone passes a security screening station at the entrance, hard-sided containers other than single-use water bottles are prohibited, and accessible entry is on the 5th Street side at basement level |
| Mailing address | Benton County Circuit Court, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330. The court publishes no post office box: its rules direct mailed documents to the same street address as the filing counter (SLR 1.161(2)) |
| Phone | 541-243-7844 for probate. The court's Probate Unit page publishes that number, its telephone directory lists it under a Probate Commissioner heading, and SLR 9.081(1) prints it as the line for making probate oral objections during regular office hours. It is also the court's Civil line. The main court number is 541-243-7850, which the court's own notice gives for general staff assistance, and the Trial Court Administrator is 541-243-7819. Telephone calls are answered only during the courthouse business hours, which include a midday closure |
| Fax | 541-243-7874, published as the court's Main Fax in the contact block on its own home page. Treat it as a general court fax rather than a filing channel: the court publishes no probate fax, its rules give three filing routes and none of them is fax (in person at the courthouse, by mail to the same address, and electronically through the Electronic Filing System defined in UTCR 21.010(3), per SLR 1.161(1) to (3)), and the Uniform Trial Court Rules chapter on electronic filing contains no facsimile filing provision. Confirm with the Probate Unit before sending anything by fax |
| No probate mailbox is published, so probate questions go to the probate line. The court does publish [email protected] for copies of documents from court files, and [email protected] for transcripts and for serving a notice of appeal on the trial court administrator and transcript coordinator under ORAP 1.35(e) | |
| Hours | The courthouse is open 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is closed on legal holidays. The midday closure is real and it covers the phones as well as the counters: the court states that telephone calls are only answered during those same hours. The court publishes no separate probate phone window and no business hours document |
| Filing fee | The filing fee to open a probate is set by statute and is the same in every Oregon county, tiered by the value of the estate: $278 if the estate is worth less than $50,000, $591 from $50,000 to just under $1,000,000, $882 from $1,000,000 to just under $10,000,000, and $1,176 at $10,000,000 or more (ORS 21.170(1); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026). A simple estate affidavit is $124 (ORS 21.145(4)). The caption must state the value of the estate (ORS 21.105). Fee waivers and deferrals are available. Confirm the current schedule with the Probate Unit |
| Local forms | None for probate, and that is worth stating plainly because Benton does publish local forms in other case types. Its forms page carries the instruction that where two versions of a form exist you should select the Benton version, and the district's rules name that page as the place where forms required by local rule are published (SLR 1.171). The local set is family law temporary relief, family law miscellaneous, parenting schedules and generic motion and order templates. In the Oregon Judicial Department forms library the only Benton-scoped file in the Probate category is the statewide accounting packet, and the three form tables on the court's Probate Unit page, for simple estates, conservatorships and guardianships, surface statewide forms. Oregon publishes no statewide petition to open a probate, so the petition is drafted by the filer or the attorney |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, optional for everyone else. An active licensee of the Oregon State Bar must file through the statewide electronic filing system for Oregon's circuit courts, OJD eFile, which is Odyssey File and Serve, unless the document must be filed conventionally or the filer has a waiver (UTCR 21.140(1)). Benton's own rule points the same way: electronic filing is governed by UTCR chapter 21 and electronic filings must be transmitted using the Electronic Filing System as defined in UTCR 21.010(3) (SLR 1.161(3)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to, and may file at the counter, in the first-floor drop box, or by mail. This district publishes no SLR chapter 2, so it names no probate documents as conventional-filing-only. The original will still goes in on paper (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)) |
| Case search | Through the statewide Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search, which gives free access to basic case information for Oregon's circuit courts. It is an index and register of actions: the Oregon Judicial Department states that results provide basic case information, party information, event entries and dispositions, that the display is not the official register record under ORS 7.020, and that documents are not available through it. A decedent's estate is a public case type. For copies from a Benton County file, the court publishes [email protected]; broader document access is through a court kiosk or a paid OJCIN OnLine subscription |
| Remote appearance | Not published as a default for probate. The only remote-appearance rule in this district lets the assigned judge permit appearances by remote means for good cause at a settlement conference (SLR 6.012(3)). The court does hold remote hearings, and its standing notice requires all exhibits for a remote hearing to be submitted in electronic format at least 48 hours before the hearing. Ask the Probate Unit for the format when your matter is set |
| Website | https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/programs-services/Pages/probate.aspx |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Benton County question is not which form to use, it is what the estate holds and who is entitled to what. Oregon prescribes no pleading forms for probate, because "No particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of jurisdiction of probate courts" (ORS 111.205(2)), and Benton County publishes no local probate form of its own, so the petition is a document you or your attorney draft. It has to state the facts relied on to establish venue, the decedent's name, age, domicile, address and date and place of death, the heirs and devisees with addresses and the ages of any minors, a statement that reasonable efforts have been made to identify and locate all heirs, and the extent and nature of the estate's assets so the court can set the bond (ORS 113.035). None of that can be written until you know what the decedent owned.
