Washington County, OR Probate Information

A Washington 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 Twentieth Judicial District adds three local obligations on top of those, and they are short but exacting.

File the acknowledgment when assets are restricted. Washington County's rule is one sentence and it has no exceptions: "Any assets restricted by court order require filing of an acknowledgment of restriction of assets" (Washington County SLR 9.051). The court prescribes its own form for it, Form SLR 9.051, published in its Official Forms appendix and in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library. Restriction of assets is the common alternative to a bond, and letters do not issue until any bond the court required is filed with the clerk of the court (ORS 113.125), so this is a first-month task rather than a later one.

File accountings in the required format, with vouchers. An accounting under ORS 116.083 must be in the form specified in Form 9.160 of the UTCR Appendix of Forms, "including the requirement, absent prior court order, to file vouchers as set out in UTCR 9.180" (SLR 9.161). UTCR 9.160 makes that format acceptable in every judicial district and lets a district make it mandatory, and Washington County has, and has attached the voucher requirement to it. Keep receipts and statements from the beginning, because the vouchers are filed with the account rather than produced on request. Each annual or final accounting also carries its own filing fee, tiered on the same value bands as the opening fee: $35, $298, $591 or $1,176 (ORS 21.170(2); Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026).

Do not let a statutory filing slip. Where a required pleading has not been filed, this court sets a hearing to show cause against the fiduciary, and it states plainly that the hearing will not be cancelled upon correction of the deficiency and that the parties must still appear before the court. That appearance will be in person unless a motion under ORS 45.400 is granted (Washington County Presiding Judge Order No. 343 (Corrected)). The inventory at 90 days (ORS 113.165), the proof of the information to heirs and devisees at 30 days (ORS 113.145), the proof of compliance on the creditor search (ORS 115.003) and the annual account (ORS 116.083) are the deadlines that most often produce one.

Two more practical points. Fiduciary letters are issued by the Probate Department, and the court issues certified copies of them only to the appointed fiduciary or their attorney of record, so a bank asking for certified letters cannot get them itself; certified copies are $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). And the attorney fees an estate pays are set by the court, not by the engagement letter alone: the court allows the personal representative's necessary expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, in the settlement of the final account, and an earlier partial award takes a petition showing the final account reasonably cannot yet be filed (ORS 116.183).

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. Note that the Oregon Judicial Department's Guide and File interactive forms service does not cover probate or simple estates.

Washington County adds one probate form and no estate forms, and it says so directly. Its Probate page states of estates: "It may or may not be necessary to file an estate depending on the circumstances and the assets of the decedent. The court is not able to determine the need to file an estate and does not provide forms for filling." The one probate form this district mandates is Form SLR 9.051, the Acknowledgment of Restriction of Assets, which must be filed whenever assets are restricted by court order (Washington County SLR 9.051); it is the only Chapter 9 item in the court's Official Forms appendix, and it is published in the Oregon Judicial Department forms library. The court's other probate-side local files serve protective proceedings rather than estates: a Guardian's Report and a Co-Guardians' Report. There is no local petition, inventory, accounting or simple estate affidavit form in Washington County, so for a decedent's estate the petition, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted.

Three practical points about Washington County forms. First, the court's forms page carries a tie breaker worth following: "If there are two versions of any form, select the Washington version," and the same page links the Oregon Judicial Department fee deferral and waiver packet. Second, accountings do have a required format even though the court publishes no local accounting form: an accounting under ORS 116.083 must be in the form specified in Form 9.160 of the UTCR Appendix of Forms, and this district adds that vouchers must be filed as UTCR 9.180 sets out unless the court has ordered otherwise (SLR 9.161). Third, the court publishes a local Motion to Appear Remote and Declaration in Support form, which matters here because in-person is this court's default for any appearance not on its published remote list, and probate is not on that list (Washington County Presiding Judge Order No. 343 (Corrected)).

