Back to Oregon
Coos County, OR Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Coos County Circuit Court, Oregon's general-jurisdiction trial court for this county and a state court funded and administered by the Oregon Judicial Department. Coos is not one of the six counties where probate sits in a county court, so probate jurisdiction here is in the circuit court (ORS 111.075), governed by Title 12 of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS chapters 111 to 118). Coos shares the 15th Judicial District with Curry County: the district consists of the counties of Coos and Curry and has six judges (ORS 3.012(1)(o)), and the court's own audio and appeals page describes the district as six independent courtrooms. Sharing a district does not move your filing: a Coos County estate is filed in Coos County |
| Filing office | The court's Office of the Trial Court Administrator, at the Coos County Courthouse in Coquille. One Trial Court Administrator serves both counties in the district, at extension 70030. The court publishes no separate probate department for Coos; the one Coquille counter the local rules name by department is the State Court Civil and Domestic office on the main floor of the courthouse, which SLR 9.081 gives as the place to present an oral objection in a protective proceeding. Do not confuse the court with the Coos County Clerk, who records deeds, runs elections and keeps county records, and whose own page tells the public to contact the state courts at 541-396-8372 for probate |
| Courthouse address | Coos County Courthouse, 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423. The court's Court Locations page is headed Where to file court cases in Coos County and gives this address; SLR 1.161 provides that all documents for circuit court cases filed conventionally in Coos County are to be filed at the Coos County Courthouse during the clerk's public business hours. The Curry County courthouse at 29821 Ellensburg Avenue in Gold Beach is the other half of the same district and is not where a Coos estate goes |
| Mailing address | Coos County Circuit Court, 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423. The mailing address is the street address and this court publishes no post office box, unlike the Curry side of the district, which mails to 94235 Moore Street, Suite 200 in Gold Beach. Mailed payments carry one extra line: the court's payments page asks that they be addressed to Coos County Circuit Court, Attn: Accounting, at the same street address |
| Phone | 541-396-8372, the Coos County number published on the court's own home page and as the Coquille main number in its telephone directory (verified July 2026). No probate extension is published for Coquille. The closest published department line is the Civil Office at extension 25005; accounting is at extension 25001, the Trial Court Administrator at extension 70030. Curry County's directory does list a combined civil, domestic and probate extension, but that is Gold Beach's number and not the Coos answer, so call 541-396-8372 for a Coos estate |
| Fax and email | None published for probate. This district has no Oregon Judicial Department contacts page (the usual address returns a page not found), and no fax number appears on any of the court's own pages. Two Coos mailboxes are published and both are the wrong department for an estate: one is for serving a notice of appeal on the transcript coordinator under ORAP 1.35(e), the other for juvenile exhibit notification under SLR 11.111. Call 541-396-8372 rather than assuming a filing can be faxed or emailed |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., and on Thursdays closed 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Those are the courthouse hours the court publishes for the district (verified July 2026), and the extra half hour on Thursday is easy to miss on a drive to Coquille. SLR 1.151 states no hours of its own; it points to the court's website for them, so check the site before you travel. Oregon courts are closed on legal holidays. An electronic filing is timely if submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. in the court's time zone (UTCR 21.080(2)), which is later than the counter |
| 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. The court takes cash, check or credit card in person and credit card information by phone, and check or money order by mail, but publishes that payment plans are not offered in the Coos and Curry circuit courts. Confirm the current schedule with the court at 541-396-8372 |
| Local forms | None for a decedent's estate. Nineteen forms are scoped to Coos County in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, and the only two in the probate and guardianship area are a Guardian's Annual Report and an Annual Guardian's Report for a minor protected person, which are protective-proceeding forms rather than estate forms; the rest are expungement, eviction, small claims, mediation, audio and miscellaneous motion forms. The court's own forms page groups them as Adoption, General, Guardianship for Coos, Guardianship for Curry, Family and Public Records Request, notes that the page holds forms specific to the Coos and Curry courts, and warns that where two versions of a form exist you should select the Coos or Curry version. There is no local or statewide petition to open a probate |
| E-filing | Available and used, mandatory for attorneys. 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 holds a waiver (UTCR 21.140(1)), and SLR 1.161 repeats that requirement for this district. A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to, and may file at the Coquille counter or by mail instead. The original will still goes in on paper, because a document required by law to be filed in original form must be filed conventionally (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)). This district has no SLR 2.501, so it adds nothing to the statewide conventional-filing list. One local wrinkle: a filer who submits an expedited filing must separately notify the court by telephone and must speak with a court clerk in a department related to the case filing (SLR 21.071) |
| Case search | Through the free Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search, which covers Oregon's circuit courts and therefore covers Coos County. 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 ORS 7.020 register record, and that documents are not available through the service. A paid OJCIN OnLine subscription is the remote route to more, and copies from a file are requested on the statewide records request form. Decedents' estate cases are public. Courtroom audio is separate: contact the records clerk at 541-396-8372, and the court charges $10.00 for electronic delivery of a recording, or $10.00 plus $1.00 plus shipping for a CD (Coos and Curry Court Audio and Appeals page, verified July 2026) |
| Remote appearance | In person unless the court says otherwise, and you have to ask in advance. The court's remote hearings page states that if you have not been notified by the court or your attorney that your matter is to be heard remotely it will be heard in person at the courthouse, and that parties requesting to appear remotely shall file their request with the designated court location at least two business days before the hearing. The district uses Cisco Webex for most remote hearings and tells anyone who has not received access information one business day out to contact the court. Exhibits for a remote hearing must be submitted as UTCR 6.080 requires and by 5:00 p.m. at least two court days before the hearing (Presiding Judge Order 21-05; SLR 6.051). Nothing published makes probate hearings remote by default |