So before you file, identify every bank and credit union account, brokerage and retirement account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest and parcel of Benton County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir and devisee by name, address and age. That inventory decides three things at once in Benton County: which Oregon route fits, which fee tier the caption must state (ORS 21.105), and whether the court will require a bond before letters issue (ORS 113.105). Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Circuit Court in Benton County serves all of Benton County, from Corvallis out through Philomath, Monroe and the unincorporated county, and it hears probate for a Benton County decedent. The court describes its own reach in the same terms: it covers the geographical area of Benton County, although it is a state court and not part of county government. There is one courthouse and one filing counter. Conventional in-person filings permitted or required under UTCR chapter 21 are accepted at the Benton County Courthouse, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330, and mailed documents go to the same address (Benton County SLR 1.161(1) and (2)). Corvallis and Philomath each run a municipal court, and the Circuit Court lists both among outside agencies, but a municipal court has no probate jurisdiction: in Benton County that jurisdiction is the circuit court's (ORS 111.075). Do not take an estate petition to a city court.
Inside the building, the room matters and the court's own pages are not perfectly consistent about it. The district's rules put probate oral objections in Room 106 (SLR 9.081(1)) and Circuit Civil in Room 106 (SLR 7.045(2)(a)), and the court's What to Expect page directs civil visitors to Room 106 while sending small claims, eviction and domestic relations visitors to Room 101 and criminal and violations visitors to Room 104. The court's Civil Unit page, however, states that the Civil Unit is located in Room 101. Both statements are the court's own, so call the Probate Unit at 541-243-7844 and confirm the counter before you drive to Corvallis. Courtroom 4 is on the first floor and Courtrooms 1, 2 and 3 are on the second floor, everyone passes a security screening station, and accessible entry is on the 5th Street side at basement level.
Oregon's venue rule is unusually broad, so it is worth knowing what it does and does not permit. Oregon law allows a probate to be filed in the county where the decedent was domiciled or had a place of abode at the time of death, in any county where the decedent's property was located at death or is located when the proceeding is commenced, in the county where the decedent died, or in the county where a personal injury or wrongful death claim could be maintained (ORS 113.015(1)); filing in another county is not a jurisdictional defect (ORS 113.015(2)). In practice you file in the county where the decedent lived, because that is where the notice to interested persons is published (ORS 113.155(1)). If proceedings are commenced in more than one county, all but the first are stayed until venue is determined, and the court may transfer a proceeding where the best interest of the estate requires it (ORS 113.025).
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm that Benton County is the right county. Benton is the practical county when the decedent was domiciled or kept a place of abode here at death; the other statutory grounds are property located here, death here, or a personal injury or wrongful death claim that could be brought here (ORS 113.015(1)). There is one filing location, the Benton County Courthouse at 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis (Benton County SLR 1.161(1)).
- Choose the route. A probate proceeding is commenced by filing a petition (ORS 111.205(1)): with a will, the petitioner asks the court to admit the will and appoint a personal representative, who receives letters testamentary; with no will, the petition asks for appointment and letters of administration, and the court appoints in the statutory preference order, beginning with the personal representative named in the will and then the surviving spouse or the spouse's nominee where the spouse is a distributee (ORS 113.085(1)). For a modest estate there is the simple estate affidavit route under ORS 114.505 to 114.560, which reaches real property as well as personal property but appoints no personal representative and produces no letters. The routes and their value caps are covered on the Oregon state page.
- Draft the documents, because neither Oregon nor Benton County supplies them. "No particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of jurisdiction of probate courts" (ORS 111.205(2)), there is no statewide petition, inventory or letters form, and Benton County publishes no local probate form: the three form tables on its Probate Unit page surface statewide files, and the only Benton-scoped file in the Probate category of the Oregon Judicial Department forms library is the statewide accounting packet. Every petition, inventory, report and accounting must be in writing and carry a declaration under penalty of perjury in the form required by ORCP 1 E.
- File with the Probate Unit. An Oregon State Bar licensee must file electronically through OJD eFile, the statewide Odyssey File and Serve system, unless the document must be filed conventionally or a waiver has been granted (UTCR 21.140(1)), and this district's own rule requires electronic filings to be transmitted using that Electronic Filing System (SLR 1.161(3)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file, or may file in person at the courthouse, drop the filing in the court's secure first-floor drop box, or mail it to Benton County Circuit Court, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330 (SLR 1.161(1) and (2)). Either way the original will goes in on paper, because a document required by law to be filed in original form cannot be e-filed (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)); where an original must accompany an e-filed document, e-file an image, note it in Filing Comments, and deliver the original within seven business days, and the original is treated as filed on the date the image was e-filed.
