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Lane County, OR Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Circuit Court in Lane County, Oregon's general-jurisdiction trial court. It is the second judicial district, which consists of Lane County and has 17 judges (ORS 3.012(1)(b)), the largest Oregon bench outside Multnomah County. Oregon has no separate probate court as an institution; probate jurisdiction in Lane County is vested in the circuit court (ORS 111.075), which handles estates, guardianships, conservatorships and trusts under Title 12 of the Oregon Revised Statutes |
| Filing office | The Probate Department of the Office of the Trial Court Administrator. The Office of the Trial Court Administrator receives documents for filing at the court clerk's office (SLR 1.161(1)), and probate matters requiring the authorization, approval or signature of the probate judge or designee are filed with the court clerk's office (SLR 9.002). The department takes the petition, holds the original will, issues letters testamentary and letters of administration, and keeps the estate file. The court also appoints a probate commissioner, whose published powers are to appoint court visitors and to approve bonds as ordered by the court (SLR 9.001(2)) |
| Courthouse | Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401. The Probate Department is on the 2nd floor. Public records terminals sit in the main floor lobby, and the Lane County Law Library is in the basement at the same address, across the hall from jury assembly. The court's second location, the Juvenile Justice Center at 2727 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, takes juvenile filings only (SLR 1.161(1)) and is not a probate counter. Nothing has moved: every current court page gives 125 East 8th Avenue, and SLR 9.081, effective February 1, 2026, prints the same address for the clerk's office |
| Mailing address | Lane County Circuit Court, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401. The court publishes no post office box, and the street address serves for filings, payments and records requests alike. Documents sent by mail are received for filing when they are distributed from the mail room to the appropriate division of the court clerk's office (SLR 1.161(3)) |
| Phone | 541-682-4033 for the Probate Department. The court publishes that number twice, on its Probate page ("You may contact the Probate Department by phone at 541-682-4033") and in the department telephone directory on its Contact Us page, where it appears as "Probate Case". The court's main line is 541-682-4020 and Court Records is 541-682-7487. No separate phone-service window is published: the Probate Department's office hours are the court's hours |
| None for probate. The court publishes [email protected] for records copies and [email protected] for accommodation requests, and no Probate Department mailbox anywhere on its site. It would not help for filing in any event: "Documents transmitted via email or fax will not be received for filing" (SLR 1.161(5)), and a document submitted by email or fax may be returned to the filer (SLR 2.015(7)). Use the 541-682-4033 line for probate questions | |
| Fax | None for filing. The fax numbers the court publishes serve accommodation requests, 541-682-2049 on the contact block of its home page and 541-682-4563 on its Accessibility page, and neither belongs to the Probate Department. SLR 1.161(5) and SLR 2.015(7) rule out fax filings outright. File electronically, at the court clerk's office, or by mail |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the exception of legal holidays. The court's Contact Us page states it that way, and the Probate Department's own page gives the same window: "Office hours are Monday through Friday, except court holidays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m." There is no published lunch closure and no separate phone window. The general ex parte session runs in the designated courtroom from 8:30 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. (SLR 5.061), but probate ex parte orders are exempt from it (SLR 9.003) |
| 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). Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), and in Lane County a fee must be paid before or at the same time as the document is submitted for filing (SLR 1.161(4)) or the document may be returned unfiled (SLR 2.015(2)). Fee waivers and deferrals are available, and the court carries the fee deferral and waiver forms in its own local forms library. Confirm the current schedule with the Probate Department |
| Local forms | Two, and neither one opens an estate. In the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, 50 forms are scoped to Lane County and exactly two sit in the Probate category: the Guardian Report for a protected minor, which is the report a minor's guardian files within 30 days after each anniversary of appointment in substantially the form the court publishes (SLR 9.092(2)), and the Objection to Petition for Appointment of Guardian/Conservator, the form the probate clerk hands an objecting party at the counter (SLR 9.081(2)(b)). The court's own Forms page adds one standing instruction: "If there are two versions of any form, select the Lane version." For a decedent's estate the court publishes nothing and says so: it "does not provide forms for filing," and "You can obtain the necessary forms from an attorney, a stationery store, or a bookstore that sells legal documents" |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, optional for everyone else, and available for probate. "Mandatory electronic filing is required for members of the Oregon State Bar per UTCR 21.140" (SLR 1.161(6)), through the statewide 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)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to. SLR 2.501 lists the documents that must be presented conventionally in four areas, family case matters, civil case matters, protective order initiating matters and criminal matters, and names no probate document, so probate documents are e-fileable here. One paper step survives: a document required by law to be filed in original form, such as an original will, cannot be e-filed (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)) |
| Case search | Through the statewide Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search, which gives free access to court calendars and basic case information 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. Lane County offers a free alternative for documents: public terminals in the main floor lobby of the courthouse, where court records may be viewed without charge during normal court hours for cases that started in 2014 or after. Older cases need a document request form, and the paid OJCIN OnLine subscription is the other document route |
| Remote appearance | Case by case, and not published as a default for probate. The mode of a proceeding is determined by Presiding Judge Order, and a party seeking to change it must file a motion with a supporting affidavit and proposed order two business days before the proceeding, stating the reasoning, the statutes and rights implicated, and the position of the opposing party (SLR 7.003). Where a hearing is conducted remotely the court provides the platform (SLR 5.051), which is Webex. The court's Local Remote Hearings page lists the dockets it holds remotely, and no probate docket appears on it. The court publishes a Motion to Change Mode of Appearance form |
| Website | https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/programs-services/Pages/Probate.aspx |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Lane County question is not which form to use, because this court does not have one. Oregon prescribes no pleading forms for probate: "No particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required in the exercise of jurisdiction of probate courts" (ORS 111.205(2)), and the court says the practical version of that on its own Probate page, that it "is not able to determine the need to file an estate and does not provide forms for filing," and that the necessary forms come from "an attorney, a stationery store, or a bookstore that sells legal documents." So the petition is a document you or your attorney draft, and it has to 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 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). Every petition, inventory, report and accounting must carry a declaration under penalty of perjury in the form required by ORCP 1 E.
