Oregon Legal Research Blog
We get quite a few patrons looking for small estate affidavit forms to use in the Washington County Circuit Court. Patrons often remark that other circuit courts have small estate forms available online, thinking our court will also offer the forms. However, our probate department does not offer small estate forms, but does have great instructions on their website for filing a small estate. Plus, the court will honor any statutorily compliant form. The law changes frequently, and it takes time and money to keep legal forms up to date. So individual circuit courts decide which supplemental forms they will offer, outside of the standard Oregon Judicial Department forms. If you are looking for small estate resources, here are a few places you can find small-estate affidavit forms and information:
1) Check with the applicable circuit court’s website for forms and/or information on filing a small-estate affidavit. Our circuit court does provides information on filing an Affidavit of Claiming Successor, including the related statutes. The following circuit courts offer the small estate forms online: Marion, Deschutes, Jackson, Linn, and Clackamas.
2) A common referral for frequently-used forms is the Stevens-Ness Law Publishing Company. They sell Oregon-specific small-estate affidavit forms for both testate and intestate estates (in paper and electronic formats).
3) Check with your local county law library for the following resource: Oregon State Bar CLE (BarBook) Administering Oregon Estates (it provides sample forms for small-estate affidavits).
4) Consult with an attorney. Probate can be quite complicated, even a matter seemingly as simple as a small estate. You can find information on free and low-cost lawyer services in Oregon at the Oregon Legal Research website.
The Oregon State Bar’s public information website also has some information on probate and small estates.