Your state’s pack. New issues arrive periodically on Mondays. Bookmark it. I built this for the Oregon T&E solo who knows its own probate code (ORS ch. 111–117) rather than the UPC cold but still loses an afternoon a week hunting the current homestead number, the the Oregon Health Plan (OHA / DHS APD) slot posture, whether the latest Oregon State Bar opinion changes how you scope an engagement, or whether a recent Oregon Court of Appeals decision just moved the law on capacity, undue influence, or a trustee’s duties. What’s below is what mattered in Oregon lately — the week’s developments and the recent rulings from the bench.
For licensed attorneys. This pack is general legal information and professional commentary for practicing attorneys — it is not legal advice, does not apply to any specific matter, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Verify every authority against the cited primary source before relying on it with a client. Published by Mike Moss, a Utah-admitted attorney, as an AI-enablement information product; it is not an offer of legal services and is not a representation that the author is admitted to practice in your jurisdiction.
Three developments from the last seven days that I think actually matter to an Oregon T&E solo. Each one has a read that lands on your practice specifically — and each one comes with the citation so you can verify the detail yourself before you use it with a client.
SB 405 (2025), which would have raised the exemption to roughly $13.61 million for decedents dying on or after Jan. 1, 2026, remains “In Senate Committee” (Finance and Revenue) with no chapter number — it was not enacted. The $1 million threshold under ORS 118 is the live rule going into mid-2026 — one of the lowest exemptions in the country, unindexed since 2011.
This is the distinctive Oregon fact: the estate-tax conversation starts far earlier here than in most states. For estates above $1 million, credit-shelter/bypass trusts, lifetime gifting, and the Oregon Special Marital Property election stay squarely in play. Do not advise off the $13.61 million figure — that was a failed bill, not current law. Watch for renewal next session.
Or. SB 405 (2025 Reg. Sess.) · olis.oregonlegislature.gov
Approved by the Board of Governors in February 2025, OSB Formal Opinion 2025-205 permits Oregon lawyers to use AI subject to competence (RPC 1.1), confidentiality and informed consent for open models (RPC 1.6), supervision (RPC 5.1/5.3), reasonable fees, and a duty to verify any GAI output citing case-specific facts, citations, quotations, or conclusions (RPC 3.3/4.1).
If you use AI-assisted drafting in an Oregon estate or probate matter, 2025-205 is the floor: confirm an open model’s data handling before any client information goes in, and independently verify every authority an AI tool produces. Note the controlling number is 2025-205 — the “2024-197” figures in some secondary write-ups are conflations.
Or. State Bar Formal Op. 2025-205 (Feb. 2025) · osbar.org
ORS 18.395 sets a base of $150,000 (single) / $300,000 (two-or-more same-household debtors), CPI-indexed (CPI-U, West Region) by the State Court Administrator each July 1 beginning 2025. The operative figure for executions on or after July 1, 2025 is $154,200 / $308,400; the next step (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027) is already published at $158,300 / $316,700.
This is now a moving number you must re-check annually for creditor-exposure and post-death exemption planning. A forms library built on the $150k/$300k base is citing the un-indexed figure; cite the operative $154,200/$308,400 and watch the July 1, 2026 step. The separate $40,000/$50,000 cap applies only to support/restitution debts.
ORS 18.395 · Or. Judicial Dept. Homestead Garnishment Exemption Adjustments table · courts.oregon.gov
Decisions from the courts that bind an Oregon practitioner — the Oregon Supreme Court and the Oregon Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and the Ninth Circuit — read for what actually changes how you draft, advise, and plan. Trusts and estates broadly, not Medicaid alone: wills and capacity, undue influence, fiduciary duty, trust construction, and estate recovery. One read, the holding, and the official cite.
Across the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon Court of Appeals, the District of Oregon, and the Ninth Circuit, no qualifying trusts-and-estates or estate-recovery decision has been logged with a full citation this period. Per the lane’s no-invent rule, this row says so plainly rather than inflating a holding.
Nothing to re-paper from the bench this period; controlling authority is unchanged. CourtListener is used for discovery only and is never cited here as authority.
Awaiting verified weekly signal — CourtListener used for discovery only, never cited as authority.
This slot holds the next significant trusts-and-estates or estate-recovery decision from Oregon’s appellate courts or the federal courts covering Oregon. The lane reads each opinion before it lands here, and reads-and-discards Medicaid program/provider litigation as not T&E. When the trailing window has no new ruling, this row says so plainly rather than inventing one.
Nothing to re-paper from the bench this period; controlling authority unchanged.
[Official reporter · court · date — never courtlistener.com]
This week in Oregon for the T&E solo with Oregon Health Plan clients: the developments from the Oregon State Bar (Estate Planning and Administration Section) and the Oregon Health Authority (Oregon Health Plan) that actually moved your practice this period — each one primary-source verified.
Bar and Medicaid changes land on different schedules and aren’t indexed by practice focus. Every item here was checked against its primary source, with the link, so you can verify before relying on it.