That last item is why the asset list has to be right before you file, not after. The personal representative may not act and letters may not issue until any bond the court requires is provided to the clerk of the court (ORS 113.105; ORS 113.125), and the bond amount is set from what the petition tells the court the estate holds. So before you file, identify every bank and credit union account, brokerage and retirement account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest and parcel of Lane 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: which Oregon route fits, which fee tier the caption must state (ORS 21.105), and how large a bond the court will require. It is also the basis of the inventory you will file within 90 days of appointment (ORS 113.165). Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Circuit Court in Lane County serves all of Lane County and hears probate for a Lane County decedent. The county is large and long, running from the coast to the Cascades, and its incorporated cities are Coburg, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dunes City, Eugene, Florence, Junction City, Lowell, Oakridge, Springfield, Veneta and Westfir. There is one probate counter for all of them, in Eugene. A family in Florence or Oakridge files in the same place as a family in Eugene, which is why the court's mail and e-filing routes matter more here than in a compact county.
File at the Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401, where the Probate Department is on the 2nd floor. Two things send people to the wrong door. The first is the court's other building: the Juvenile Justice Center at 2727 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd takes juvenile filings only, because the Office of the Trial Court Administrator receives documents for filing at the court clerk's office and "Juvenile documents may be filed at the juvenile court clerk's office" (SLR 1.161(1)). The second is the county. Lane County government sits in the same complex at 125 East 8th Avenue and runs Deeds & Records, which records deeds, liens, contracts and conveyances, issues marriage licenses and keeps the public research library, and it moved back into that building on August 21, 2025. It is not the probate filing office. The county's own records index makes the division plain, noting that "The Circuit Court, not Lane County," handles case records such as divorces, adoptions and restraining orders. In six Oregon counties, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler, probate is filed with a county officer instead; Lane is not one of them (ORS 111.075). You will still meet Deeds & Records if the estate holds real property, because that is where a deed is recorded.
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). Lane County adds a housekeeping rule that catches transfers: a document carrying an existing case number and caption from another jurisdiction may be returned to the filer unless it comes with a judge's order allowing a change of venue or otherwise authorizing the filing (SLR 2.015(1)).
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm that Lane County is the right county. Lane is the practical county when the decedent was domiciled or kept a place of abode here at death, and 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)). Everything for a decedent's estate is filed at the Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, with the Probate Department on the 2nd floor, whether the decedent lived in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Florence or Oakridge.
- 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. The court will not choose for you. Its Probate page says it "is not able to determine the need to file an estate" and that "It can be helpful to consult an attorney for legal advice." The routes and their value caps are covered on the Oregon state page.
- Draft the documents, because neither Oregon nor this court 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 Lane County publishes no estate form of its own: "You can obtain the necessary forms from an attorney, a stationery store, or a bookstore that sells legal documents." Work from the statute. The petition must carry the decedent's details, the facts establishing venue, the proposed personal representative's qualifications, the heirs and devisees with addresses and the ages of minors, the statement about efforts to identify and locate heirs, and the extent and nature of the assets so the court can set bond (ORS 113.035), with an ORCP 1 E declaration under penalty of perjury. Check the disqualifications before you nominate anyone: a minor, a person who is incapacitated or financially incapable, a suspended or disbarred lawyer, and a licensed funeral service practitioner who is not a relative or business associate cannot serve (ORS 113.095).
- File with the Probate Department at the court clerk's office. An active licensee of the Oregon State Bar must file electronically: "Mandatory electronic filing is required for members of the Oregon State Bar per UTCR 21.140" (SLR 1.161(6)), 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)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file, or may file at the court clerk's office at 125 East 8th Avenue, or mail the documents to the same address, where they are received for filing when the mail room distributes them to the right division (SLR 1.161(3)). What you cannot do is email or fax a filing: "Documents transmitted via email or fax will not be received for filing" (SLR 1.161(5)), and such a document may be returned to you (SLR 2.015(7)). Probate documents are e-fileable here, because SLR 2.501 lists conventional-filing-only documents in four subject matter areas and names no probate document.
- Get the original will to the court on paper. A document required by law to be filed in original form, "such as, but not limited to, an original will," cannot be electronically filed (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)). Where an original must accompany an e-filed document, you e-file an image, note it in Filing Comments, and conventionally file the original within seven business days, and the original is treated as filed on the date the image was e-filed (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)(i)). Lane County has one wrinkle worth knowing if no probate is opened: the court does not hold living people's wills, and a deceased person's will is not filed unless a probate case is opened, "An exception is made if you have an original will of a deceased person and you cannot find the personal representative named in the will. Then you can file an un-probated will with the court."
- 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). In Lane County the timing is a local rule: "If a document requires a fee, the fee must be paid prior to, or simultaneous to submitting the document for filing" (SLR 1.161(4)), and a document that requires a fee may be returned to the filer where neither the payment nor an order waiving or deferring the fee is provided (SLR 2.015(2)). If you cannot afford the fee, file the fee deferral and waiver request, which the court carries in its own local forms library, with the documents it covers.
- If you intend to serve without a lawyer, expect to prove you can. If a personal representative or conservator intends to appear on behalf of the estate or protected person without an attorney, that person must provide notice of that intent to the court and proof of competence to so appear, and "If the proof is not sufficient to assure the court the estate will be protected and properly administered, the court will take appropriate action" (SLR 9.006(1)). A person other than a personal representative or conservator may appear in person without an attorney in any matter coming before the probate judge if otherwise allowed by law (SLR 9.006(2)).
- Receive the letters. The court appoints the personal representative and then issues letters testamentary or letters of administration once any bond the court required is filed with the clerk of the court (ORS 113.125). Bond may be excused 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, but the court may still require one for good cause (ORS 113.105). Lane County's probate commissioner may approve bonds as ordered by the court (SLR 9.001(2)), and if counsel later resigns or is substituted while a bond is posted, the surety must be notified with proof provided to the court (SLR 9.022). Certified copies of 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).