| Website | https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/coos/Pages/default.aspx (the shared Coos and Curry home page, with the Coos number and the courthouse hours), https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/coos/go/Pages/locations.aspx (where to file court cases in Coos County), https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/coos/resources/Pages/directory.aspx (the Coquille and Gold Beach telephone directories), https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/coos/records/Pages/default.aspx (court records), and https://www.courts.oregon.gov/rules/Documents/Coos-Curry_SLR_2026.pdf (the district's supplementary local rules effective February 1, 2026) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Coquille, know exactly what the estate holds. Which Oregon route fits depends on whether there is a will, on who is entitled to be appointed, and on the value and type of the assets, because a full probate that ends in letters testamentary or letters of administration and a simple estate affidavit under ORS 114.505 to 114.560 are different filings with different fees, different waiting periods and different consequences. Those routes and their dollar caps are statewide and are explained on the Oregon state page. Two Coos specifics make the homework worth doing first: this court publishes no probate department and no probate self-help page, so there is no specialist counter to walk a correction through, and the district's local rules put a delinquency notice behind every missed filing deadline, with a show cause hearing if the notice is not obeyed (SLR 9.005), which makes an accurate start cheaper than a fast one.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. In Oregon that is a filing requirement rather than good practice: the petition must state the extent and nature of the estate's assets so the court can set the bond (ORS 113.035), and the caption must state the value of the estate because the filing fee is tiered by that value (ORS 21.105(1); ORS 21.170(1)). If an amended pleading raises the value, the court collects the difference (ORS 21.105(2)). Sunset's asset discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step, so the petition you file at 250 N Baxter Street states the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Coos County Circuit Court, at the Coos County Courthouse, 250 N Baxter Street in Coquille, is the only probate filing location for the county. There is no branch courthouse and no second counter in Coos County. The court serves the whole county, including Coos Bay, North Bend, Coquille, Bandon, Myrtle Point, Lakeside and Powers, along with Charleston and the unincorporated coast, dunes and Coquille River valley between them. The local rules name the Coquille building twice for probate purposes: SLR 1.161 provides that documents in Coos County circuit court cases filed conventionally are filed at the Coos County Courthouse during the clerk's public business hours, and SLR 9.081 places the counter for an oral objection in a protective proceeding at the State Court Civil and Domestic office on the main floor of that courthouse.
Coos shares the 15th Judicial District with Curry County, and that is worth understanding before you search for anything online. The fifteenth judicial district consists of the counties of Coos and Curry and has six judges (ORS 3.012(1)(o)); the two counties share one Oregon Judicial Department website headed Coos and Curry County Circuit Courts, one Trial Court Administrator, one set of supplementary local rules and one set of general orders, and the court's telephone directory lists judicial assistants at both Coquille and Gold Beach. None of that changes where you file. A shared district is an administrative arrangement; the venue rule still points at a county, and a Coos County estate is filed in Coos County. Watch for the places where the shared page gives two answers and you need the Coos one: the phone number is 541-396-8372 rather than 541-373-6894, the address is 250 N Baxter Street in Coquille rather than Gold Beach, the mailing address is that same street rather than a Moore Street suite, and the address that must appear on a notice of the time for filing objections is 250 North Baxter Street, Coquille, Oregon 97423 (SLR 9.001(1)).
Probate here sits in the circuit court, not a county court. ORS 111.075 vests probate jurisdiction in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties and in the circuit court for each other county, and Coos is one of the others. The practical consequence is that everything statewide applies here, including OJD eFile and the Oregon Judicial Department's online case search, neither of which reaches those six county courts. The Coos County Clerk says the same thing from the county side: the Clerk's own page tells the public to contact the state courts at 541-396-8372 for probate, along with traffic, divorce, civil, criminal, juvenile and small claims matters. The Clerk still matters to an estate for one thing, recording the deed when Coos County real property is sold or transferred, and for the county's Digital Research Room index of recorded documents.
Venue is broad. 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 starts, in the county where the decedent died, or in the county where a personal injury or wrongful death claim could be brought (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)). So if the person who died lived in Coos County, file in Coquille, not in Gold Beach and not anywhere else in the district. If proceedings are started in more than one county, all but the first are stayed until venue is settled, and the court may transfer the matter for the best interest of the estate (ORS 113.025).
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, with the affidavit of an attesting witness or other evidence of the decedent's signature, a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's address and qualifications, the names and addresses of the heirs and devisees with the ages of any minors, and a list of assets and debts with values. Oregon's statutory term for the person who settles an estate is personal representative; executor and administrator are informal usages for the will-named and the court-appointed version of the same role.
- Decide what you are asking the court for. A probate proceeding is commenced by filing a petition (ORS 111.205(1)), and the court then appoints a qualified and suitable personal representative in the order of preference set by ORS 113.085(1), starting with the person named in the will and then the surviving spouse or the spouse's nominee where the spouse is a distributee. Where the estate is small enough, the alternative is a simple estate affidavit filed with the clerk of the probate court in a county where there is venue (ORS 114.515(1)), which in Coos County means the Coos County Circuit Court in Coquille. The caps, the waiting period and the two-year review window for that route are statewide and are covered on the Oregon state page.
- Draft the petition, because no form exists. Oregon prescribes no pleading forms for probate: no particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of the jurisdiction of probate courts (ORS 111.205(2)), and there is no statewide or Coos County petition, inventory or letters form. 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. The petition must state the decedent's name, age, domicile, address and date and place of death, whether the decedent died testate or intestate, the facts relied on to establish venue, the proposed personal representative's address and qualifications, the heirs and devisees, a statement that reasonable efforts have been made to identify and locate all heirs, whether the original will accompanies the petition, and a statement of the extent and nature of the assets so the court can set the bond (ORS 113.035). Put the value of the estate in the caption (ORS 21.105(1)).
- Collect the forms that do exist. Coos County publishes no local form for a decedent's estate, so the statewide set is the whole of it: the Oregon Judicial Department publishes a Simple Estate Affidavit packet with instructions, a Claim Against Estate form and an accounting packet. The accounting packet matters more here than in most Oregon counties, because SLR 9.161 requires accountings in estates and conservatorships to be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160. The two Coos-scoped forms in the probate area, a Guardian's Annual Report and an Annual Guardian's Report for a minor protected person, belong to protective proceedings rather than to estates.
