Executor Duties in Oregon

Main duties and deadlines for an Oregon personal representative: upon appointment, deliver or mail information about the estate to the devisees, heirs and other persons named in the petition (and certain state agencies), and file proof of that delivery within 30 days after appointment; upon appointment, publish a notice to interested persons once in a newspaper in the county, telling creditors to present claims within four months after the date of publication or be barred; within 90 days after appointment (unless the court allows more time), file an inventory of estate property with date-of-death fair market values; file an account annually within 60 days after the anniversary of appointment if the estate is still open, and a final account when the estate is ready for final settlement and distribution; the court then enters a general judgment of final distribution.

Probate is handled by the circuit court (the county court in Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman and Wheeler Counties). A petition is filed in a proper county to admit any will and appoint a personal representative. The court appoints a suitable person, preferring the personal representative named in the will, then a surviving spouse who is a distributee (or the spouse's nominee), then other distributees. Letters may not be issued until the personal representative provides any bond the court sets; bond is not required when the will waives it, the representative is the sole heir or devisee, no assets are known, or the court waives it. Oregon DMV and other institutions accept the court-issued letters testamentary or letters of administration as proof of authority.

Claims must be presented to the personal representative within four months after the date the notice to interested persons is published, or, for creditors who had to receive mailed notice, within 45 days after that notice is mailed or delivered if that is later. Filing a claim with the court does not count as presenting it. A late claim may still be paid in limited cases if presented before the final account is filed.