The personal representative hires the appraiser in an Oregon probate proceeding. Oregon Revised Statutes 113.185 authorizes a qualified and disinterested appraiser, paid a reasonable fee from the estate. The court does not appoint the appraiser. The heirs do not choose one.
Appraisal Services of Oregon develops independent, USPAP-compliant opinions of market value for residential property across Oregon and Southwest Washington; the full practice is described on the residential home appraisals page.
Qualified means competent for the property type. Disinterested means no stake in the estate. The estate pays the fee, so you rarely carry the cost personally. The statute requires a written, signed appraisal, and a USPAP report exceeds that minimum. The value supports the inventory, which ORS 113.165 requires within 60 days of appointment. The personal representative, the attorney and the heirs rely on one signed value.
Who hires the appraiser under Oregon law?
The personal representative hires the appraiser once the court has appointed that person and issued letters. ORS 113.185 states the personal representative may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser to help ascertain fair market value. The choice sits with the personal representative, not the court and not the heirs.
Oregon uses the term personal representative for both executors and administrators. You hire the appraiser the same way for either role. The estate’s attorney usually directs the timing and names the properties that need a value.
First time serving? Most probate clients of Appraisal Services of Oregon are. The appraiser needs three things from you:
- The property address and the deed for each tax lot.
- The date of passing.
- Access to the home for the inspection.
What does qualified and disinterested mean?
Qualified means the appraiser holds the competence and the license for the property type; disinterested means no financial interest in the estate, the property or the outcome. Both tests come from the wording of ORS 113.185.
A State Certified Residential Appraiser licensed in Oregon meets the qualified test for houses, condominiums, manufactured homes on owned land and homes on acreage. The USPAP Competency Rule requires the appraiser to decline work outside that competence. Commercial property needs a Certified General Appraiser.
Disinterested rules out the people listed below:
- A family member or an heir.
- A prospective buyer or a creditor of the estate.
- An agent who hopes to list the property.
The USPAP certification signed on every report states the appraiser has no present or prospective interest in the property. That signature makes the value usable on the estate record.
Who pays for the probate appraisal?
The estate pays the appraiser a reasonable fee under ORS 113.185, as an expense of administration. The cost comes out of estate assets, not out of your pocket. A personal representative who advances the fee is reimbursed from the estate.
What makes a fee reasonable is the work behind it: property type, research required, travel and the scope of the report. Appraisal Services of Oregon quotes the fee after one conversation about the property.
What must the written appraisal contain?
The written appraisal must be signed by the appraiser, identify the property and state the fair market value. ORS 113.185 sets that minimum. USPAP Standards Rule 2-2 sets the content of the full report, which carries every item below:
- The client and the intended users, with probate as the intended use.
- The effective date, which is the date of passing for the inventory.
- The scope of work and the inspection performed.
- The comparable sales and the adjustments made to them.
- The signed certification of independence.
Several tax lots are valued one by one and as a whole when each parcel could be conveyed on its own. One probate assignment involved separately deeded tax lots totaling more than 260 acres. I developed a value for each lot and for the property in its entirety, and the personal representative placed both on the record.
When is the probate appraisal ordered?
The probate appraisal is ordered as soon as the personal representative is appointed, because ORS 113.165 requires an inventory of estate property within 60 days. The inventory shows the value of each property as of the date of death. The appraisal is the evidence behind that figure.
The same date-of-passing value serves the CPA for the heir’s cost basis. How that works is explained on the page about the date-of-death appraisal and the stepped-up cost basis. One appraisal often serves both the inventory and the basis.
Acreage, multiple tax lots and unpermitted work extend the research. Early ordering keeps the inventory on schedule.
Who relies on the probate appraisal?
The personal representative, the estate’s attorney and the heirs rely on the probate appraisal, each for a different decision. The personal representative answers for the values the estate reports. The attorney files the inventory. The heirs read the evidence behind the number.
A beneficiary who disputes the value reads the comparable sales and the adjustments rather than arguing with a figure. Decisions after the inventory, such as selling or dividing the property, run through the current-value estate appraisals for executors prepared by the same practice.
Is a probate appraisal the same as a date-of-death appraisal?
A probate appraisal and a date-of-death appraisal share the same effective date and often come from one report, but they serve two different filings. The probate appraisal supports the inventory filed with the court. The date-of-death appraisal supports the estate tax return and the heir’s basis.
One inspection serves both when you state both purposes on the first call. The tax side runs through the date-of-death appraisals for estate tax page. The court side is described on the probate appraisals in Oregon for personal representatives page.
Who does not hire or appoint the appraiser?
The court does not appoint the appraiser, an heir does not select one, and the listing agent does not supply one. ORS 113.185 places the choice with the personal representative alone.
A court-appointed appraiser belongs to other states’ procedures, not Oregon’s. An heir may order a private appraisal, and that report does not replace the inventory value. An agent’s price opinion carries a commission interest and fails the disinterested test. A county assessed value and an online estimate carry no signature. The purpose of a home appraisal decides who relies on a report, and only the probate appraisal names the personal representative as its user.
Who hires the appraiser for your estate?
The personal representative hires a qualified and disinterested appraiser under ORS 113.185, and Appraisal Services of Oregon serves in that role for estates across Oregon. The estate pays the fee, the report is signed, and the value supports the inventory and the tax basis together.
Lane County estates in Eugene, Springfield and the southern Willamette Valley are scheduled through the residential appraiser for the Eugene-Springfield area page. The same work covers the Portland Metro, the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River Gorge. Request an appraisal or call 503-757-7100 with the property and the date of passing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a probate appraisal if we plan to sell the property?
The inventory still needs a value as of the date of death, even when the property sells later. The sale price reflects the sale date, not the date of passing. The estate’s attorney confirms what the proceeding requires.
Does the appraiser have to be licensed in Oregon?
The appraiser must hold an Oregon license for property located in Oregon. A State Certified Residential Appraiser meets the qualified test for residential property. Property in Washington needs a Washington license.
What happens when heirs disagree about the value?
The report shows the comparable sales and the adjustments, so the disagreement moves to the evidence. An heir may order a separate appraisal at personal expense. The attorney advises on competing values.
Can the personal representative appraise the property personally?
A personal representative is an interested party and fails the disinterested test in ORS 113.185. The statute exists so the inventory value rests on an outside opinion.
Does one engagement cover several properties?
Each property receives its own value, and one engagement covers all of them when they are named on the first call. The report states each value separately for the inventory.