- File with the Coos County Circuit Court, electronically or on paper. An active Oregon State Bar licensee must use OJD eFile, the statewide system run as Odyssey File and Serve, unless the document must be filed conventionally or the filer holds a waiver (UTCR 21.140(1)), a requirement SLR 1.161 repeats for this district; a self-represented filer may register and e-file but may also file at the counter at 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, or by mail to the same address, open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with the lunch closure noted above. The original will is the exception either way: a document required by law to be filed in original form must be filed conventionally (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)), and if you e-file the rest, e-file an image of the will and then deliver the original within seven business days with a filing comment saying so, in which case it counts as filed on the date the image went in (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)(i)). An electronic filing is timely to 11:59:59 p.m. in the court's time zone (UTCR 21.080(2)). If you need a filing treated as expedited, SLR 21.071 requires you to call the court as well and to speak with a clerk in a department related to the case.
- Pay the filing fee. Opening a probate costs $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, with no fee for an amended affidavit (ORS 21.145(4); ORS 114.515(5)). Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), and the statutory filing fee is the only charge collectible for the filing, which is why Coos County adds no local surcharge. The court takes cash, check or credit card in person, credit card information by phone at 541-396-8372 extension 25001, and check or money order by mail addressed to Coos County Circuit Court, Attn: Accounting, and it publishes that payment plans are not offered in the Coos and Curry circuit courts. Fee waivers and deferrals are available through the Oregon Judicial Department's fee deferral and waiver packet.
- Take the appointment and collect the letters. The court issues letters testamentary where there is a will or letters of administration where there is not, once any bond the court requires is filed with the clerk of the court (ORS 113.105; ORS 113.125). 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, though the court may still require one for good cause. A certified copy of the letters is what banks, transfer agents and title companies rely on, so order enough for the institutions the estate deals with: a certified copy of letters is $5 plus 25 cents per page in paper form and $0 if delivered electronically (ORS 21.258; Chief Justice Order 23-016; fee schedule effective January 1, 2026).
- Give the required information and notices, with the Coquille address on them. Upon appointment the personal representative must deliver or mail the statutory information to the devisees, heirs and the other persons named in the petition, file proof of that delivery or mailing within 30 days after appointment, and mail the same information with a copy of the death record to the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority (ORS 113.145). This district adds a local requirement to the notices themselves: a notice in a probate or protective proceeding must include the mailing address for filing objections with the court, which for a Coos County case is 250 North Baxter Street, Coquille, Oregon 97423 (SLR 9.001(1)). The notice to interested persons is published once, not once a week for three weeks, in a newspaper published in the county where the estate proceeding is pending, or in a newspaper the court designates if none is published there (ORS 113.155(1)), and it must require all persons having claims to present them within four months after the date of publication. Neither the county nor the court publishes a designated newspaper for Coos County, so confirm the paper and the schedule with the court at 541-396-8372 and with the newspaper before you rely on a date, because publication starts the four-month claim period.
- Search for creditors, then handle claims. During the three months following appointment the personal representative must make reasonably diligent efforts to investigate the decedent's financial records and affairs to identify claimants, must mail or deliver a notice to each known claimant not later than 30 days after that period stating that claims not presented within 45 days of the notice may be barred, and must file proof of compliance not later than 60 days after the period (ORS 115.003). Claims are presented to the personal representative, not filed with the court, and filing a claim with the court does not count as presentation (ORS 115.005(1)(a)). A claim is barred if not presented before the later of four months after publication or 45 days after a notice to a known claimant (ORS 115.005(2)), with narrow exceptions.
- File the inventory within 90 days. The personal representative must file an inventory of all estate property that has come into their possession or knowledge within 90 days after the date of appointment unless the court grants longer, showing estimated fair market values as of the date of death (ORS 113.165). If no property has come in, an inventory saying so must still be filed, and property found later goes into a supplemental inventory within 30 days or into the next accounting (ORS 113.175). If you need more time, this district will allow an extension of up to 30 days for filing any document on a written request filed with the court, and anything beyond that takes a motion, a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.004). Miss a deadline without asking and the court sends a delinquency notice, then an order to appear and show cause why you should not be removed (SLR 9.005).
- Account on the court's required format, and explain any delay. Unless the court orders otherwise, an account is filed annually within 60 days after the anniversary of appointment, and again when the estate is ready for final settlement and distribution (ORS 116.083(1)); a statement in lieu of an annual or a final account is possible where the distributees consent in writing and, for the final account, where creditors other than those owed administrative expenses have been paid in full (ORS 116.083(3) and (5)). In this district the format is not optional: accountings in estates and conservatorships shall be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161), which is the statewide accounting packet. If the estate is not ready for final distribution when an annual accounting goes in, the personal representative must give the court an explanation of the reasons why (SLR 9.023). Oregon charges to file an accounting, on the same value bands as the filing fee: $35, $298, $591 and $1,176 (ORS 21.170(2); fee schedule effective January 1, 2026).
- Close the estate and record the deed. On filing the final account and the petition for a judgment of distribution, mail the account, the petition and notice of the time for objections to each distributee and each unpaid creditor at least 20 days beforehand (ORS 116.093(1)), with the Coquille objection address on the notice (SLR 9.001(1)); if no objections are filed, the court enters a general judgment of final distribution (ORS 116.113). Where Coos County real property passes or is sold, record the deed with the Coos County Clerk, the county's recording officer, whose published recording fee for deed records is $106 for the first page and $5 for each additional page (Coos County Clerk recording fees, verified July 2026).