- Administer the estate on the statutory clock. Deliver the required information to the devisees, heirs and other persons named in the petition and file proof of that delivery or mailing within 30 days of appointment, and mail the same information plus 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), with later-found property in a supplemental inventory within 30 days (ORS 113.175). During the three months after appointment make reasonably diligent efforts to investigate the decedent's financial records and affairs to identify claimants, mail each known claimant a notice, 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 the accountings, in the statewide format and with their own fee. All accounts in decedent estates are filed with the court clerk, and Lane County requires the statewide form: "All accounts, filed with the court, in estates, conservatorships and trusts shall be in the format as set out in UTCR 9.160" (SLR 9.161). An account is due annually within 60 days after the anniversary of appointment unless the court orders otherwise, and again when the estate is ready for final settlement (ORS 116.083), and each one carries a 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). Lane County does not rubber-stamp the annual ones: "The court need not and ordinarily will not enter an order approving an annual accounting" (SLR 9.162(1)). Where the distributees consent in writing, a statement in lieu of an annual account is available (ORS 116.083(3)).
- Close the estate. File the final account and the petition for a judgment of distribution, set a time for objections, and at least 20 days before that time mail a copy of the account, the petition and the notice to each distributee and to each creditor not paid in full whose claim is not barred (ORS 116.083; ORS 116.093). In Lane County, "If no objections to a final account are filed within the time fixed for filing objections, a proposed order approving the final account shall be filed with the court clerk" (SLR 9.162(2)(b)); if objections are filed, the court sets a hearing on a Monday unless the matter is expected to take more than two hours, in which case it goes on the trial docket (SLR 9.162(2)(a)). Then the court enters the general judgment of final distribution, which designates the persons in whom title vests and their shares and is a conclusive determination of who is entitled to the estate (ORS 116.113).
Executor duties
A Lane 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 second judicial district adds a small number of local obligations, and they are the ones that generate Lane County courtesy notices.
Use the statewide accounting format, because here it is mandatory. "All accounts, filed with the court, in estates, conservatorships and trusts shall be in the format as set out in UTCR 9.160" (SLR 9.161). UTCR 9.160 provides that an accounting substantially in the form published at the Oregon Judicial Department forms site must be accepted in every judicial district, and a district may make that format mandatory by local rule; Lane County has. File the account with the court clerk, expect no order approving an annual account (SLR 9.162(1)), and remember that each account carries its own tiered filing fee of $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 by estate value (ORS 21.170(2); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026).
Cure a missed filing inside the window the courtesy notice gives you. SLR 9.005 sends the courtesy notice to the attorney of record, expects the personal representative, conservator or guardian to cure the defect or delinquency promptly, and sets a status hearing requiring personal appearance if it is not corrected within the time the court specified. Sanctions follow if the problem is still unresolved at the hearing, and an order to show cause may issue if nobody appears and nothing has been fixed. The practical consequence is that Lane County's deadlines are monitored, that the first consequence is a letter rather than a hearing, and that the notice goes to your attorney if you have one, which is a reason to keep your own calendar.
Handle bond and surety changes correctly. Letters do not issue until any bond the court requires is provided to the clerk of the court (ORS 113.105; ORS 113.125), the court's probate commissioner may approve bonds as ordered by the court (SLR 9.001(2)), and Lane County adds a rule that is easy to miss at the end of a case: "If a bond has been posted, the surety must be notified of the resignation or substitution of attorney, with appropriate proof provided to the court" (SLR 9.022). If you change lawyers mid-administration, that notice is your responsibility to see done.
Close on the court's terms. File the final account and the petition for a judgment of distribution, mail the account, petition and notice of the time to object to each distributee and to each unpaid creditor whose claim is not barred at least 20 days before that time (ORS 116.083; ORS 116.093), and then do the Lane County step: "If no objections to a final account are filed within the time fixed for filing objections, a proposed order approving the final account shall be filed with the court clerk" (SLR 9.162(2)(b)). If objections come in, the hearing is set on a Monday unless it is expected to run more than two hours, in which case it goes on the trial docket (SLR 9.162(2)(a)). One thing Lane County does not ask of you: the court's non-professional fiduciary education class reaches ORS chapter 125 guardians and conservators, not personal representatives appointed under ORS chapter 113 (SLR 9.093(1)).
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Lane 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, a generic probate motion and order, and an acknowledgment of restriction of assets. 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. The Oregon Judicial Department's Guide and File interactive forms service does not cover probate or simple estates.
Lane County publishes almost nothing of its own for probate, and it is unusually direct about where to go instead. Its Probate page states that the court "is not able to determine the need to file an estate and does not provide forms for filing," and its FAQ answers the forms question outright: "You can obtain the necessary forms from an attorney, a stationery store, or a bookstore that sells legal documents." In the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, 50 forms are scoped to Lane County and exactly two of them sit in the Probate category, both of them protective-proceeding forms rather than estate forms. The first is the Guardian Report for a protected minor, which matches SLR 9.092(2): within 30 days after each anniversary of appointment a guardian for a minor files a written report substantially in the form the court prescribes and publishes, with copies to the persons specified in ORS 125.060(3). The court's Probate page adds that it provides a report form for guardians of adults and "will accept reports from guardians of minors in letter form." The second is the Objection to Petition for Appointment of Guardian/Conservator, which is the form the probate clerk hands an objecting party who comes to the counter (SLR 9.081(2)(b)).
Two practical rules go with that thin set. The court's Forms page carries a tie breaker, "If there are two versions of any form, select the Lane version," and it also carries the fee deferral and waiver forms, the records copy request and a Motion to Change Mode of Appearance, which is the vehicle SLR 7.003 requires for asking to appear in a different mode. Beyond that, a Lane County estate is built from the statute and the local rules rather than from a form. The pieces to draft are the petition under ORS 113.035 with its ORCP 1 E declaration, the proposed judgment appointing the personal representative, the proof of the information delivered to heirs and devisees under ORS 113.145, the affidavit of publication, the inventory under ORS 113.165, the proof of compliance with the creditor search under ORS 115.003, and the accountings in the UTCR 9.160 format that SLR 9.161 makes mandatory here. The Lane County Law Library in the courthouse basement is the place the court itself points readers for publications and forms information.
