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Oregon spent 2025 moving in two directions at once. The legislature added a rescue provision that can save a defectively signed will — and, in the same act, wrote an express ban on electronic wills into the statute. Both apply to anyone who dies on or after January 1, 2026. Handwritten wills have never been valid here. The bigger Oregon problem is the estate tax, which starts at $1,000,000 — one of the lowest thresholds in the country. Online services prepare an Oregon-specific will for $199–$299. Every rule below cites the Oregon Revised Statutes.
Most Oregon adults can finish a legally valid will in under an hour.
Two witnesses, a signature, and clear wishes — that’s the whole requirement. An online service like Trust & Will prepares an Oregon-specific will with the witness pages ready to sign.
Disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through the Trust & Will links here, at no extra cost to you. Complex situations belong with an attorney and we say so below.
Oregon Will Requirements (2026)
ORS § 112.235 sets the execution rules:
| Requirement | Oregon rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| In writing | A written record — and “writing” expressly excludes electronic records, documents and images | § 112.235(1), (4) |
| Signed | You sign in the presence of each witness; or direct someone to sign your name and their own; or acknowledge a signature you made earlier | § 112.235(1)(a) |
| Witnessed | Two witnesses who see you sign, hear you acknowledge your signature, or hear you direct another to sign — then attest by signing within a reasonable time before your death | § 112.235(1)(b) |
| Notarized | Not required for validity | § 112.235 |
Oregon does not require your witnesses to sign in each other’s presence, and it does not require them to sign the same day. The statute gives them until a reasonable time before your death — a genuinely forgiving deadline compared with states that make both witnesses sign together in the room. What they must do is observe one of the three triggering events themselves.
Who can make a will: anyone 18 or older of sound mind — or anyone who has been lawfully married, or anyone emancipated under ORS §§ 419B.550 to 419B.558 (§ 112.225). Most states stop at a flat 18. Oregon’s married-or-emancipated alternative means a 17-year-old with a child and a household of their own can make a valid will here.
Handwritten Wills Are Not Valid in Oregon
Oregon has never recognized holographic wills. Section 112.235 contains no handwriting exception, so the two-witness requirement applies to every will however it was produced. A signed page in a desk drawer is not a will in Oregon — unlike in California next door, where a handwritten will can be valid without any witnesses.
Since January 1, 2026 there is one narrow second chance, and it is a court proceeding rather than a plan — see the harmless-error section below.
Electronic Wills Are Illegal in Oregon — and the Legislature Said So in 2025
Most states that do not allow electronic wills simply have not addressed the question. Oregon addressed it. In 2025 the legislature amended the execution statute to add a definition:
“As used in this section and ORS 112.238, ‘writing’ does not include an electronic record, document or image.” — ORS § 112.235(4), added by 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34, § 3
That closes the door twice over. An electronic document cannot satisfy the ordinary execution statute, and because the exclusion also covers ORS § 112.238, it cannot be rescued by the new harmless-error provision either. A will signed on a tablet in Oregon is not a defective will — it is not a will at all.
The exclusion is specific to wills. Oregon’s separate-list device for tangible personal property runs the other way: under § 112.260(5), “writing” there does include an electronic record. So the memo listing who gets the furniture can live on your phone. The will itself cannot.
Oregon’s New Harmless-Error Rule (Deaths On or After January 1, 2026)
The same 2025 act created ORS § 112.238, a dispensing power Oregon did not previously have. A writing that fails the execution formalities may still be treated as a will if:
- it was executed before the decedent’s death;
- the decedent signed it, or directed another person to sign the decedent’s name and that person’s own name; and
- the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended it as a will, as a revocation, or as an addition to or alteration of a will.
The court may decide after a hearing or on affidavits, and anyone entitled to notice has 20 days to object. Under 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34, § 6(2), the provision applies to a writing executed before, on, or after January 1, 2026, so long as the decedent died on or after January 1, 2026.
Do not mistake this for a shortcut. Harmless error is a litigated remedy: someone has to petition, pay for the proceeding, and carry a clear-and-convincing burden while the estate sits open. It exists to rescue a genuine will with a botched signing ceremony, not to excuse skipping the ceremony. And it cannot touch an electronic document at all.
Dying Without a Will in Oregon
Oregon’s intestacy rules are among the simplest in the country, and unusually generous to a surviving spouse:
| Your situation | What your spouse receives |
|---|---|
| No descendants survive you | The entire net intestate estate (§ 112.035) |
| All your descendants are your spouse’s | The entire net intestate estate (§ 112.025(1)) |
| You have a child who isn’t your spouse’s | One-half of the net intestate estate (§ 112.025(2)) |
| Your spouse has a child who isn’t yours | The entire net intestate estate — the statute doesn’t look at your spouse’s side |
That last row is what separates Oregon from most of its peers. The reduction in § 112.025(2) is triggered only when one or more of the decedent’s descendants is not a descendant of the surviving spouse. Your spouse’s own children from an earlier relationship do not reduce their share. Minnesota and Kentucky look at both sides of the marriage; Oregon looks only at yours.
Anything not passing to the spouse goes to descendants by representation, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents and theirs (§ 112.045).