Executor duties
A personal representative appointed in Coos County carries the statewide duties, and the 15th District's probate chapter adds five local requirements on top of them. The statewide obligations are the notices and proof of mailing within 30 days of appointment (ORS 113.145), publication of the notice to interested persons once (ORS 113.155(1)), the creditor search and known-claimant notices (ORS 115.003), the inventory within 90 days (ORS 113.165) and the annual and final accountings (ORS 116.083). What is local is set out below, all of it from the supplementary local rules of the Fifteenth Judicial District effective February 1, 2026, whose probate chapter is unchanged from the February 1, 2025 edition.
| Local duty | What the 15th District requires |
|---|---|
| Put the Coquille objection address on your notices | A notice required in a probate or protective proceeding must include the appropriate mailing address for filing objections with the court. For a Coos County case that address is 250 North Baxter Street, Coquille, Oregon 97423; for a Curry County case it is 94235 Moore St., Suite 200, Gold Beach, Oregon 97444 (SLR 9.001). Using the wrong half of the district's address pair is the classic shared-district mistake |
| Use the statewide accounting format, because here it is required | Accountings in estates and conservatorships shall be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161). That is the Oregon Judicial Department accounting packet. Statewide the format only has to be accepted; in this district it is the required form. A change in the accounting period is allowed for the convenience of the fiduciary but takes a motion, a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.164). Remember that Oregon charges a fee for each annual or final accounting, tiered by the value of the estate at $35, $298, $591 and $1,176 (ORS 21.170(2); fee schedule effective January 1, 2026) |
| Explain a slow estate at the annual accounting | If an estate is not ready for final distribution at the filing of an annual accounting, the personal representative shall provide to the court an explanation of the reasons why the estate is not ready for distribution (SLR 9.023). Plan for it: a sale that has not closed, a claim still in dispute or an unresolved title problem is the kind of reason the court is asking for |
| Ask for more time in writing, before the deadline passes | The court will allow an extension of up to 30 days for filing any document if the extension is requested in writing and filed with the court. Any further extension requires a motion, a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.004) |
| Expect a delinquency notice, then a show cause order | The court will send a delinquency notice to a fiduciary for each failure to timely file a required document, and if the fiduciary fails to comply with the terms of the notice the court will issue an order for the fiduciary and any attorney for the fiduciary to appear in court and show cause why the fiduciary should not be removed (SLR 9.005). This is why the written extension request in the row above is worth making early |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Coos County
Coos County publishes no local form for a decedent's estate, and that is a checked answer rather than an assumption. Nineteen forms are scoped to Coos County in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, and they cover expungement, residential eviction, small claims, courtroom audio requests, mediation and a handful of general motions. The only two in the probate and guardianship area are a Guardian's Annual Report and an Annual Guardian's Report for a minor protected person, which are protective-proceeding forms under ORS chapter 125 and have nothing to do with settling an estate. The court's own forms page shows the same shape: its groups are Adoption, General, Guardianship for Coos, Guardianship for Curry, Family and Public Records Request. That page notes it holds forms specific to the Coos and Curry County Circuit Courts, sends you to the statewide Forms Center for the rest, and warns that if there are two versions of any form you should select the Coos or Curry version.
There is no statewide Oregon petition to open a probate either, and that is by design rather than an oversight. No particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of the jurisdiction of probate courts (ORS 111.205(2)), so the petition, the order, the notices, the inventory and the accountings are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms, each carrying a declaration under penalty of perjury in the form required by ORCP 1 E. What the Oregon Judicial Department does publish statewide, free, is the Simple Estate Affidavit packet with instructions, a Claim Against Estate form covering presentation of a claim to a personal representative, to a simple estate affiant, to a conservator or to a trustee, and an accounting packet. The Forms Center states its own rule: any statewide form will be accepted in all circuit courts, statewide forms are not available for all circumstances, and additional forms may be available through local courts.
Pay particular attention to the accounting packet in this county. SLR 9.161 requires accountings in estates and conservatorships to be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160, so the statewide format is the required format here rather than merely an accepted one. One tool that does not help: the Oregon Judicial Department's Guide and File interactive forms service does not cover probate or simple estates, so there is no guided interview for an estate in Coos County or anywhere else in Oregon. If you e-file, remember the original will still goes in on paper (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)). Call 541-396-8372 to ask what the court wants on intake before you file.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Oregon Judicial Department estate forms (courts.oregon.gov) | The statewide Simple Estate Affidavit packet with instructions, in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and the Claim Against Estate form. There is no statewide petition to open a probate |
| Oregon Judicial Department probate accounting forms (courts.oregon.gov) | The statewide accounting packet. This is the format SLR 9.161 requires in Coos and Curry Counties, not just the one UTCR 9.160 says every district must accept |
| Coos and Curry County Circuit Courts forms (courts.oregon.gov) | The district's own forms page, grouped as Adoption, General, Guardianship for Coos, Guardianship for Curry, Family and Public Records Request, with the instruction to select the Coos or Curry version where two exist. It publishes no decedent's estate form, and the page renders its lists through a script, so allow it to load |
| Fifteenth Judicial District supplementary local rules (courts.oregon.gov) | The local rules effective February 1, 2026, including SLR 9.001 on the objection address, SLR 9.004 on extensions, SLR 9.005 on delinquency notices, SLR 9.023 on timely closing of estates, SLR 9.161 on the form of accountings, SLR 1.161 on where documents are filed and SLR 21.071 on expedited filings |
| Oregon Judicial Department records request form (courts.oregon.gov) | The form for obtaining access to a court file, copies from a file, or audio of a proceeding, including certified copies |
| Oregon Judicial Department fee deferral and waiver (courts.oregon.gov) | The packet for asking that a filing fee be deferred or waived, for a filer who cannot afford the amount set by ORS 21.170(1) |
Timeline
- Read this list for what it is. The 15th District publishes hearing and presentation times, but it publishes them in its civil, domestic and trial chapters, not in its probate chapter, which sets no probate docket or hearing day at all. The timings below are what the district's own rules say, each labelled with the scope the rule gives itself. Most uncontested Coos County estates never need a hearing; ask the court at 541-396-8372 which setting applies before you assume one of these covers your matter.
- Stipulated and ex parte matters: 8:30 a.m. All stipulated and ex parte matters shall be presented to the court for signing at 8:30 a.m. in accordance with UTCR 5.060(4) (SLR 5.061), and the party presenting an ex parte matter is responsible for notifying the administrator's office so the trial court file or electronic file is available to the court (SLR 5.062). This is the district's rule for civil proceedings.
