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Committee reviews plan to raise limits for simple estate affidavits and add annual cost‑of‑living adjustments
Summary
Senate Bill 15 would raise the dollar limits for Oregon's simple estate affidavit process, add an annual cost‑of‑living adjustment mechanism, and create a higher‑value path for estates with a single devisee.
Senate Bill 15 would increase the asset limits that qualify an estate for Oregon's simple estate affidavit procedure and require the State Court Administrator to apply annual cost‑of‑living adjustments.
The bill's dash‑3 amendment clarifies current limits and adds a higher tier allowing a simple estate affidavit where a decedent's total estate is greater than $275,000 but less than $1 million if one person is the sole devisee and limits on personal and real property allocations are met. The amendment also directs annual administrative COLA adjustments by July 1 for the following calendar year.
Committee staff, Senator Thatcher and legislative counsel discussed the policy intent to update 2015 dollar thresholds and noted that rising home values have made the existing $75,000 personal‑property / $200,000 real‑property thresholds less protective of heirs. Senator Thatcher and staff flagged an outstanding issue about manufactured or mobile homes counted as personal property, which can push estates past the personal‑property cap.
Channa Newell of the Oregon Judicial Department told the committee that moving more estates into the simple‑affidavit process reduces filing fees collected by the courts and therefore lowers general‑fund revenues. Newell said initial estimates of the revenue impact of the base bill were approximately $2 million; she also flagged consumer‑protection concerns because probate commissioners and probate hearings sometimes involve complex factual questions that raised potential for disputes in an affidavit‑based process.
Newell said OJD is neutral on the dash‑3 amendment and is working with sponsors on precision and revenue adjustments; she and committee staff also noted the manufactured‑home wrinkle as a technical issue under review.
Why it matters: The bill aims to reduce probate cost and complexity for smaller estates while balancing risk of misdirected distributions and a revenue impact on filing fee receipts. The OJD recommended caution because larger or more complex estates may create consumer‑protection risks when processed through an affidavit procedure.
What happens next: Committee members closed the public hearing and indicated more drafting work remains, including options to address manufactured‑home treatment and to fine‑tune fee impacts before a final amendment is adopted.
