If someone close to you has passed away, we are here to caringly guide you through the process of winding up their affairs and probating their estate. Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person. During this process, a person’s probate assets are identified, his or her creditors and taxes are paid, and then the remaining assets are distributed to his or her beneficiaries in accordance with the Will or the laws of intestate succession. Probate assets are all assets that the deceased person owned, in his or her name alone. Jointly titled and other “pay on death” accounts generally flow outside of the probate process.

The personal representative is usually named in the person’s Will. If the person dies without a Will, Oregon Laws of Intestate Succession come in to play and the court will appoint a suitable person to serve as personal representative. The personal representative, usually with the assistance of an attorney, files a Petition with the court. Once the judge officially appoints the personal representative and issues Letters’ of Testamentary, the process has begun. The probate process usually takes six months to a year to conclude. If the estate is more complicated probate can take much longer.