- Motions, if one is needed: 8:30 a.m., four weeks out. Under the district's civil chapter, all motions except motions for summary judgment are heard at 8:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, four weeks from the date on the certificate of service filed with the court, with the original certificate attached to the original motion; if the hearing day falls on a non-judicial day it moves to the next judicial day, and a party wanting an expedited hearing must say so in the caption and make arrangements with the court and the opposing party (SLR 5.055).
- Remote appearance: request it at least two business days ahead. The court's remote hearings page states that a matter is heard in person at the courthouse unless the court or your attorney has told you otherwise, and that a party requesting to appear remotely shall file the request with the designated court location at least two business days before the hearing.
- Exhibits for a remote hearing: 5:00 p.m., two court days ahead. Documentary and non-documentary exhibits must be submitted as UTCR 6.080 requires and by 5:00 p.m. at least two court days before the remote hearing or trial, and the offering party shares them during the hearing (Presiding Judge Order 21-05; SLR 6.051).
- Extensions: 30 days on a written request. The court will allow an extension of up to 30 days for filing any document if the extension is requested in writing and filed with the court; a further extension takes a motion, a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.004). This one is in the probate chapter and applies squarely to an estate.
- Missed deadlines: a notice, then a show cause hearing. The court will send a delinquency notice to a fiduciary for each failure to timely file a required document, and if the fiduciary does not comply with the notice the court will order the fiduciary and any attorney for the fiduciary to appear and show cause why the fiduciary should not be removed (SLR 9.005).
- Electronic filing cutoff: 11:59:59 p.m. An electronic filing is timely if submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. in the court's time zone (UTCR 21.080(2)), which is seven hours later than the Coquille counter closes.
Local nuance
Coos County-specific considerations
One district, two counties, one website, and your filing still belongs to one county. Coos and Curry make up the 15th Judicial District, which consists of the counties of Coos and Curry and has six judges (ORS 3.012(1)(o)). They share an Oregon Judicial Department site headed Coos and Curry County Circuit Courts, a Trial Court Administrator at extension 70030, one supplementary local rule set and one general orders list, and the court's audio page describes the district as six independent courtrooms. What is not shared is the filing: SLR 1.161 provides that documents in Coos County circuit court cases filed conventionally go to the Coos County Courthouse and documents in Curry County cases go to the Curry County Courthouse. Almost every contact fact on the shared page comes in a Coos version and a Curry version, so read them as a pair and take the Coos one: 541-396-8372, 250 N Baxter Street in Coquille, and Coquille extensions in the telephone directory.
The court publishes no probate department and no probate page, so the local rules are the local guidance. There is no Oregon Judicial Department probate page for this district and no contacts page, and the court's programs and services are parent mediation, small claims and landlord-tenant mediation, court reminders and family treatment court. The telephone directory lists no probate extension for Coquille, though the Gold Beach directory pairs probate with civil and domestic for Curry cases; the Coos department line closest to an estate is the Civil Office at extension 25005, and the only Coquille counter the rules name by department is the State Court Civil and Domestic office on the main floor of the Coos County Courthouse, which SLR 9.081 gives as the place to present an oral objection in a protective proceeding. What the district does publish is a real probate chapter, and it is where the local answers live.
The accounting format is mandatory here, which is not the statewide default. Statewide, an accounting filed substantially in the format at the Oregon Judicial Department forms center must be accepted in every judicial district (UTCR 9.160), and a district may go further and require it. This one has: accountings in estates and conservatorships shall be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160 (SLR 9.161). A change in accounting period is available for the convenience of the fiduciary, but it takes a motion, a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.164).
Hearings are in person unless the court says otherwise, and the request has a deadline. The court states that a matter will be heard in person at the courthouse unless you have been notified by the court or your attorney that it is to be heard remotely, and that a party requesting a remote appearance must file the request with the designated court location at least two business days before the hearing. Remote hearings run on Cisco Webex, and anyone who has not received access information one business day before a hearing is told to contact the court. Exhibits go in by 5:00 p.m. at least two court days ahead under Presiding Judge Order 21-05 and SLR 6.051, and the court warns separately that it does not supply media players in the courtroom. The court also publishes a general orders list covering accounting, civil, criminal and violations, juvenile and miscellaneous matters, including General Order 23-03 as amended on court appearances and alternate locations.
The county clerk is not the probate office here, and says so. That is the opposite of the arrangement in the six Oregon counties whose county clerks do take probate filings. The Coos County Clerk's own page tells the public to contact the state courts at 541-396-8372 for probate along with traffic, divorce, civil, criminal, juvenile and small claims, and the Clerk's posted office hours, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with a noon closure, are not the court's hours. The Clerk matters to an estate when a deed is recorded: recording fees for deed records are $106 for the first page and $5 for each additional page, a $20 non-standard fee applies to a document that does not meet ORS 205.232 and 205.234, and the county's Digital Research Room is the index of recorded documents (Coos County Clerk, verified July 2026).