Timeline
- Probate ex parte matters are not on a docket at all, which is the single most useful scheduling fact in Lane County. "All ex parte orders and judgments in decedents' estates, guardianships and conservatorships may be filed at any time without the necessity of the appearance of attorney for the fiduciary" (SLR 9.003). Everything else ex parte runs on a 20-minute window: an order presented by an attorney and excluded from electronic filing must be presented in the designated courtroom Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., and not otherwise except in an emergency, while a self-represented litigant may present in that same window, file at the court clerk's office at any time, mail the order in, or e-file it (SLR 5.061(1) and (2)).
- A missed deadline starts a ladder, not a sanction. "In the event of a delinquency or deficiency in filing any document required by statute, court rule, or court order, the attorney of record shall be sent a courtesy notice," the personal representative, conservator or guardian is expected to cure it promptly, and if it is not corrected within the time the court specifies in that notice a status hearing requiring the personal appearance of the attorney or the party is set. If the problem is still there at the hearing, appropriate sanctions will be imposed, and if nobody appears and nothing has been fixed, an order to show cause may issue (SLR 9.005).
- Monday is the contested-matter day in this court. Objections to a final account in a decedent's estate are set for hearing on a Monday unless the matter is anticipated to take longer than two hours, in which case the court schedules it on the trial docket (SLR 9.162(2)(a)), and conservatorship account objections follow the same rule (SLR 9.163(2)(a)). Show cause proceedings other than domestic relations post-judgment modifications are heard on Mondays, moving to Tuesday when Monday is a legal holiday, and a hearing expected to run more than an hour is not heard on Monday without advance arrangements with the show cause judge or the presiding judge (SLR 7.008).
- Protective proceeding hearings are requested in writing, and you tell the court which Mondays work. The court's Probate page: a person interested in arranging limited control over an event, for example the sale of property, or over an asset "may file a request for protective proceeding hearing with the Probate Commissioner. Requests may be made by letter and should set out the estimated time needed for hearings and which Mondays the parties are available for hearings. Hearings requiring more than 2 hours will be set on the regular trial docket."
- An objection produces a hearing automatically. "Upon receipt of an objection the court will schedule a hearing" (SLR 9.081(3)). In a protective proceeding a respondent or protected person may object in writing or orally, and an oral objection is made by appearing at the Circuit Court clerk's office at 125 East 8th Ave during regular business hours and asking for the probate clerk, or by telling the court visitor, who records it in the visitor's report; any other interested person described in ORS 125.075(1) may object to a petition in writing or orally but may object to a motion only in writing (SLR 9.081(1) and (2)).
- If the matter becomes a trial, the trial week starts on Tuesday. Cases set for trial are assigned to a judge at 9:30 a.m. on the day of trial by the presiding judge or a designee, and the attorneys who will try the case and the parties must appear for that assignment (SLR 7.004). Unless the trial judge directs otherwise, trials take place Tuesday through Friday, beginning at 10:00 a.m., running to 12:00 p.m., reconvening at 1:30 p.m. and continuing until 5:00 p.m., and once commenced a trial continues until it is completed (SLR 7.006).
- The mode of any hearing is set in advance by order, not by request. "The mode of proceedings (e.g., in-person, remote) is determined by Presiding Judge Order," and a party who wants a different mode files a motion with a supporting affidavit and proposed order two business days before the proceeding, setting out the reasoning and basis for the change, the statutes and any statutory or constitutional rights implicated, and the position of the opposing party (SLR 7.003). Where a hearing is conducted remotely the court provides the platform (SLR 5.051), which is Webex, and the court publishes a Motion to Change Mode of Appearance form. No probate docket appears on the court's published list of dockets held remotely.
Local nuance
Lane County-specific considerations
Lane County's first distinctive is that its probate practice lives almost entirely in the local rules rather than in published handouts. The court's Probate page is short, useful and honest about its limits, and the Second Judicial District Supplementary Local Rules do the rest. Chapter 9 of those rules, effective February 1, 2026, is where a Lane County estate is actually governed: SLR 9.001 on the probate commissioner, SLR 9.002 on filing probate matters with the court clerk's office, SLR 9.003 on ex parte orders, SLR 9.005 on delinquencies, SLR 9.006 on appearing without an attorney, SLR 9.022 on notice to a surety, SLR 9.081 on objections, SLR 9.161 on the form of accounts, and SLR 9.162 on presenting accounts in decedent estates. If you read one local document before filing, read that chapter.
The second distinctive is a genuine convenience: probate ex parte matters are exempt from the court's ex parte session. "All ex parte orders and judgments in decedents' estates, guardianships and conservatorships may be filed at any time without the necessity of the appearance of attorney for the fiduciary" (SLR 9.003). Elsewhere in this court an attorney presenting an ex parte order that cannot be e-filed has a 20-minute window in the designated courtroom, 8:30 a.m. to 8:50 a.m., Monday through Friday, and not otherwise except in an emergency (SLR 5.061(1)). Probate sits outside that, which is why a routine Lane County estate can be run almost entirely on paper and e-filings without a courtroom appearance.
The third distinctive is how this court handles accountings, and it cuts both ways. Accounts must be in the statewide format, because "All accounts, filed with the court, in estates, conservatorships and trusts shall be in the format as set out in UTCR 9.160" (SLR 9.161), so the optional statewide accounting format is mandatory in Lane County. But the court does not process annual accounts the way many courts do: all accounts in decedent estates are filed with the court clerk, and "The court need not and ordinarily will not enter an order approving an annual accounting" (SLR 9.162(1)). Do not wait for an approval order on an annual account here, and do not treat the absence of one as a problem. The final account is different: if no objections are filed within the time fixed, the personal representative files a proposed order approving it (SLR 9.162(2)(b)), and if objections are filed the court sets a Monday hearing unless the matter needs more than two hours (SLR 9.162(2)(a)).