- Pay the fee. The fee to open a probate is tiered by the value of the estate: $278 under $50,000, $591 from $50,000 to just under $1,000,000, $882 from $1,000,000 to just under $10,000,000, and $1,176 at $10,000,000 or more (ORS 21.170(1); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026). The caption must state the value of the estate, and if an amended pleading raises the value the court collects the difference (ORS 21.105). A simple estate affidavit is $124 (ORS 21.145(4)). Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), and because the statutory filing fee is the only charge collectible for a filing, Benton County adds no local surcharge. If you cannot afford the fee, apply for a deferral or waiver using the Oregon Judicial Department packet.
- Ask the Probate Unit how your matter will be presented. Benton County publishes no probate-only docket, but it does publish a court-wide ex parte practice: ex parte matters are heard at 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and petitions, motions and supporting documents must be filed by 10:30 a.m. the day of the appearance (SLR 7.085). If your filing is a motion or a scheduling request rather than an ex parte matter, the first paragraph must state the other party's position (SLR 7.035). Call 541-243-7844 during the court's business hours to confirm how an uncontested probate matter is put in front of a judge.
- Appear, and ask early whether you can do it remotely. This district publishes no default mode for probate hearings; the only remote rule in its local rules lets the assigned judge permit appearances by remote means for good cause at a settlement conference (SLR 6.012(3)). The court does hold remote hearings, and its standing notice requires every exhibit for a remote hearing to be submitted in electronic format at least 48 hours before the hearing. Confirm the format with the Probate Unit when your matter is set.
- Receive the letters. The court appoints the personal representative and then issues letters testamentary or letters of administration once any required bond is filed with the clerk of the court (ORS 113.125). A bond is not required where the will waives it, where the personal representative is the sole heir or devisee, or where the petition states that no assets are known, and the court may still require one for good cause (ORS 113.105). Certified copies of the letters, the document a bank or title company asks for, cost $5 plus 25 cents per page in paper form and nothing when delivered electronically (ORS 21.258; Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026).
- Take the court-required fiduciary class if it applies to you. A personal representative appointed under ORS chapter 113 who is not a professional fiduciary as defined in ORS 125.240(5) must register for the class within 15 days of appointment, successfully complete a class with a curriculum prescribed by the Presiding Judge of Benton County within 90 days of appointment, and file a certificate of completion stating the date, time and provider (Benton County SLR 9.076). The court sends notice and instructions at the time of appointment.
- Administer and close. Deliver the required information to the devisees, heirs and the other persons named in the petition, file proof of that delivery within 30 days of appointment, and send the same information and a copy of the death record to the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority (ORS 113.145). Publish the notice to interested persons once in a newspaper published in the county (ORS 113.155). File the inventory within 90 days of appointment, valued as of the date of death (ORS 113.165). Make reasonably diligent efforts during the three months after appointment to identify claimants, mail the notice to each known claimant, and file proof of compliance (ORS 115.003). Claims are presented to the personal representative, not filed with the court, and are barred if not presented before the later of four months after publication or 45 days after a required notice was mailed (ORS 115.005). File accountings, which carry their own tiered fee of $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 on the same value bands (ORS 21.170(2); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026), in the UTCR 9.160 format that this district requires (SLR 9.161). Then file the final account and petition for a judgment of distribution (ORS 116.083), give notice of the time to object at least 20 days out (ORS 116.093), and take the general judgment of final distribution (ORS 116.113).
Executor duties
A Benton County personal representative carries the statewide Oregon duties, which are covered on the Oregon state page: the information to devisees, heirs and state agencies with proof filed within 30 days of appointment (ORS 113.145), publication of the notice to interested persons once in a newspaper published in the county (ORS 113.155), the inventory within 90 days valued as of the date of death (ORS 113.165), the diligent search for creditors and the notice to known claimants with proof of compliance (ORS 115.003), the claim rules (ORS 115.005), annual and final accountings (ORS 116.083), and the general judgment of final distribution (ORS 116.113). The Twenty-First Judicial District adds three obligations on top of those.
Take the fiduciary class, and take it on the clock. Benton's non-professional fiduciary education program reaches personal representatives, not just guardians, conservators and trustees: a personal representative appointed under ORS chapter 113 on or after the effective date of the rules who is not a professional fiduciary as defined in ORS 125.240(5) must register within 15 days of appointment, successfully complete a class with a curriculum prescribed by the Presiding Judge of Benton County within 90 days, and file a certificate of completion stating the date, time and provider (Benton County SLR 9.076). A fiduciary cited for a deficiency in handling fiduciary duties through the show cause process is also subject to the rule. The class fee is a cost of administration of the estate and may be waived or deferred in the court's discretion, and failure to comply on time may result in removal.
File the accountings in the format this district requires. Accountings in estates and conservatorships must be submitted in the format specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161). That is the statewide accounting packet published in the Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center; UTCR 9.160 makes the format acceptable in every judicial district and lets a district make it mandatory, and Benton has. Remember that each annual or final accounting carries its own filing fee, tiered on the same value bands as the opening fee at $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 (ORS 21.170(2); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026).