1. Expect the Probate Department, not a judge, to be your point of contact. The court's Probate page states that the probate commissioner sets all hearings regarding probate matters and that all inquiries regarding hearings, including resets, appearances and settlements, should be directed to the probate department directly and not to chambers. ORS 111.175 is what allows a presiding judge to appoint a probate commissioner, and ORS 111.185 is what lets that commissioner act on uncontested petitions for probate of a will and for appointment of a personal representative.
2. Do not plan an ex parte appearance. The same page states, under Hearings: "Ex Parte. Appearance before a judge in a probate matter is not required and should be resolved via File & Serve/Odyssey." That is the opposite of the court's general civil practice, where a party asking for an ex parte appearance contacts the Case Management Department at least 24 hours before filing to have a hearing scheduled (SLR 5.061(1)).
3. If both sides have lawyers, expect a status conference. The court states that when all parties are represented by an attorney it will set a status conference on any matter brought before the court, to frame the issue, discuss settlement options, and set the appropriate amount of time on the docket.
4. Flag an emergency at the moment you file. On filing an emergency temporary protective proceeding through File and Serve, call the Probate Department at 503-846-2366 to alert clerks to the need for expedited processing (SLR 21.075). For any other expedited filing the statewide rule applies: include the words "EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION REQUESTED" in the Filing Comments field, and you may notify the court at the contact it designates, which for probate is 503-846-8888 option 3, 2, 2 (UTCR 21.070(5)).
5. Assume an in-person appearance unless the court says otherwise. All court appearances in Washington County are held in person and a request for remote appearance must be made by motion under ORS 45.400; the hearing types exempt from that motion requirement are juvenile proceedings, initial protective order applications, treatment courts, civil case assignment, landlord tenant, fitness to proceed and aid and assist, civil commitment, and contested Family Abuse Prevention Act hearings, and probate estate matters are not among them (Washington County Presiding Judge Order No. 343 (Corrected)). An exception may be allowed at the discretion of the judge assigned to the case.
6. Watch the accounting clock, because a late filing has a hard local consequence. A personal representative files an account annually within 60 days after the anniversary of appointment and again when the estate is ready for final settlement (ORS 116.083), in the UTCR Form 9.160 format with vouchers under UTCR 9.180 (SLR 9.161).
7. If a required pleading is missing, the show cause hearing happens anyway. The court's Probate page states that where a hearing to show cause has been scheduled because a deficiency of statutory pleadings has not been filed with the court, "the hearing will not be cancelled upon the correction of the deficiency. Parties must still appear before the court." Fixing the problem the day before does not get you out of the appearance in Washington County.
8. Records requests run on their own clock. Copies are requested in person at the Public Records Review Room, Room 110J on the first floor of the Justice Services Building, through the court's online request form, or by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check payable to the State of Oregon; the court accepts not-to-exceed checks up to $30 where you do not know the amount, and payment is due before the request is completed (Washington County Circuit Court Case File Copies page). Paper copies are $3 per request in a case plus 25 cents per page, a certified copy is $5 plus the per-page charge and an exemplified copy is $10 plus the per-page charge (ORS 21.258; Oregon Judicial Department Circuit Court Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026), and locating and inspecting court records is free (ORS 21.258(2)).

One Washington County wrinkle is worth knowing before you choose the simple estate affidavit route under ORS 114.505 to 114.560. This court still lists the route under its older name: its Probate page names "Affidavit of Claiming Successor (Small Estates)" among the Probate Department's case types, and gives it its own section headed Simple Estates. The current statutory name is the simple estate affidavit, and the older names, small estate affidavit and affidavit of claiming successor, are still in wide use in Oregon including on this court's own pages. Whichever name you meet, it is the same document under ORS 114.515.

The court publishes its own summary of when the route is available, including the variation for a testate estate where the value above the caps is awarded by the will to a trust the decedent established before death. Read the statute alongside it: the court's summary splits the two value caps into personal property and real property, while ORS 114.510(1)(a) counts manufactured homes against the real property cap rather than the personal property one, and value is measured gross at the date of death without reduction for liens or other debts (ORS 114.510(2)). The caps, 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.

Two Washington County practicalities. The court publishes no local simple estate affidavit form, so use the statewide Simple Estate Affidavit packet from the Oregon Judicial Department Forms Center, and file it with the clerk of the probate court in a county where there is venue (ORS 114.515(1)), which here means the first floor of the Justice Services Building. And the court will not tell you whether the route fits: it states that it is not able to determine the need to file an estate, and ORS 9.160 prohibits court staff from giving legal advice, which the court cites on its own Probate page. No personal representative is appointed on the affidavit route and no letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued, so if a bank or title company has asked for letters, the affidavit will not produce them.

Page last reviewed: July 2026.