The fourth distinctive is one to get right because two neighboring metro counties do the opposite: Lane County's non-professional fiduciary education requirement does not reach a personal representative. SLR 9.093 applies to "All non-professional guardians and conservators appointed pursuant to ORS Chapter 125" and to any ORS chapter 125 guardian or conservator directed to appear in court for a deficiency in handling fiduciary duties. Those fiduciaries must register for a class with a curriculum prescribed by the presiding judge no later than 20 days from appointment, complete it within 90 days, and file a certificate of completion with the probate department stating the date and provider, with professional fiduciaries under ORS 125.240(5) exempt, the class fee treated as a cost of administration of the protective proceeding, waiver available by motion and affidavit on a showing of good cause, and removal possible for non-compliance. A personal representative of a decedent's estate appointed under ORS chapter 113 is not on that list, so no class is required of them in Lane County.
Two more Lane County facts complete the picture. Filing here is paper, counter or electronic, and nothing else: "Documents transmitted via email or fax will not be received for filing" (SLR 1.161(5)), and a document submitted by email or fax may be returned to the filer (SLR 2.015(7)), which is why the court publishes no probate fax and no probate mailbox. And records access here is better than the statewide tool suggests. The free Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search is an index only, but Lane County keeps public terminals in the main floor lobby of the courthouse where court records may be viewed without charge during normal court hours for cases that started in 2014 or after; older files need a document request form, copies are ordered through the court's Records Request Form rather than by telephone, and the Court Archives Department at 541-682-7487 and [email protected] handles them, with the clerk emailing the total due and "Payment must be made in full prior to the court processing your request." Court fees themselves are paid online through OJD Courts ePay, by check mailed to Lane County Circuit Court, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401, in person at the courthouse by cash, check or credit card, or by credit card details given by phone on the 541-682-4020 main line, and in this court the fee comes first: "If a document requires a fee, the fee must be paid prior to, or simultaneous to submitting the document for filing" (SLR 1.161(4)).
Small-estate Alternatives
One Lane County wrinkle is worth knowing before you rely on the court's own summary of the simple estate affidavit route under ORS 114.505 to 114.560. The court's Probate page describes it this way: "A simple estate may be filed if not more than $75,000.00 of the fair market value of the estate is attributable to personal property and not more than $200,000.00 of the fair market value is attributable to real property." The statute is slightly narrower than that summary. ORS 114.510(1)(a) caps personal property "other than manufactured homes" at $75,000 and caps "the combined fair market value of real property and manufactured homes" at $200,000, so a manufactured home counts against the real property cap, not the personal property one, and value is measured gross, without reduction for liens or other debts (ORS 114.510(2)(b)). If a manufactured home is in the estate, work from the statute rather than from the summary, and call the Probate Department on 541-682-4033 before you file.
The rest is the same trap every Oregon court flags. The affidavit route appoints no personal representative and produces no letters, so if a bank, brokerage or title company has told you to bring letters testamentary or letters of administration, this route will not produce them. The court's own FAQ still uses the older names for it, calling it "an Affidavit of Claiming Successor or Small Estate Affidavit"; the current statutory name is the simple estate affidavit, and the statewide packet is published under that name. Lane County publishes no local version of the form and no local instructions, so use the statewide packet, and expect to record a bargain and sale deed with Lane County Deeds & Records at 125 E. 8th Avenue if the estate includes real property (ORS 114.555(3)). The waiting period, the four-month claim window and the two-year summary review period are statewide and are covered on the Oregon state page (ORS 114.515; ORS 114.540; ORS 114.550).
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 1, 2026 | The current Supplementary Local Rules of the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for Lane County took effect. Chapter 9 carries the probate practice a filer meets: the probate commissioner and the two powers published for the office (SLR 9.001), filing probate matters with the court clerk's office (SLR 9.002), ex parte orders and judgments in decedents' estates filed at any time with no appearance by the fiduciary's attorney (SLR 9.003), the courtesy notice and status hearing ladder for a delinquent or deficient filing (SLR 9.005), the notice and proof of competence required of a fiduciary appearing without an attorney (SLR 9.006), notice to a surety on a change of counsel (SLR 9.022), the oral and written objection routes and the automatic hearing (SLR 9.081), the non-professional fiduciary education program limited to ORS chapter 125 guardians and conservators (SLR 9.093), the mandatory UTCR 9.160 account format (SLR 9.161) and the presentation of accounts in decedent estates with the Monday objection hearing and the no-order-on-annual-accounts practice (SLR 9.162). SLR 2.501 continues to list no probate document as conventional filing only, so probate documents are e-fileable. | Supplementary Local Rules, second judicial district, courts.oregon.gov/rules |
| August 21, 2025 | Lane County Deeds & Records, the office that records the deed that clears title to Lane County real property after a survivorship transfer or a simple estate affidavit, moved back into 125 E. 8th Avenue in Eugene from the Elections Office at 10th and Lincoln, rejoining the public research library, which had remained at the Public Service Building. Counter hours are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Real property recording, marriage licenses, domestic partnership declarations and the Property Value Appeals Board moved with it; the Elections Office stayed put. | Deeds and Records Move notice, County Clerk, lanecountyor.gov |
| March 3, 2026 | The Lane County Board of Commissioners approved Order 26-03-03-15, "In the Matter of Approving the Purchase of Real Property Located at 99 E. Broadway, Eugene, Oregon and Delegating Authority to the County Administrator to Finalize the Sale." The order commits the building to no particular use, and no court office has moved: the Lane County Circuit Court still files probate at the Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th Avenue, and publishes no relocation notice. Watch the court's own pages rather than news coverage before changing where you file. | Board orders and ordinances 2026, lanecountyor.gov; court pages, courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Lane County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Lane County home held with a right of survivorship passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared by recording with Lane County Deeds & Records at 125 E. 8th Avenue, not through 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 Lane County at the courthouse at 125 East 8th Avenue in Eugene, and the spouse or the spouse's nominee has priority for appointment where the spouse is a distributee (ORS 113.085(1)(b)). Bond may be excused where the will waives it or the petitioner is the sole heir or devisee, but the court may still require one for good cause (ORS 113.105). A spouse who intends to appear without an attorney must give the court notice of that intent and proof of competence to appear (SLR 9.006(1)). 