Recent updates
| Change | What it means in Coos County |
|---|---|
| Fifteenth Judicial District supplementary local rules, effective February 1, 2026 | The current edition was certified on November 24, 2025 and runs to 22 pages. For an estate, the important point is what did not change: the probate and protective chapter is carried forward unaltered from the February 1, 2025 edition, so SLR 9.001 on the objection address, SLR 9.004 on extensions, SLR 9.005 on delinquency notices, SLR 9.023 on timely closing of estates, SLR 9.161 on the required form of accountings and SLR 9.164 on changes in accounting period all read as they did before. What the 2026 edition adds is a domestic relations mediation program at SLR 8.012 with two supporting appendices, plus a form exhibit list appendix for hearings, and it drops a violations reporting rule; none of that changes how an estate is filed or administered. This district still has no SLR 2.501 and no fiduciary education requirement, unlike several other Oregon districts |
| Coos County recording fees rose on January 1, 2026 | This one reaches any estate that sells or transfers Coos County real property. The County Clerk publishes that, beginning January 1, 2026, recording fees for all instruments under ORS 205.130(2) increase by $20, because House Bill 3175 removed the cap on the Public Land Corner Preservation Fund fee and Coos County Order 25-12-051-L raised that fee from $10 to $30. The Clerk's current published recording fee for deed records is $106 for the first page and $5 for each additional page, with a $20 non-standard fee for a document that does not meet ORS 205.232 and 205.234 (Coos County Clerk, verified July 2026). This is a county recording charge, not a court filing charge: the court's own fees are set by statute and carry no local surcharge (ORS 21.100) |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Coos County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the home in Coos Bay, North Bend, Bandon or elsewhere in the county was held with a right of survivorship, or passes by a beneficiary or transfer on death designation, it goes to the survivor without a probate and the court is not involved in the house itself. If assets stood in the decedent's sole name and there is a will, the spouse petitions the Coos County Circuit Court in Coquille to admit the will and issue letters testamentary; with no will, a surviving spouse who is a distributee, or the spouse's nominee, has preference for appointment after any personal representative named in a will (ORS 113.085(1)). Bond often falls away where the personal representative is the sole heir or devisee (ORS 113.105). Any notice of the time for filing objections has to carry the Coquille address, 250 North Baxter Street (SLR 9.001(1)). | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the petition and the notices, ready to file at 250 N Baxter Street or through OJD eFile. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be contested. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Where the estate is small enough for the simple estate affidavit route under ORS 114.505 to 114.560, the affidavit is filed with the clerk of the probate court in a county where there is venue (ORS 114.515(1)), which here is the Coos County Circuit Court, for a $124 fee (ORS 21.145(4)). No personal representative is appointed and no letters issue on that route. A filer living out of state can register for OJD eFile and file from home, or mail the papers to 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423, and can look the case up afterwards in the free Oregon Judicial Department records search, which shows the register of actions but not the documents. Take care with the district's shared website: the Gold Beach address and the 541-373-6894 number on the same page belong to Curry County. | Asset discovery to establish the estate's value from out of state and confirm which route it qualifies for. Packet generation for the affidavit or the petition, assembled so it can be e-filed or mailed to Coquille and accepted the first time. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because real property has to be sold, this normally means a full probate: with no will the parent petitions the Coos County Circuit Court for appointment as personal representative in the preference order of ORS 113.085(1), receiving letters of administration; with a will the parent probates it and receives letters testamentary. The inventory follows within 90 days (ORS 113.165), the notice to interested persons is published once in a newspaper published in the county (ORS 113.155(1)), and claims are presented to the personal representative rather than filed with the court (ORS 115.005). If the sale has not closed by the annual accounting, the parent must give the court an explanation of why the estate is not ready for distribution (SLR 9.023), and the accounting itself has to be on the statewide format that SLR 9.161 requires. The deed on the sale is recorded with the Coos County Clerk, and the estate closes with a final account and a general judgment of final distribution (ORS 116.083; ORS 116.113). | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, insurance, real property and debts. Packet generation for the petition, the inventory and the notices. Attorney referral where the sale, a mortgage payoff or a dispute among heirs makes counsel worthwhile. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Coos and Curry County Circuit Courts (courts.oregon.gov), 541-396-8372 for Coos County | The court itself. The shared home page gives the Coos number, the Coos courthouse address at 250 N Baxter Street in Coquille, the courthouse hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with a lunch closure from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and until 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and the Trial Court Administrator's line at extension 70030. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice |
| Where to file court cases in Coos County (courts.oregon.gov) | The court's own location page, giving the Coos physical address and the Coos mailing address separately from Curry County's, which is the fastest way to avoid the shared-district mix-up |
| Coos and Curry telephone directory (courts.oregon.gov) | The Coquille and Gold Beach extension lists behind the two main numbers. The Coquille list has no probate entry; its civil office is at extension 25005, accounting at 25001 and the Trial Court Administrator at 70030. The page renders its tables through a script, so allow it to load |
| Fifteenth Judicial District supplementary local rules (courts.oregon.gov) | The rules effective February 1, 2026, whose Chapter 9 is the real local guidance for an estate: SLR 9.001 (objection address), 9.004 (extensions), 9.005 (delinquency notices), 9.023 (timely closing of estates), 9.081 (oral objections in protective proceedings, at the civil and domestic office on the main floor in Coquille), 9.161 (form of accountings) and 9.164 (changes in accounting period) |
| Coos and Curry remote hearings (courts.oregon.gov) | The court's statement that a matter is heard in person unless you have been notified otherwise, the two-business-day deadline for filing a request to appear remotely, how Cisco Webex works, and the exhibit instructions under Presiding Judge Order 21-05 |
| Coos and Curry court records (courts.oregon.gov) | How to request a public record from the court and how to obtain courtroom audio. The audio details are at https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/coos/records/Pages/audio-appeals.aspx: contact the records clerk at 541-396-8372, $10.00 for electronic delivery of a recording, or $10.00 plus $1.00 plus shipping for a CD, in FTR format (verified July 2026) |
| Coos and Curry payments (courts.oregon.gov) | What the court accepts: cash, check or credit card in person, credit card information by phone, and check or money order mailed to Coos County Circuit Court, Attn: Accounting, 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423. The court states that payment plans are not offered in the Coos and Curry circuit courts |
| Coos and Curry general orders (courts.oregon.gov) | The district's standing orders, grouped as accounting, civil, criminal and violations, juvenile and miscellaneous, including Presiding Judge Order 21-05 on exhibits for hearings and General Order 23-03 as amended on court appearances and alternate locations |