Write the other side's position into your motions. In all cases, motions and scheduling requests must contain the other party's position as to the motion or request in the first paragraph of the body of the motion, and if a good faith effort to obtain that position failed, the first paragraph must give a detailed explanation of the attempts made, which may be shown by documented emails, letters or phone calls (SLR 7.035). Ex parte matters are among the rule's express exceptions. This is a small drafting habit that saves a rejected filing.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Benton County
Oregon publishes no statewide petition to open a probate, and that surprises people who expect a fill-in packet. It follows from the statute: "No particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of jurisdiction of probate courts" (ORS 111.205(2)). The Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center's Estate page publishes the Simple Estate Affidavit packet with its instructions, in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and a single Claim Against Estate form covering presentation of a claim to a personal representative under ORS 115.005, to a simple estate affiant under ORS 114.540, to a conservator, or to a trustee. A separate statewide page publishes the probate accounting packet. There is no statewide petition, no statewide inventory and no statewide letters form. The Forms Center states its own rule, that any statewide form will be accepted in all circuit courts but statewide forms are not available for all circumstances, and that additional forms may be available through local courts. Note that the Oregon Judicial Department's Guide and File interactive forms service does not cover probate or simple estates.
Benton County publishes no local probate form, and the check is worth showing because the court does publish local forms in other case types. Its forms page tells filers that where two versions of a form exist they should select the Benton version, and the district's rules name that page as the place where forms required by local rule are published (Benton County SLR 1.171). What is actually there is family law temporary relief, family law miscellaneous, parenting schedules and generic motion and order templates. In the Oregon Judicial Department forms library the only Benton-scoped file in the Probate category is the statewide accounting packet, and the three form tables the court's Probate Unit page renders, for simple estates, conservatorships and guardianships, pull statewide files. The page says as much itself: additional forms may be found in the statewide Forms Center. So the petition, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney.
Two practical points about Benton County forms. First, the accounting is the one probate document with a mandatory format here: accountings in estates and conservatorships must be submitted in the format specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161), which is the statewide accounting packet published in the Forms Center, and UTCR 9.160 lets a judicial district make that format mandatory, which this one has. Second, the court's Probate Unit page still describes the modest-estate route by its older name, calling it an affidavit of claiming successor, and attaches a caveat that its figures were accurate as of April 2016. The current statutory name is the simple estate affidavit (ORS 114.505(3)), and the statewide packet in the Forms Center carries that title.
Timeline
- Ex parte matters are heard at 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and the petition, motion and supporting documents must be filed by 10:30 a.m. on the day of the appearance (Benton County SLR 7.085). This is a court-wide calendaring rule rather than a probate-only docket, so ask the Probate Unit whether your matter belongs on it.
- Motions and scheduling requests must state the other party's position in the first paragraph of the body of the motion, and if you tried in good faith and could not get a position you must explain the attempts you made; ex parte matters are among the exceptions the rule lists (SLR 7.035). Build that step into your schedule before you file.
- A court-ordered bond has to be in place before letters issue. Letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued upon the filing with the clerk of the court of the bond, if any, that the court required (ORS 113.125).
- A non-professional personal representative registers for the court-required fiduciary education class within 15 days of appointment and must successfully complete it within 90 days of appointment, then file the certificate of completion with the court (SLR 9.076(3)). A request to waive the requirement must be made by motion supported by affidavit and filed within 15 days of receiving the court's notice (SLR 9.076(7)).
- Where the statute allows an oral objection in a probate matter (ORS 125.075), it is made in Room 106 of the Benton County Courthouse or by calling 541-243-7844, and only during regular office hours, which close at noon and reopen at 1:00 p.m. (SLR 9.081(1)).
- If your hearing will be remote, every exhibit must be submitted in electronic format at least 48 hours before the hearing, which is what the court's own standing notice requires. The district's rules add that the instructions for submitting media exhibits and exhibits in electronic format, for all remote trials and hearings, are maintained on the court's webpage (SLR 6.051(4)).
Local nuance
Benton County-specific considerations
Benton's first distinctive is that its probate line is not its main line, and the difference is easy to miss. The court's main number, 541-243-7850, is what its home page and its standing notice give for general staff assistance. Probate has its own number, 541-243-7844: the Probate Unit page publishes it, the court's telephone directory lists it under a Probate Commissioner heading, and SLR 9.081(1) prints it as the line for making probate oral objections during regular office hours. The same number serves the court's civil cases. Whether the court has an appointed probate commissioner under ORS 111.175 and ORS 111.185 is not something the court publishes, and no order appointing one for Benton County appears in the Oregon Judicial Department's local court rules library, so treat the heading as the court's label for the contact rather than as a statement about who signs your order.
The second is the fiduciary education class, and Benton gives you longer than the metro counties do. SLR 9.076 reaches personal representatives, not just guardians and conservators: any personal representative appointed under ORS chapter 113 on or after the effective date of the rules who is not a professional fiduciary as defined in ORS 125.240(5) must register for the class within 15 days of appointment and successfully complete a class with a curriculum prescribed by the Presiding Judge of Benton County within 90 days, then file a certificate of completion stating the date, time and provider. The fee is a cost of administration of the estate and may be waived or deferred in the court's discretion; a waiver of the requirement itself takes a motion supported by affidavit filed within 15 days of receiving the court's notice; the court may require a fiduciary to retake the class; and failure to comply on time may result in removal. The court sends the notice and instructions at the time of appointment, so watch for it.