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 and the bond the court may require. Packet generation for the simple estate affidavit or for the petition and proposed judgment of appointment. Guidance on recording the deed with Lane County Deeds & Records. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Lane 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 Lane County Circuit Court, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401, and gets the original will to the court on paper (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)). Distance is manageable here: probate ex parte orders and judgments may be filed at any time with no appearance by the fiduciary's attorney (SLR 9.003), and the court does not enter orders approving annual accountings as a matter of course (SLR 9.162(1)). If a hearing does become necessary, the mode is set by Presiding Judge Order and a different mode takes a motion, affidavit and proposed order filed two business days ahead (SLR 7.003). | Asset discovery to confirm what the estate holds and whether the affidavit route reaches it, including whether a manufactured home shifts the value into the real property cap. 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 the court questions a self-represented fiduciary's competence under SLR 9.006, or if the will is contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate in the Circuit Court in Lane 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 after the surviving spouse, reaching a person entitled to the decedent's property under intestate succession where that person is a distributee. The petition has to state the facts establishing venue, the heirs and devisees with addresses, the statement about efforts to identify and locate heirs, and the extent and nature of the assets so the court can set bond (ORS 113.035). The parent files the inventory within 90 days (ORS 113.165), publishes notice once (ORS 113.155), runs the creditor search and notice with proof of compliance (ORS 115.003), sells the child's Lane County real estate under the authority the letters give, and files accountings in the UTCR 9.160 format that SLR 9.161 makes mandatory, with the annual ones ordinarily going unapproved by order (SLR 9.162(1)). A missed filing draws a courtesy notice before any hearing (SLR 9.005). | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, policies, vehicles and Lane 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 mandatory UTCR 9.160 format. Attorney referral for a disputed sale, an heirship fight, or an objection to the final account that lands on the Monday docket. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Probate page, Lane County Circuit Court (courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/programs-services/Pages/Probate.aspx) | The Probate Department's own page: the 2nd floor location, the office hours, the 541-682-4033 line, what the department handles across estates, simple estates, protective proceedings, guardianships, conservatorships and trusts, the un-probated will exception, the request-by-letter route for a protective proceeding hearing with available Mondays, and a probate FAQ that answers where to get forms and what the court cannot advise on |
| Contact Us page, Lane County Circuit Court (courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/go/Pages/Contact-Us.aspx) | The court's department telephone directory, which is the only place the probate line appears alongside the rest: probate 541-682-4033, court records 541-682-7487, calendar and docketing 541-682-6521, civil and domestic relations case information 541-682-7696, the main line 541-682-4020, plus the courthouse address and the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. hours |
| Court Records and Records Requests, Lane County Circuit Court (541-682-7487, [email protected]) | How to see an estate file and order copies. Public terminals in the main floor lobby let anyone view court records free during normal court hours for cases that started in 2014 or after; older cases need a document request form. Copies are ordered on the court's Records Request Form, not by telephone, from the Court Archives Department at 125 E. 8th Avenue. The court publishes its full copy, audio and media cost table and notes that Lane County does not produce written transcripts |
| Local and statewide forms page, Lane County Circuit Court (courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/help/Pages/Forms.aspx) | The court's own form library, with a Probate category, the fee deferral and waiver forms, the records copy request and the Motion to Change Mode of Appearance. Its standing instruction is "If there are two versions of any form, select the Lane version." The list renders through JavaScript, so open it in a browser, and note that the court publishes no form for opening a decedent's estate |
| Second Judicial District Supplementary Local Rules for Lane County, effective February 1, 2026 (courts.oregon.gov/rules) | The rules that actually govern a Lane County probate: chapter 9 on probate and adoption proceedings, including the probate commissioner (SLR 9.001), filing with the court clerk's office (SLR 9.002), ex parte orders filed at any time (SLR 9.003), the courtesy notice ladder (SLR 9.005), appearing without an attorney (SLR 9.006), notice to a surety (SLR 9.022), objections (SLR 9.081), the mandatory UTCR 9.160 account format (SLR 9.161) and the presentation of accounts (SLR 9.162), plus SLR 1.161 on filing, SLR 2.015 on returned documents, SLR 2.501 on conventional filing, SLR 5.061 on ex parte orders and SLR 7.003 on the mode of proceedings |
| Local Remote Hearings page, Lane County Circuit Court (courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/go/Pages/RemoteHearings.aspx) | The dockets this court holds remotely, the Webex test meeting link, and the remote hearing documentation. Read it for what it does not contain: no probate docket is listed, so a probate hearing follows the Presiding Judge Order for its mode and SLR 7.003 for changing it |
| Lane County Law Library (125 E 8th Avenue, basement, (541) 682-4337, text (458) 234-3423) | The library the court's own probate FAQ points readers to, describing it as in the basement of the courthouse and open to the public. The library's own page places it in the basement of the Public Service Building at the same address, across the hall from jury assembly, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It offers legal reference and research help, a print collection emphasizing Oregon law, specialized databases, local referrals and a forms information page. Staffing reductions mean it "may not be staffed during open hours" even though it stays open, and librarians provide research help, not legal advice |
| Finding Legal Assistance, Lane County Law Library (lanecountyor.gov) | The library's own directory of local and statewide options, and the best single map of who helps with what in Lane County: Lane County Legal Aid, Lane County Senior Law Service, Access the Law's sliding-scale service and free veterans clinic, the Oregon State Bar referral and Modest Means programs, Free Legal Answers, and the court's own family law facilitators. The page is candid that the library staff "are not lawyers or facilitators" |
| Lane County Legal Aid/Oregon Law Center (101 East Broadway, Suite 200, Eugene, OR 97401; (541) 485-1017 or (844) 595-8330) | The legal aid program that serves Lane County. It is not a branch office of a regional program: it describes itself as "a locally governed non-profit law firm" providing civil legal assistance to people in economic and social need in Lane County, working alongside the Survivors Justice Center and Senior Law Service. Its published typical cases are "housing, benefits, family law and issues of domestic violence," per its program description in the law library's directory, and its own FAQ lists public benefits and health care, tenant's rights, debt issues and survivors of abuse, so estate administration is not a listed service. The directory lists office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with a lunch closure from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and the program's own site says applications are accepted in person during limited intake sessions, with phone applications in some situations, so call before visiting. Ask first whether your matter is in scope |