The Real Oregon Problem: a $1,000,000 Estate Tax Threshold
Oregon levies its own estate tax, and the rate table in ORS § 118.010(4) begins at an Oregon taxable estate of $1,000,000:
| Oregon taxable estate | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000 – $1,500,000 | 10.0% |
| $1,500,000 – $2,500,000 | 10.25% |
| $2,500,000 – $3,500,000 | 10.5% |
| $3,500,000 – $5,500,000 | 11.0% – 11.5% |
| $5,500,000 – $9,500,000 | 12.0% – 15.0% |
| Above $9,500,000 | 16.0% |
A paid-off Portland or Bend house, a retirement account, and a life insurance policy clear $1,000,000 without the family ever feeling wealthy — and life insurance counts. Oregon offers no portability between spouses: the exemption a first spouse doesn’t use is simply gone unless the plan captures it. That is why credit shelter trust planning matters far more in Oregon than the federal exemption would ever suggest, and it is the single strongest reason for an Oregon family to talk to an attorney rather than stop at a will. See our state estate tax guide for how Oregon compares.
What a Will Costs in Oregon
| Route | Typical cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Handwritten, no witnesses | $0 | Invalid in Oregon — salvageable only through a contested court proceeding |
| Online service | $199 individual / $299 couple | Oregon-specific will with witness pages, done in about an hour |
| Oregon attorney | Flat fees vary — Portland runs above the rest of the state | Custom drafting and counsel, including estate-tax planning at Oregon’s $1M threshold |
Online pricing verified against Trust & Will’s published rates (August 2026). The Oregon State Bar publishes no fee survey, so we quote no attorney figures we can’t source. See how Oregon compares with the rest of the country for national cost ranges and a state-by-state table of will requirements.
What an Oregon Will Does Not Do
1. A will does not avoid probate. Oregon probate is a court process on the public record. Oregon does offer transfer-on-death deeds for real estate and small-estate affidavit procedures for modest estates — see how small estate affidavits work and what a living trust costs in Oregon.
2. A will does not reduce the Oregon estate tax. The tax applies with or without one. At a $1,000,000 threshold with no spousal portability, an ordinary Oregon couple can waste an entire exemption by doing nothing — and that planning happens in a trust, not a will.
3. A will does not cover incapacity, and does not override beneficiary designations. Pair it with a durable power of attorney and an advance directive — see the five documents every family needs — and keep your beneficiary forms current.
Will vs. Trust for Oregon Families
Every Oregon adult needs a will — no default rule names a guardian for your children, and a child from an earlier relationship cuts your spouse to half. But Oregon is one of the states where the trust question has a genuine numerical answer rather than a philosophical one. If your house, retirement accounts, and life insurance add up to more than $1,000,000, the state estate tax is already looking at you, and the tools that address it live in a trust. Start with Trust vs. Will: Which Does Your Family Need? and the numbers in our Oregon living trust cost guide.
If the will is what you need today, Trust & Will’s Oregon package includes the witness pages, guardianship nominations, and healthcare documents — build your Oregon will here.
FAQ
Does a will have to be notarized in Oregon?
No. Validity takes your signature and two witnesses who attest by signing within a reasonable time before your death (§ 112.235). A notarized affidavit signed at the same time as the will is useful at probate — under § 112.235(2) a witness’s signature on that affidavit can even count as a signature on the will itself.
Are handwritten wills legal in Oregon?
No. Oregon has never recognized holographic wills, and § 112.235 contains no handwriting exception. Since January 1, 2026 an unwitnessed writing might be admitted under the harmless-error statute (§ 112.238), but only through a court proceeding and only on clear and convincing evidence.
Can I make an electronic will in Oregon?
No. ORS § 112.235(4), added in 2025, states that “writing” does not include an electronic record, document or image — and the exclusion applies to the harmless-error statute too, so an electronic document cannot be rescued that way either.
What happens if I die without a will in Oregon?
Your spouse takes the entire net intestate estate unless you have a descendant who is not also your spouse’s, in which case they take one-half (§§ 112.025, 112.035). Your spouse’s own children from another relationship do not reduce their share.
Does Oregon have an estate tax?
Yes, and the threshold is $1,000,000 — among the lowest in the nation. Rates run from 10% to 16% (§ 118.010), and Oregon offers no portability between spouses, so an unused exemption is lost unless the plan preserves it.
Does a will avoid probate in Oregon?
No — a will goes through probate. Living trusts, transfer-on-death deeds, and beneficiary designations are the tools that pass property outside the court process.
Oregon Law Cited on This Page
- ORS § 112.225 — who may make a will
- ORS § 112.235 — execution of a will, including the electronic-record exclusion at subsection (4)
- ORS § 112.238 — exception to will execution formalities (harmless error)
- ORS §§ 112.025, 112.035, 112.045 — intestate shares
- ORS § 113.055 — testimony of attesting witnesses by affidavit
- ORS § 118.010 — Oregon estate tax rate table
Update log — August 2026: page created. Execution, holographic, electronic-will, harmless-error, intestacy and estate-tax rules verified against the official Oregon Revised Statutes, including the amendments made by 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34 applicable to decedents dying on or after January 1, 2026. Reviewed when Oregon law changes.