The third is what this district does not have, which shapes a Benton estate as much as what it does. There is no SLR chapter 2 here, so unlike some Oregon districts Benton names no probate documents as conventional-filing-only, and the only paper-original requirement is the statewide one for an original will (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)). There is no probate short matters docket and no published probate calendar; the only scheduled counter practice the rules give is the 11:30 a.m. ex parte hearing with its 10:30 a.m. filing cutoff (SLR 7.085). Mandatory mediation in this district is a domestic relations program, not a probate one (SLR 12.005), so a contested Benton estate is not routed into mediation by rule. And the court publishes no order-signing turnaround and no counter wait, so do not plan around one.
Two smaller Benton facts complete the picture. The counter room is described inconsistently on the court's own site: the rules put probate oral objections and Circuit Civil in Room 106 (SLR 9.081(1); SLR 7.045(2)(a)) and the What to Expect page sends civil visitors to Room 106, while the Civil Unit page says the Civil Unit is in Room 101. Call before you travel. And the accounting has a mandatory shape: accountings in estates and conservatorships must be submitted in the format specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161), the statewide format published in the Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center, which UTCR 9.160 allows a judicial district to make mandatory.
Small-estate Alternatives
One Benton County wrinkle is worth knowing before you choose the simple estate affidavit route under ORS 114.505 to 114.560, and it is a naming and dating problem rather than a procedural one. The court's Probate Unit page describes the route in text it attributes to the Oregon State Bar, calls the document an affidavit of claiming successor, and states that the procedure can be used where the estate's personal property is valued at no more than $75,000 and real property at no more than $200,000, for a total aggregate estate value of no more than $275,000. It then adds its own caveat: those rates are accurate as of April 2016 but can be changed by the state legislature, and you should see an attorney or advisor to make sure they are still accurate.
The figures still match the statute, which sets two separate caps rather than one total: not more than $75,000 of fair market value attributable to personal property other than manufactured homes, and not more than $200,000 attributable to the combined value of real property and manufactured homes (ORS 114.510(1)(a)). The name has moved on, though. The current statutory term is the simple estate affidavit (ORS 114.505(3)), and that is the title on the statewide packet the court's own Small Estate form table surfaces. The waiting period, who may file, the four-month claim window and the two-year summary review period are statewide and are covered on the Oregon state page. The one point the court's page does not make, and that catches families out, is that this route appoints no personal representative, so no letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued on it.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 1, 2026 | The current Twenty-First Judicial District Supplementary Local Rules took effect for Benton County. Chapter 9 carries the probate practice a filer meets and is unchanged from the February 1, 2025 edition: the non-professional fiduciary education program that reaches personal representatives, with registration within 15 days and completion within 90 days of appointment (SLR 9.076); oral objections in Room 106 or by calling 541-243-7844 during regular office hours (SLR 9.081); and the mandatory UTCR 9.160 accounting format (SLR 9.161). The fiduciary education rule applies by its terms to fiduciaries appointed on or after the effective date of the rules. The 2026 edition also added SLR 4.006 and a new chapter 5 with SLR 5.006, both requiring a preliminary conference before any testimony by a judge, the trial court administrator or court staff. | Supplementary Local Rules, Twenty-First Judicial District, courts.oregon.gov/rules |
| July 14, 2026 | The court's standing notices were updated. Customer service counters are open to the public for regular business, the court maintains a secure drop box on the first floor of the courthouse for in-person filings, and staff are available for assistance at 541-243-7850. The same notice requires all exhibits for remote hearings to be submitted in electronic format at least 48 hours before the scheduled hearing. | Benton County Circuit Court home page, courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Benton County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Corvallis, Philomath or rural Benton County home held with a right of survivorship passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared through the county's deed records rather than the Circuit Court. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need probate. Where they do, the surviving spouse petitions the Circuit Court in Benton County at 120 NW 4th Street; the spouse or the spouse's nominee has priority for appointment where the spouse is a distributee (ORS 113.085(1)(b)). A spouse who serves as personal representative and is not a professional fiduciary must register for the court-required education class within 15 days and complete it within 90 days (Benton County SLR 9.076). If the sole-name property is modest, the simple estate affidavit may reach it instead, including real property, but it produces no letters. | Asset discovery to separate survivorship property from sole-name assets, which is also what sets the fee tier the caption must state. Packet generation for the simple estate affidavit or for the petition and proposed orders, since Benton County publishes no local probate form. Guidance on clearing title in the county's deed records. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Benton County and the estate is modest, a claiming successor may be able to file a simple estate affidavit with the clerk of the probate court in a county with venue, which reaches real property as well as personal property, with real property transferred afterward by recording a bargain and sale deed (ORS 114.555(3)). Where a full probate is needed, the child drafts the petition, files it electronically as a registered self-represented filer or mails it to Benton County Circuit Court, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330, and gets the original will to the court on paper. Benton publishes no default remote rule for probate, so ask the Probate Unit at 541-243-7844 how your matter will be heard before booking travel. | Asset discovery to confirm what the estate holds and whether the affidavit route reaches it. Packet generation for the affidavit or for the petition and proposed orders, ready to mail or e-file. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger, if a hearing has to be attended in Corvallis, or if the matter becomes contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate in the Circuit Court in Benton County. With no will, the parent petitions for appointment and letters of administration and the court appoints in the ORS 113.085(1) preference order; letters do not issue until any bond the court required is filed with the clerk of the court (ORS 113.125). The parent files the inventory within 90 days (ORS 113.165), publishes notice once (ORS 113.155), works the creditor search and notice (ORS 115.003), sells the child's Benton County real estate under the authority the letters give, and files the accountings in the UTCR 9.160 format this district requires (SLR 9.161), each with its own tiered fee (ORS 21.170(2)). A non-professional parent serving as personal representative must also complete the court-required fiduciary class within 90 days of appointment (SLR 9.076). | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, policies, vehicles and Benton County real estate, and for the debts that decide whether the estate is solvent. Packet generation for the petition, the inventory and the accountings, in the format the district requires. Attorney referral for a disputed sale, an heirship fight, or an insolvent estate. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Benton County Circuit Court Probate Unit page (courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/programs-services/Pages/probate.aspx) | The court's own probate page: what the Probate Unit handles, when probate is needed, a description of the modest-estate route under its older name with the court's own April 2016 accuracy caveat, the probate telephone number, three tables of statewide simple estate, conservatorship and guardianship forms, and the reminder that additional forms are in the statewide Forms Center. The page also states that ORS 9.160 prohibits court staff from giving legal advice |
| Benton County Circuit Court home page (courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/Pages/default.aspx) | The court's contact and location block, which is where the address, the main telephone number 541-243-7850, the main fax 541-243-7874, the courthouse hours of 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the Trial Court Administrator Chris Westfall at 541-243-7819 are published, plus the standing notices on customer service, the secure first-floor drop box, and the 48-hour deadline for exhibits in remote hearings |
| Benton County Circuit Court Telephone Directory (courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/resources/Pages/phone-directory.aspx) | The department-by-department number list, including the probate contact at 541-243-7844, the cashier at 541-243-7841, calendaring for unassigned cases at 541-243-7849, and the records mailbox [email protected]. It also states that telephone calls are only answered during the courthouse business hours. The table renders with JavaScript, so open it in a browser |
| Benton County Circuit Court Court Records (courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/records/Pages/default.aspx) | How to request copies from a Benton County court file and how transcripts are ordered, plus the email address for serving a notice of appeal on the trial court administrator and transcript coordinator under ORAP 1.35(e) |
| Benton County Circuit Court local forms page (courts.oregon.gov/courts/benton/help/Pages/Forms.aspx) | The court's own form library, with the instruction that where two versions of a form exist you should select the Benton version. This is the page the local rules name for forms required by rule (SLR 1.171). There are no local probate forms here; the categories are family law and generic motion and order templates |
| Twenty-First Judicial District Supplementary Local Rules, effective February 1, 2026 (courts.oregon.gov/rules) | The rules that actually govern a Benton County probate: chapter 9 on probate and adoption proceedings, including the non-professional fiduciary education program (SLR 9.076), oral objections in Room 106 or by phone (SLR 9.081) and the mandatory accounting format (SLR 9.161), plus SLR 1.161 on where and how documents are filed, SLR 7.035 on stating the other party's position and SLR 7.085 on the 11:30 a.m. ex parte hearing |
| Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center, Estate page (courts.oregon.gov/forms/Pages/estate.aspx) | The statewide Simple Estate Affidavit packet with instructions, in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and the Claim Against Estate form, plus the separate statewide probate accounting packet that Benton County requires by rule. There is no statewide petition to open a probate. The page renders its file list with JavaScript, so open it in a browser |
| Oregon Judicial Department Court Fees and the Circuit Court Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026 (courts.oregon.gov/Pages/fees.aspx) | The statutory probate filing and accounting fee tiers, the simple estate affidavit fee, appearance and motion fees, and copy and certification charges, with the ORS authority printed beside each line. The Fee Deferral and Waiver packet is in the same Forms Center |
| OJD eFile, Odyssey File and Serve (courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/efile.aspx) | Oregon's statewide electronic filing system for the circuit courts. Filing is mandatory for Oregon State Bar licensees (UTCR 21.140(1)) and open to self-represented filers who register; Benton County's own rule requires electronic filings to be transmitted through this system (SLR 1.161(3)) |
| OJD Records and Calendar Search (courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/records-calendars.aspx) | Free access to basic case information and calendars for Oregon's circuit courts. The Oregon Judicial Department states that results give basic case, party, event and disposition information, that the display is not the official register record under ORS 7.020, and that documents are not available through the service; document access is through a court kiosk or a paid OJCIN OnLine subscription |
| Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Albany Regional Office (433 Fourth Ave. SW, Albany, OR 97321, 541-926-8678) | The legal aid office the Circuit Court's own Outside Agencies page names for this county. It publishes that it serves Benton and Linn Counties, and is open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Its listed practice areas are family, government benefits, housing, seniors and civil matters, and decedents' estates are not among them, so call and ask before assuming an estate matter is in scope. For people 60 and older in Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon and Sweet Home it runs outreach through senior centers and in-home visits by appointment |
| Oregon State Bar (osbar.org, 503-620-0222 or 800-452-8260) | The Bar's public "What is Probate?" page and its Wills, Trusts and Elder Law resources, plus the Lawyer Referral Service and Modest Means Program at 503-684-3763 or 800-452-7636. The Circuit Court's Probate Unit page attributes its own probate explanation to the Bar, and the court lists the Bar among its outside agencies. The Bar is not a government agency |
| Oregon Law Help (oregonlawhelp.org) | Listed on the court's Outside Agencies page. It publishes no probate or estate topic, so use it to find the legal aid program that serves Benton County rather than as a probate guide. The site returns errors to automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
When to hire an attorney
Benton County does not screen self-represented fiduciaries the way some larger Oregon courts do, but it also gives you very little to work from: the court publishes no local probate form, no probate calendar and no step-by-step packet, and its own probate page ends with the reminder that ORS 9.160 prohibits court staff from giving legal advice. Counsel makes particular sense in Benton County when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt; when a will is contested or heirship is unclear; when a bond is required or a waiver is sought; when the estate holds a business interest, farm or timber ground, out-of-state property, or Benton County real estate whose sale terms are disputed; when a claim is presented that you intend to disallow, which puts a summary determination in front of the court; when a personal injury or wrongful death claim has to be settled; and when the accounting has to be assembled in the UTCR 9.160 format that this district requires (SLR 9.161). An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since Oregon State Bar licensees must e-file under UTCR 21.140(1). Sunset can connect families to a vetted Benton County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Benton County real estate, business interests and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value before you file. In Oregon that number does real work: it decides the filing fee tier the caption must state (ORS 21.105), it is what the petition must describe so the court can set the bond (ORS 113.035), and it is the basis of the inventory due within 90 days of appointment (ORS 113.165).
Generate the probate packet. Oregon publishes no statewide petition form and Benton County publishes no local probate form at all, so the paperwork is drafted, not filled in. Sunset assembles the Benton County estate settlement filing: the simple estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the proposed order and the proposed letters, with the ORCP 1 E declaration, ready to file at the courthouse counter, to drop in the court's first-floor drop box, to mail to 120 NW 4th Street, or to e-file through OJD eFile.
Find a local probate attorney. When the estate is insolvent or contested, when a claim has to be disallowed, or when the accounting has to be built in the UTCR 9.160 format this district requires, Sunset connects families to a vetted Benton County probate attorney to file, e-file and appear.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Benton County, Oregon?
With the Probate Unit of the Office of the Trial Court Administrator for the Circuit Court in Benton County, at the Benton County Courthouse, 120 NW 4th Street, Corvallis, OR 97330. Oregon has no separate probate court as an institution; probate jurisdiction in Benton County is vested in the circuit court (ORS 111.075). There is one filing location: conventional in-person filings are accepted at the courthouse and mailed documents go to the same address (Benton County SLR 1.161(1) and (2)), and the court also keeps a secure drop box on the first floor. Oregon venue is broad, allowing filing where the decedent was domiciled or had a place of abode, in any county where the decedent's property was or is located, where the decedent died, or where a personal injury or wrongful death claim could be brought (ORS 113.015(1)), and filing elsewhere is not a jurisdictional defect (ORS 113.015(2)); in practice you file where the decedent lived, because that is where the notice to interested persons is published (ORS 113.155(1)).
What is the probate phone number for Benton County Circuit Court?
541-243-7844. That is the number the court's Probate Unit page publishes, the number its telephone directory lists under a Probate Commissioner heading, and the number SLR 9.081(1) prints for making probate oral objections during regular office hours; it is also the court's civil line. The court's main number, 541-243-7850, reaches general staff assistance rather than probate. Calls are answered only during the courthouse business hours, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, so the midday closure applies to the phones too. The court publishes no probate email mailbox.
Do I have to e-file a probate case in Benton County?
Only if you are a lawyer. An active licensee of the Oregon State Bar must file through the statewide electronic filing system, OJD eFile, which is Odyssey File and Serve, unless the document must be filed conventionally or the filer has a waiver (UTCR 21.140(1)), and Benton County's own rule requires electronic filings to be transmitted using that system (SLR 1.161(3)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to, and may file in person at the courthouse, use the secure first-floor drop box, or mail the filing. This district publishes no SLR chapter 2, so it lists no probate documents as conventional-filing-only. The original will is the statutory exception and must be filed on paper (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)); where it accompanies an e-filed document you may e-file an image, note it in Filing Comments, and deliver the paper original within seven business days.