| Lane County Deeds & Records (125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene; 541-682-3654) | The county office that records deeds, liens, contracts and conveyances, which is where title is cleared after a survivorship transfer or a simple estate affidavit, and which keeps a public research library. It returned to 125 E. 8th Avenue on August 21, 2025 from the Elections Office at 10th and Lincoln, and its counter hours are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is not the probate filing office: the county's records index states that "The Circuit Court, not Lane County," handles case records such as divorces, adoptions and restraining orders |
| Family Court Assistance Office, Lane County Circuit Court (541-682-4302), and the Greater Oregon Facilitation Initiative | Listed here so you do not lose time on it. The Family Court Assistance Office helps self-represented litigants "in divorce, legal separation, custody, or parenting time proceedings," and the Greater Oregon Facilitation Initiative provides free navigation to self-represented parties "in family law cases" in 15 counties including Lane. Neither covers probate, and Lane County publishes no probate facilitator, so probate questions go to the Probate Department on 541-682-4033 or to a lawyer |
| 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 supplies the UTCR 9.160 format Lane County requires. 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, and Lane County also carries those forms locally |
| OJD eFile, Odyssey File and Serve (courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/efile.aspx) | Oregon's statewide electronic filing system for the circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court. Filing is mandatory for Oregon State Bar licensees (UTCR 21.140(1); SLR 1.161(6)) and open to self-represented filers who register, and eFiling kiosks are available in most courts during regular business hours |
| OJD Records and Calendar Search (courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Pages/records-calendars.aspx) | Free access to court calendars and basic case information for Oregon's circuit courts, and the way to find a Lane County case number. 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. For documents, use the public terminals in the courthouse lobby, a records request, or a paid OJCIN OnLine subscription |
| Oregon State Bar (osbar.org, Lawyer Referral Service 503-684-3763 or 800-452-7636) | The Bar's public "What is Probate?" page and its Wills, Trusts and Elder Law resources, plus the Lawyer Referral Service and the Modest Means Program. The court's own probate FAQ sends readers to the referral line for the name of an attorney in the area. The Bar is not a government agency |
When to hire an attorney
Lane County is one of the Oregon courts that tells you plainly where its help stops. Its Probate page states that the court "is not able to determine the need to file an estate and does not provide forms for filing," that "It can be helpful to consult an attorney for legal advice," and that the forms themselves come from an attorney or a store that sells legal documents; its FAQ on contesting a will says you should file the appropriate paperwork and "may want to contact an attorney for more information." The court's local rule is firmer still: a personal representative or conservator who intends to appear without an attorney must give the court notice of that intent and proof of competence to appear, and if the proof does not assure the court the estate will be protected and properly administered the court will take appropriate action (SLR 9.006(1)). Counsel makes particular sense in Lane County when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt; when a will is contested or a trust is in dispute, because that lands on the trial docket with assignment at 9:30 a.m. on the day of trial and trial days running Tuesday through Friday (SLR 7.004; SLR 7.006); when objections to a final account are likely, because the court will set a hearing on receipt of an objection (SLR 9.081(3); SLR 9.162(2)(a)); when heirship is unclear or heirs cannot be located, since the petition must state the efforts made (ORS 113.035); when the estate holds a business interest, out-of-state property, a manufactured home that changes which simple estate cap applies, or Lane County real estate that has to be sold; and when deadlines have already slipped and a courtesy notice has arrived (SLR 9.005). An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since Oregon State Bar licensees must e-file (UTCR 21.140(1); SLR 1.161(6)). Sunset can connect families to a vetted Lane 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, Lane County real estate, business interests and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value before you file. In Lane County that number does triple duty: 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 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 Lane County publishes no estate form at all, so the paperwork is drafted, not filled in. Sunset assembles the Lane County filing for estate settlement: the simple estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the proposed judgment of appointment and the proposed letters, with the ORCP 1 E declaration, plus the inventory and the accountings in the UTCR 9.160 format this court makes mandatory (SLR 9.161), ready to file at 125 East 8th Avenue, to mail, or to e-file through OJD eFile.
Find a local probate attorney. When the court asks a self-represented fiduciary for proof of competence under SLR 9.006, when a courtesy notice has already gone out under SLR 9.005, or when the estate is insolvent or contested, Sunset connects families to a vetted Lane 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 Lane County, Oregon?
With the Probate Department of the Office of the Trial Court Administrator for the Circuit Court in Lane County, at the Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401. The Probate Department is on the 2nd floor, and probate matters requiring the authorization, approval or signature of the probate judge or designee are filed with the court clerk's office (SLR 9.002). Oregon has no separate probate court as an institution; probate jurisdiction in Lane County is vested in the circuit court (ORS 111.075). The court's other building, the Juvenile Justice Center at 2727 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, takes juvenile filings only (SLR 1.161(1)). 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)).
Is the Lane County courthouse moving?
No court office has moved. Every current page of the Lane County Circuit Court that gives an address gives 125 East 8th Avenue in Eugene, including the Contact Us page, the Payments page, the Court Records page and the Probate page, and the court's current local rules, effective February 1, 2026, print the same address for the clerk's office (SLR 9.081). On the county side, the Lane County Board of Commissioners approved Order 26-03-03-15 on March 3, 2026 approving the purchase of real property at 99 E. Broadway in Eugene, but that order commits the building to no particular use and the court has published no relocation notice. File at 125 East 8th Avenue, and check the court's own pages before a trip. The county office that did move is Deeds & Records, which returned to 125 E. 8th Avenue on August 21, 2025.
What is the probate phone number for Lane County Circuit Court?
