Estate Planning in Oregon
Oregon's estate tax starts at $1 million — the lowest exemption in the nation, unchanged since 2012. A paid-off house and a retirement account can be enough.
Oregon is one of twelve states with its own estate tax, and it has the lowest exemption in the country: $1 million. That number was set in 2012. It has never been indexed for inflation, and it is not portable between spouses.
Think about what has happened to Oregon home values since 2012. What was a comfortable-but-ordinary estate fourteen years ago — a house, a 401(k), a life insurance policy — is now an estate with an Oregon tax problem. The families most surprised by this are not the wealthy. They are teachers, nurses, contractors, and small business owners who did everything right and never thought of themselves as having a "taxable estate."
How Oregon is different
The $1 million cliff that isn't a cliff. Oregon taxes the gross estate over $1 million at rates from 10% to 16%. Because the exemption is not indexed, every year of home-price appreciation quietly pulls more families over the line. The federal exemption — $15 million per person in 2026 — is irrelevant to almost every Oregon family with a tax problem; the bill comes entirely from the state.
No portability. When the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse does not inherit the unused $1 million. Leave everything outright to your spouse and that first exemption evaporates — the survivor is left defending the whole estate with a single $1 million shield. Married couples need credit shelter (bypass) trust provisions or equivalent planning to keep both exemptions alive.
Not a community property state. Unlike Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Washington, Oregon is a common-law state. There is no automatic 50/50 ownership presumption — characterization, titling, and beneficiary designations do the work. For couples who moved to Oregon from a community property state, this is one of the most consequential and least understood changes in their legal lives.
Transfer-on-death deeds. Since 2012, Oregon has authorized transfer-on-death deeds (ORS 93.948 to 93.985). Record one before death naming a beneficiary, keep full control while alive, revoke it any time — and that parcel skips probate. It handles the house, not the tax bill.
What we prepare
- Wills — who receives what, who serves as personal representative, and who is named guardian for minor children.
- Revocable living trusts with bypass provisions — so married couples preserve both $1 million Oregon exemptions instead of wasting one at the first death.
- Irrevocable trusts — where estate-tax exposure or asset protection calls for moving appreciation out of the taxable estate, including irrevocable life insurance trusts (life insurance you own counts toward the $1 million).
- Transfer-on-death deeds — the Oregon instrument that moves real property to a named beneficiary at death without probate.
- Durable powers of attorney — so someone can manage your financial affairs if you become unable to.
- Advance directives — Oregon's advance directive for health care, so your care decisions rest with a person you chose.
- Beneficiary designation review — retirement accounts and life insurance pass by designation, not by will, and a stale designation quietly overrides everything else you signed.
The part most plans get wrong
A trust only governs the assets that were actually transferred into it. Deeds have to be signed and recorded. Accounts have to be retitled. Beneficiary forms have to be updated. This is called funding, and it is where a great many estate plans quietly fail — the documents were drafted correctly, handed over in a binder, and the assets were left sitting exactly where they were. An unfunded bypass trust is just expensive paper.
Funding is part of the engagement, not a homework assignment. We identify what needs to move, prepare the deeds, and tell you plainly which items you must complete with your own bank or plan administrator — and we confirm they were done.
Staying out of probate in Oregon
Transfer-on-death deed — passes Oregon real property to a named beneficiary at death; revocable during your lifetime; must be recorded before death.
Survivorship titling — married couples and co-owners can hold property with rights of survivorship so it passes automatically.
Payable-on-death accounts — bank accounts pass directly to the named person, outside probate.
Funded revocable trust — assets titled in the trust are distributed by the trustee, without court involvement — and can house the bypass provisions that preserve both spouses' exemptions.
Small-estate affidavit — Oregon allows affidavit transfer for qualifying small estates; a fallback, not a plan.
None of these is right for everyone, and stacking them carelessly creates conflicts — a beneficiary designation that contradicts a will, or a deed that defeats the trust it was meant to feed. The value is in choosing the right combination for your circumstances, and in making the pieces agree with one another.
Who this is for
Portland-metro and Bend-area homeowners whose property values did the "wealthy" part for them. Married couples who need both $1 million exemptions working, not one. Small business owners with illiquid value tied up in the company. Parents of minor children who need a guardian named. Blended families, where the default rules of intestacy rarely produce what anyone intended. And anyone who moved to Oregon from a community property state without updating their plan.
Common questions
Is my estate really over $1 million?
Probably closer than you think. Oregon taxes the gross estate: your home at market value, retirement accounts, investment accounts, the death benefit of life insurance you own, business interests, and personal property. A paid-off Portland-area home plus a 401(k) and a life insurance policy can cross $1 million without anyone feeling wealthy. The exemption has not moved since 2012 while home values roughly doubled.
We're married — can't we just leave everything to each other?
You can, but it wastes an exemption. Oregon's $1 million exemption is not portable — the surviving spouse does not inherit the deceased spouse's unused portion. If the first spouse to die leaves everything outright to the survivor, the survivor faces the tax with a single $1 million exemption. Married couples typically use credit shelter (bypass) trusts so both exemptions are preserved.
What is an Oregon transfer-on-death deed?
Under ORS 93.948 to 93.985, a transfer-on-death deed names a beneficiary to receive your Oregon real property at death, bypassing probate. You keep full ownership and control while alive — sell, mortgage, or revoke it — but it must be recorded with the county clerk before your death. It handles the house; it does nothing for incapacity planning, taxes, or beneficiaries who should not receive assets outright.
What happens if I die without a will in Oregon?
Oregon's intestacy statutes decide. Your surviving spouse's share depends on whether you have children and whether your parents survive you — the estate can be split between your spouse and your children or parents in proportions nobody would have chosen. Your family will need a court proceeding to establish who the heirs are, and no one is named guardian for minor children.
We moved to Oregon from a community property state. Does our plan need updating?
Yes — review it. Oregon is not a community property state, so how your property is characterized and titled works differently here. More importantly, the tax threshold is dramatically lower: a plan drafted for a state with no estate tax (or a high exemption) may leave an Oregon family fully exposed to tax starting at $1 million.
Start with a fifteen-minute phone call.
Pick a time, tell us briefly what is going on, and we will call you. No charge, no obligation. If this firm is not the right fit, you will get a referral to someone who is.