Union County Probate Court Records
Probate in Union County is a case type of the Union County Circuit Court. Oregon does not use a separate Surrogate's Court or Orphans' Court for Union County. Estate cases, probate administration, guardianship matters, conservatorship matters, and probate-adjacent court filings are routed through the Circuit Court at the Union County Courthouse in La Grande when they are state trial-court cases.
The court is part of Oregon's unified state court system and the 10th Judicial District. For probate records, that matters because the case file is a court file, not a county recorder file. Some estate-related documents may also involve recorded property transfers or county records, but the probate proceeding itself is maintained by court staff. Modern access starts with OJD and Union County Circuit Court records routes. Historical access may require the Oregon Secretary of State inventory or the listed custodian for old volumes and microfilm.
Union County Circuit Court
1105 K Ave
La Grande, OR 97850
541-962-9500
Trial Court Administrator and ADA contact: Michelle Leonard, 541-962-9500 x52
Union County Probate Terms
Probate files use terms that are simple once tied to their role in the case. The terms below are used in estate, guardianship, and conservatorship records. They help separate the person who died, the person who manages the estate, and the court order that gives a person legal authority.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Personal representative or executor
- The person appointed to administer the estate or carry out the will.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, so the estate is handled under Oregon law and court orders.
- Guardianship
- A court case about authority to make personal or care decisions for another person.
- Conservatorship
- A court case about authority to manage another person's money or property.
Search Union County Probate Records
Modern Union County probate access uses the same court-record channels as other Circuit Court cases. OJD's free records and calendar tools may show basic case information and dates. OECI is the official ORS 7.020 register for Oregon circuit courts and the Tax Court, and OJCIN provides account-based access for more detailed court records. For actual documents, Union County Circuit Court's records request process is the local route. Newer public documents can be reviewed on lobby kiosk computers, while older nondigitized files may need retrieval.
- Start with the decedent name, party name, or case number if known.
- Check OJD or OECI for modern Union County Circuit Court probate case information.
- Use courthouse kiosk computers for newer public documents when in-person review is practical.
- Submit a records request for copies, certified copies, or older nondigitized probate files.
- For older estate material, check the Secretary of State inventory to identify volumes, microfilm, and custodians.
- Use confidential-record rules for adoption, juvenile, or protected-person records tied to probate-adjacent matters.
Note: Probate case information and probate documents are not the same thing; a register entry may exist even when the filed document must be requested separately.
Union County Probate Search Fields
The public research file did not expose every OECI search control, but it did identify the common probate search fields and request items that matter for Union County. A precise case number is best. If there is no case number, use names, date ranges, and the case type to help the court or archive custodian narrow the file.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options or format notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party or decedent name | Text | Unspecified | Use for OJD/OECI searches or court records requests. |
| Case number | Text | Optional if known | Best for exact file retrieval. |
| Case type | Dropdown or filter | Unspecified | Probate, estate, guardianship, or conservatorship. |
| Date range | Date or filter | Optional if available | Useful for older files and archive requests. |
| Copy type | Request selection | Required for copies | Plain, certified, or exemplified if needed. |
Historical Union County Probate Archives
The Oregon Secretary of State Union County Records Inventory is a key source for older probate research. It identifies Union County Circuit Court holdings at the courthouse, Circuit Court attic archives with no public access, the County Clerk's Office at the Chaplin Building, county offices at the Joseph Building, Law Enforcement Services Building microfilm storage, the Oregon Historical Society, the Oregon State Archives, and other repositories. That spread explains why a family-history probate search may not behave like a modern online case lookup.
The inventory notes that Union County Circuit Court joined OECI in 2016. Records created since that transition may have electronic case information, while older probate, justice-court, adoption, estate, and court files may exist as books, boxes, drawers, or microfilm. The courthouse itself was built in 2016 and modeled after the original 1905 courthouse, which gives the record set a split character: modern electronic access on one side and older paper or filmed holdings on the other.
Union County Probate File Contents
A probate file is more than a will. It is a court record of the steps used to open, administer, and close an estate or to appoint someone for a protected person. Public access depends on the case type, sealing, redaction, and confidentiality rules. When a file is public, the contents may show the path from petition to final distribution.
| Record item | What it may show |
|---|---|
| Petition or application | Request to open an estate or appoint a personal representative. |
| Will or codicil | Estate plan documents or proof of will, if filed. |
| Letters testamentary or administration | Court authority for the personal representative. |
| Inventory and appraisement | Estate property and valuation information, when filed and public. |
| Creditor notice and claims | Notice publication, claims, objections, and orders. |
| Final judgment or distribution order | How the estate or matter was closed by the court. |
Union County Guardianship Records
Guardianship and conservatorship matters are included in the probate access sweep because they often appear near probate records in court and archive inventories. These cases may include petitions, reports, accountings, orders, notices, and annual filings. A guardianship can focus on personal care decisions. A conservatorship can focus on money or property. Some cases include both.
Access can be more limited than ordinary estate probate. Protected-person details, medical information, minor information, and financial account data may be sealed, redacted, or withheld. Juvenile-related records follow stricter access rules. Adoption records are also confidential. Searchers should avoid assuming that every probate-adjacent file can be viewed just because the case type appears in a public index.
The Union County Juvenile Department page is one official source for related local youth-services context at Union County Juvenile Services.
That local agency context supports the access warning for probate-adjacent cases involving minors or protected parties.
Union County Probate Copy Fees
No official Union County probate-specific filing fee schedule was found in the research file. The researched fee table below is therefore limited to county public-record copy charges and court-copy concepts documented in the source material. For probate filings or certified court copies, requesters should confirm the current amount with Union County Circuit Court or OJD at the time of filing or copy request.
| Item | Researched amount or rule |
|---|---|
| County photocopies | $0.25 per page, $1.00 minimum |
| County electronic copies | $0.25 per page, $1.00 minimum |
| County certified copies | $5.00 per certification plus $0.25 per page |
| Mailing | $1.00 minimum up to 5 pages; 6 or more pages are $1.00 plus actual postage |
| Research and production | Up to 15 minutes no charge; over 15 minutes $35 per hour with a half-hour minimum under the adopted order |
| Probate filing fees | Not found in the Union County research file; confirm with Circuit Court or OJD fees. |
Restricted Union County Probate Records
Probate records can be public, partly public, or restricted depending on the file. Estate petitions, orders, and distribution records may be available when not sealed. Guardianship and conservatorship records may include sensitive details. Adoption and juvenile records are confidential under the court's access guidance. Records with Social Security numbers, financial account details, protected addresses, medical information, or minor information may be redacted.
Federal bankruptcy is separate from Union County probate, but estate and debt research sometimes causes people to check both systems. Bankruptcy cases are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon, not Union County Circuit Court. The federal bankruptcy source appears at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon.
The federal system is useful for debt and bankruptcy records, but it does not replace the Union County Circuit Court probate file.