541-682-4033. The court publishes it twice, on its Probate page ("You may contact the Probate Department by phone at 541-682-4033") and in the department telephone directory on its Contact Us page, where it appears as "Probate Case". The court's main line, 541-682-4020, is not the probate line, and Court Records is a third number, 541-682-7487. There is no published probate email mailbox, and it would not help for filing: "Documents transmitted via email or fax will not be received for filing" (SLR 1.161(5)).
Do I have to e-file a probate case in Lane County?
Only if you are a lawyer. "Mandatory electronic filing is required for members of the Oregon State Bar per UTCR 21.140" (SLR 1.161(6)), through the statewide 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)). A self-represented filer may register and e-file but is not required to, and may file at the court clerk's office at 125 East 8th Avenue or mail documents to the same address. Probate documents are e-fileable here: SLR 2.501 lists conventional-filing-only documents in four subject matter areas, family, civil, protective order initiating and criminal matters, and names no probate document. What you cannot do is email or fax a filing (SLR 1.161(5); SLR 2.015(7)), and the original will still goes in on paper (UTCR 21.070(3)(h)).
How much does it cost to file probate in Lane 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)), any other appearance in a probate proceeding is $281 (ORS 21.135(1) and (2)(g); ORS 21.170(4)), and a $111 fee attaches to the specific motions listed in ORS 21.200(1). Fees are payable in advance and are not refundable (ORS 21.100), and Oregon counties add no local filing surcharge. In Lane County the fee must be paid before or at the same time as the document is submitted (SLR 1.161(4)) or the document may be returned unfiled (SLR 2.015(2)); fee deferral and waiver forms are in the court's own forms library.
When are probate hearings held in Lane County, and can I appear remotely?
Most routine estate work needs no hearing at all, because "All ex parte orders and judgments in decedents' estates, guardianships and conservatorships may be filed at any time without the necessity of the appearance of attorney for the fiduciary" (SLR 9.003). When a hearing is needed it tends to be a Monday: objections to a final account are set on a Monday unless the matter is expected to take more than two hours, in which case it goes on the trial docket (SLR 9.162(2)(a)), show cause proceedings are heard on Mondays (SLR 7.008), and the court asks a party requesting a protective proceeding hearing to write in with the estimated time needed and which Mondays the parties are available. Trials run Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. (SLR 7.006). Mode is set in advance: "The mode of proceedings (e.g., in-person, remote) is determined by Presiding Judge Order," and changing it takes a motion, supporting affidavit and proposed order filed two business days before the proceeding (SLR 7.003). The court provides the remote platform where a hearing is remote (SLR 5.051), which is Webex, and its published list of dockets held remotely contains no probate docket.
What probate forms does Lane County provide?
Almost none, and the court says so. Its Probate page states that the court "is not able to determine the need to file an estate and does not provide forms for filing," and its FAQ tells you where to go instead: "You can obtain the necessary forms from an attorney, a stationery store, or a bookstore that sells legal documents." In the Oregon Judicial Department forms library, 50 forms are scoped to Lane County and exactly two are probate forms, both for protective proceedings rather than estates: the Guardian Report for a protected minor, which SLR 9.092(2) requires within 30 days after each anniversary of appointment, and the Objection to Petition for Appointment of Guardian/Conservator, which the probate clerk will hand you at the counter (SLR 9.081(2)(b)). The court's Forms page adds one instruction, "If there are two versions of any form, select the Lane version," and it carries the fee deferral and waiver forms and a Motion to Change Mode of Appearance. Statewide, the Simple Estate Affidavit packet, the Claim Against Estate form and the probate accounting packet are published in the Forms Center, and there is no statewide petition, because no particular pleadings or forms of pleadings are required (ORS 111.205(2)).
Do I have to take a fiduciary class to serve as personal representative in Lane County?
No. Lane County's non-professional fiduciary educational program applies to "All non-professional guardians and conservators appointed pursuant to ORS Chapter 125" and to any ORS chapter 125 guardian or conservator directed to appear in court for a deficiency in the handling of fiduciary duties (SLR 9.093(1)). A personal representative of a decedent's estate is appointed under ORS chapter 113 and is not on that list. This is a real difference between Oregon counties, so do not assume a neighboring county's rule: those courts that do require the class of personal representatives say so in their own local rules. Where the Lane County rule does apply, the fiduciary registers within 20 days of appointment, completes the class within 90 days, and files a certificate of completion with the probate department stating the date and the provider, with professional fiduciaries under ORS 125.240(5) exempt and removal possible for non-compliance.
How do I look up a Lane County probate case or get copies of documents?
Start with the Oregon Judicial Department Records and Calendar Search, the free statewide tool for Oregon's circuit courts, to find the case number and follow the register of actions. It is an index, 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. Lane County then gives you a free document route the statewide tool does not: public terminals in the main floor lobby of the courthouse, where court records may be viewed without charge during normal court hours for cases that started in 2014 or after. Older files need a document request. Copies come from the Court Archives Department at 125 E. 8th Avenue on the court's Records Request Form, not by telephone, at 541-682-7487 or [email protected]; paper copies are $3.00 per request in a case plus 25 cents per page, a certified copy is $5.00 plus 25 cents per page, and audio of a hearing is $10.00 per hearing or day of trial (ORS 21.258; Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026). Location and inspection of court records is free (ORS 21.258(2)).
Does the Lane County Clerk handle probate?
No. Probate jurisdiction in Lane County is vested in the circuit court (ORS 111.075), and the county's own records index states that "The Circuit Court, not Lane County," handles case records such as divorces, adoptions and restraining orders. Lane County Deeds & Records, at 125 E. 8th Avenue in the same downtown complex as the courthouse, records deeds, liens, contracts and conveyances, issues marriage licenses and keeps a public research library; it returned to that address on August 21, 2025 and its counter hours are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, phone 541-682-3654. You will deal with it if the estate holds real property, because that is where a deed is recorded, including the bargain and sale deed that follows a simple estate affidavit (ORS 114.555(3)). In six Oregon counties, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler, probate really is filed with a county officer; Lane is not one of them.
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