Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon

Re: Probate Costs

Estate probate costs consist of several different areas. There is a filing fee with the court. That is determined by the size of the estate and runs between $65 and $695 in Multnomah County. The actual amount is determined by the size of the estate.

The attorney fees are usually based on time with an hourly rate for the attorney, and perhaps a lower hourly rate for legal assistants or law clerks. The personal representative is paid a fee, which is based on the size of the estate. It is calculated on a sliding scale, with the PR getting a higher percentage of the smaller estate and a lower percentage of a larger estate. Finally there are outside costs, like accountants, appraisers, etc. These costs are determined by the appropriate professionals.

In my experience it would be very unusual for attorney fees in Oregon to be based on a percentage of the estate. (This is not true in some other states.) All attorney fees in a probate must be approved by the Oregon court before they can be paid, so there is an additional layer of review for those fees.