Can I fax a probate filing to Benton County Circuit Court?
The court publishes a main fax number, 541-243-7874, in the contact block on its own home page, but it does not present fax as a way to file. The district's rule gives three routes and none of them is fax: conventional in-person filing at the courthouse, mail to 120 NW 4th Street, and electronic filing through the Electronic Filing System defined in UTCR 21.010(3) (SLR 1.161(1) to (3)). The Uniform Trial Court Rules chapter on electronic filing contains no facsimile filing provision, and no probate fax appears anywhere in the court's telephone directory. Call the Probate Unit at 541-243-7844 before sending anything by fax.
How much does it cost to file probate in Benton County?
The fee is statutory and identical in every Oregon county, tiered by the value of the estate: $278 if the estate is worth less than $50,000, $591 from $50,000 to just under $1,000,000, $882 from $1,000,000 to just under $10,000,000, and $1,176 at $10,000,000 or more (ORS 21.170(1); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026). The caption must state the value of the estate, and if an amended pleading raises it the court collects the difference (ORS 21.105). A simple estate affidavit is $124 (ORS 21.145(4)). Accountings carry their own tiered fee of $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 on the same bands (ORS 21.170(2)), and any other appearance in a probate proceeding is $281 (ORS 21.135(1) and (2)(g); ORS 21.170(4)). Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), and Benton County adds no local filing surcharge. Fee deferrals and waivers are available.
Do I have to take a class to serve as personal representative in Benton County?
Yes, if you are not a professional fiduciary. A personal representative appointed under ORS chapter 113 on or after the effective date of the district's rules who is not a professional fiduciary as defined in ORS 125.240(5) must register for a court-required education class within 15 days of appointment, successfully complete a class with a curriculum prescribed by the Presiding Judge of Benton County within 90 days of appointment, and file a certificate of completion stating the date, time and provider (Benton County SLR 9.076). The court sends notice and instructions at the time of appointment. The fee is a cost of administration of the estate and may be waived or deferred in the court's discretion; a waiver of the requirement itself takes a motion supported by affidavit filed within 15 days of receiving the notice; and failing to comply on time may result in removal. Benton's 90-day deadline is longer than the 60 days some other Oregon districts allow.
What probate forms does Benton County provide?
None of its own. Benton County publishes local forms and even tells filers that where two versions of a form exist they should select the Benton version, but the local set is family law temporary relief, family law miscellaneous, parenting schedules and generic motion and order templates. The three form tables on the court's Probate Unit page, for simple estates, conservatorships and guardianships, surface statewide files, and in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library the only Benton-scoped file in the Probate category is the statewide accounting packet. Oregon publishes no statewide petition, inventory or letters form, because no particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required (ORS 111.205(2)), so the petition is drafted by the filer or the attorney. The one format the district does dictate is the accounting, which must follow UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161).
When are hearings held in Benton County probate cases?
The court publishes no probate-only docket and no filing-to-hearing window. What its rules do publish is a court-wide ex parte practice: ex parte matters are heard at 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and the petition, motion and supporting documents must be filed by 10:30 a.m. on the day of the appearance (Benton County SLR 7.085). If your filing is a motion or scheduling request rather than an ex parte matter, remember that the first paragraph must state the other party's position (SLR 7.035). Call the Probate Unit at 541-243-7844 during business hours to find out how an uncontested probate matter is put in front of a judge here. Do not plan around a signing turnaround; the court publishes none.
Can I appear remotely, or do I have to travel to Corvallis?
Ask, because Benton County publishes no default. The only remote rule in the Twenty-First Judicial District's local rules lets the assigned judge permit appearances by remote means for good cause at a settlement conference (SLR 6.012(3)); there is no probate remote rule. The court clearly does hold remote hearings, since its standing notice requires every exhibit for a remote hearing to be submitted in electronic format at least 48 hours beforehand. Filing itself can be done at a distance by mail or by registering to e-file, with one paper step that cannot be avoided: the original will has to reach the court (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)).
How do I look up a Benton County probate case or get copies?
Use the Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search, the free statewide tool for Oregon's circuit courts. It is an index and register of actions, not a document library: the Oregon Judicial Department states that results provide basic case information, party information, event entries and dispositions, that the display is not the official register record under ORS 7.020, and that documents are not available through the service. A decedent's estate is a public case type. For copies from a Benton County file, the court publishes [email protected], and copies of audio recordings are ordered at 541-243-7849. Location and inspection of court records is free (ORS 21.258(2); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026), paper copies are $3 per request per case plus 25 cents per page, and certified copies of letters are $5 plus 25 cents per page in paper and nothing delivered electronically (ORS 21.258). Broader document access is through a court kiosk or a paid OJCIN OnLine subscription.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.