| Oregon Judicial Department estate forms (courts.oregon.gov) | The free statewide Simple Estate Affidavit packet with instructions and the Claim Against Estate form. Oregon publishes no statewide petition to open a probate |
| Oregon Judicial Department court fees (courts.oregon.gov) | The current fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, with the ORS 21.170(1) probate tiers. The schedule itself is at https://www.courts.oregon.gov/Documents/2026_CircuitFeeSchedule_public_eff-2026-01-01.pdf |
| OJD eFile (courts.oregon.gov) | The statewide electronic filing system, run as Odyssey File and Serve. Mandatory for active Oregon State Bar licensees (UTCR 21.140(1)) and open to self-represented filers who register |
| Oregon Judicial Department records and calendar search (courts.oregon.gov) | The free statewide case index and register of actions for Oregon's circuit courts, which includes Coos County. Documents are not available through it; the paid subscription alternative is https://www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/ojcin.aspx |
| Coos County Law Library (co.coos.or.us), (541) 396-7690 | A county law library, not a court service: electronic access to statutes, rules and cases, a computer with WestLaw Precision, and reference books that cannot be checked out. It is open to the public by appointment only during business hours, booked by phone or at [email protected], and its staff cannot give legal advice, perform legal research or prepare forms |
| Oregon State Bar, what is probate (osbar.org) | Plain-language explanation of Oregon probate from the state bar. Not a government agency, but a reputable non-government source |
| Oregon State Bar lawyer referral service (osbar.org), 503-684-3763 or 800-452-7636 in Oregon | Referrals to Oregon probate attorneys and the Bar's Modest Means Program, useful on a stretch of coast with a small local bar |
| Oregon Law Center, Coos Bay regional office (oregonlawcenter.org), (541) 269-1226 or 1-800-303-3638 | The legal aid program for this county, at 490 N. 2nd Street, Coos Bay. It states that it serves the low income client population in Coos, Curry and western Douglas Counties, that its priority areas are domestic violence, landlord-tenant law, family law, public benefits, employment law and civil rights, and that potential clients may call about any civil legal issue Monday through Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Estates are not a listed priority area, so ask whether it can take an estate matter |
| Oregon Law Help (oregonlawhelp.org) | Oregon's legal aid information site. It publishes no probate topic, so use it to confirm which legal aid program covers Coos County and how to apply |
| Coos County Clerk (co.coos.or.us) | Not the probate office, and the Clerk says so: the page tells the public to contact the state courts at 541-396-8372 for probate. The Clerk records deeds and other instruments affecting title, runs elections, keeps county public records, issues marriage licenses and domestic partnerships, and processes Property Value Appeals Board petitions, with office hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and a noon closure. Recording fees are published at https://www.co.coos.or.us/recording-fees |
When to hire an attorney
Many Coos County estates are uncontested, and a family that knows what the estate holds can often open one and see it through with limited legal help. Three local facts push the other way. Oregon prescribes no petition form (ORS 111.205(2)), so a self-represented filer is drafting the petition, the order, the notices and the inventory from scratch, and this county publishes no local estate form to work from. This court runs no probate department and no probate self-help page, so there is no specialist counter to walk a correction through. And the district enforces its deadlines by rule: a missed filing draws a delinquency notice and then an order to appear and show cause why the fiduciary should not be removed (SLR 9.005), accountings must be on the format the court requires (SLR 9.161), and an estate that is not ready to close at the annual accounting has to be explained to the court (SLR 9.023). Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim inside the four-month window (ORS 115.005), when coastal or river-front property, timber ground, a fishing vessel or permit, a business or out-of-state property has to be valued, sold or divided, when a conservatorship or guardianship has to run alongside the estate, or when a matter looks likely to be set for a contested hearing. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice, and neither can the county law library. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Oregon probate attorney serving Coos County.
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, Coos County real property and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value before you file. That matters here twice over: the petition must state the extent and nature of the assets (ORS 113.035) and the caption must state the value of the estate, because the filing fee is tiered by it (ORS 21.105(1)).
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your estate settlement route, whether a petition for appointment of a personal representative or a simple estate affidavit, ready to submit through OJD eFile or to file on paper at the counter in Coquille or by mail to 250 N Baxter Street.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Oregon probate attorney serving Coos County.
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 for probate in Coos County?
With the Coos County Circuit Court, at the Coos County Courthouse, 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423. There is one filing location for the county and the mailing address is the same street address, so you can file at the counter, by mail, or electronically through OJD eFile. SLR 1.161 puts it plainly: documents for circuit court cases filed conventionally in Coos County are filed at the Coos County Courthouse during the clerk's public business hours. Probate here sits in the circuit court rather than a county court, because ORS 111.075 vests probate jurisdiction in the county courts of only six named counties and in the circuit court for every other county. File in Coos County if the person who died lived here, because that is where the notice to interested persons is published (ORS 113.155(1)), although Oregon's venue rule is broader and filing elsewhere is not a jurisdictional defect (ORS 113.015).
Coos and Curry share a court website, so which courthouse do I use?
Coquille, if the estate belongs to Coos County. Coos and Curry Counties make up the 15th Judicial District, which consists of the counties of Coos and Curry and has six judges (ORS 3.012(1)(o)), and they share one Oregon Judicial Department website, one Trial Court Administrator and one set of local rules. That is an administrative arrangement and not a filing instruction: venue under ORS 113.015 points at a county, and SLR 1.161 sends Coos County filings to the Coos County Courthouse and Curry County filings to the Curry County Courthouse. On the shared pages, the Coos answers are 541-396-8372 and 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille; the Gold Beach address at 29821 Ellensburg Avenue, the Moore Street mailing suite and the 541-373-6894 number are Curry's.
Can I e-file a probate case in Coos County?
Yes. OJD eFile, the statewide electronic filing system run as Odyssey File and Serve, covers Oregon's circuit courts, which includes Coos County, and SLR 1.161 confirms that electronic filing is mandatory for members of the Oregon State Bar under UTCR 21.140. A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to, and can file at the Coquille counter or by mail instead. The original will is the exception: a document required by law to be filed in original form must be filed conventionally (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)), so e-file an image of it and deliver the original within seven business days with a filing comment saying so, and it counts as filed on the date the image went in (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)(i)). This district has no SLR 2.501, so nothing else is added to the conventional filing list here. One local rule to know: if you submit an expedited filing, SLR 21.071 requires you to notify the court by telephone as well and to speak with a court clerk in a department related to the case. An electronic filing is timely to 11:59:59 p.m. in the court's time zone (UTCR 21.080(2)).
How much does it cost to open a probate in Coos County?
The fee is statutory and 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, and there is no fee for an amended affidavit (ORS 21.145(4); ORS 114.515(5)). Oregon also charges for each annual or final accounting, at $35, $298, $591 and $1,176 on the same value bands (ORS 21.170(2)), and $281 for any other appearance in a probate proceeding (ORS 21.135(1) and (2)(g); ORS 21.170(4)), all on the same schedule effective January 1, 2026. Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), Coos County adds no local surcharge, and fee waivers and deferrals are available. The court takes cash, check or credit card in person, credit card information by phone at 541-396-8372 extension 25001, and check or money order by mail, and it publishes that payment plans are not offered in the Coos and Curry circuit courts.
Does Coos County have local probate forms?
Not for a decedent's estate. Nineteen forms are scoped to Coos County in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, and the only two in the probate and guardianship area are a Guardian's Annual Report and an Annual Guardian's Report for a minor protected person, which are protective-proceeding forms rather than estate forms. The court's own forms page groups its material as Adoption, General, Guardianship for Coos, Guardianship for Curry, Family and Public Records Request, and warns that where two versions of a form exist you should pick the Coos or Curry version. What nobody publishes is a petition to open a probate: Oregon requires no particular pleadings or forms of pleadings in the exercise of the jurisdiction of probate courts (ORS 111.205(2)), so the petition, the order, the inventory and the notices are drafted documents. The Oregon Judicial Department does publish a free statewide Simple Estate Affidavit packet, a Claim Against Estate form and an accounting packet.
Does Coos County require a particular form of accounting?
Yes, and this is the local rule most likely to catch out a personal representative who has settled an estate in another Oregon county. SLR 9.161 provides that accountings in estates and conservatorships shall be submitted in the form specified in UTCR 9.160, which is the statewide accounting packet published by the Oregon Judicial Department. Statewide, UTCR 9.160 only requires every district to accept that format; this district goes further and requires it. A change in the accounting period is available for the convenience of the fiduciary, by motion with a supporting affidavit or declaration and a proposed order (SLR 9.164). And if the estate is not ready for final distribution when the annual accounting is filed, you must give the court an explanation of the reasons why (SLR 9.023).
Can I appear by phone or video in a Coos County probate matter?
Only if the court allows it, and you have to ask at least two business days ahead. The court states that if you have not been notified by the court or your attorney that your matter is to be heard remotely it will be heard in person at the courthouse, and that parties requesting to appear remotely shall file their request with the designated court location at least two business days before the hearing. Remote hearings run on Cisco Webex, and if you have not received access information one business day before the hearing the court asks you to contact it. Exhibits for a remote hearing must be submitted as UTCR 6.080 requires and by 5:00 p.m. at least two court days before the hearing or trial, and the party offering an exhibit shares it during the hearing (Presiding Judge Order 21-05; SLR 6.051). Nothing published makes probate hearings remote by default.
How do I look up a Coos County probate case or get copies?
The free Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search covers Oregon's circuit courts, so a Coos County estate case appears there. 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 ORS 7.020 register record, and that documents are not available through the service. The remote route to more is a paid OJCIN OnLine subscription, and copies from a file are requested on the statewide records request form. This court publishes no public kiosk of its own, so do not count on walking in and pulling documents from a terminal. Courtroom audio is a separate request to the records clerk at 541-396-8372, at $10.00 for electronic delivery or $10.00 plus $1.00 plus shipping for a CD (verified July 2026).
What are the Coos County Circuit Court's hours, and is there a lunch closure?
Yes, and Thursdays are longer. The court publishes courthouse hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., and on Thursdays closed from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (verified July 2026). Oregon courts also close on legal holidays. SLR 1.151 sets no hours of its own and points to the court's website instead, so check the site before a long drive to Coquille and call 541-396-8372 if you are cutting it fine. If you e-file, the deadline is later: an electronic filing is timely if submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. in the court's time zone (UTCR 21.080(2)).
Is probate in Coos County handled by the county clerk?
No. Coos is a circuit-court county. ORS 111.075 vests probate jurisdiction in the county courts of Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties and in the circuit court for each other county, so a Coos County estate belongs to the Coos County Circuit Court at 250 N Baxter Street. The Coos County Clerk agrees in writing: the Clerk's own page tells the public to contact the state courts at 541-396-8372 for probate, along with traffic, divorce, civil, criminal, juvenile and small claims matters. The Clerk records deeds and other instruments affecting title, runs elections, keeps county public records and issues marriage licenses, and that recording function is where an estate meets the Clerk, when a deed is recorded on a sale or a distribution.
Where is the notice to interested persons published for a Coos County estate?
Once, in a newspaper published in the county where the estate proceeding is pending, or in a newspaper the court designates if none is published there (ORS 113.155(1)). Oregon publishes this notice a single time, not once a week for three weeks, and the notice must require all persons having claims to present them within four months after the date of publication. Neither Coos County nor the court publishes a designated newspaper, so confirm the paper, the schedule and the cost with the court at 541-396-8372 and with the newspaper before you rely on a date, because publication starts the four-month claim period (ORS 115.005). Note the separate local requirement: a notice of the time for filing objections must carry the court's mailing address for objections, which in a Coos County case is 250 North Baxter Street, Coquille, Oregon 97423 (SLR 9.001(1)). Publication is not required where the petition states that no assets are known (ORS 113.155(5)).
Do I have to travel to Coquille to settle an estate in Coos County?
Often not at all. A self-represented filer can register for OJD eFile and submit the petition and the later filings electronically, or mail them to the court at 250 N Baxter Street, Coquille, OR 97423, and certified copies of the letters can be mailed back at $5 plus 25 cents per page in paper form or $0 delivered electronically (ORS 21.258; Chief Justice Order 23-016; fee schedule effective January 1, 2026). The two things that pull you to the courthouse are the original will, which must be filed conventionally (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)), and any hearing the court sets, because a matter is heard in person unless the court has told you otherwise and a remote appearance has to be requested at least two business days ahead. From a distance, the free records search will show you the register of actions but not the documents, so budget for a records request or an OJCIN OnLine subscription if you need to see what is in the file.
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.