Legal Residence

The Probate of a Last Will and Testament is governed by the State and the County in which the deceased person was a legal residence (often referred to as ‘domicile') at the time of their passing. Once this is determined, then the original Last Will and Testament is presented at the local County Probate Court that the deceased resided in.

Original Last Will and Testament

In the State of Ohio, if the original Last Will and Testament can not be located but there is a copy of the Will, then the Will is still valid if “the proponent of the will establishes by clear and convincing evidence that 1) the Will was executed with the formalities required at the time by the jurisdiction in which it was executed; 2) the contents of the will; and there is no evidence that the testator had revoked the Will ” [1] So even though there is a mechanism under Ohio Law to Probate a copy of a Will, it is very important that an original Last Will and Testament be kept in a secure and safe location.

Start of Probate Process in Ohio

In Ohio the full probate process can normally take from 6 months to 12 months depending on several factors such as the monetary value of the assets that are in probate and the type of assets. It is very easy to transfer and liquidate a bank account but if real estate is involved, then the process of selling the real estate can easily stretch out the probate process in court.

The probate process starts with the original will being filed with the probate court and an application is also filed requesting the court to appoint the executor who is named in the Last Will and Testament. The court will then issue “Letters of Authority” which is the legal document that officially appoints the executor.  The person who is appointed the executor will then have to send a notice and a copy of the will to all persons entitled to receive such notice under Ohio Law. [2] An inventory is then filed with the Court that lists in detail all of the bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, stocks, etc., (“assets”) that were owned by the deceased at the date of their passing. This inventory must be filed within 90 days of the initial filing of the Last Will and Testament with the Court.

File an Accounting with Probate Court

The executor must pay all of the legally enforceable expenses and debts of the deceased person out of the assets of the probate estate. An accounting then has to be filed with the Court within 6 months of the initial filing of the Last Will and Testament. This accounting must detail all of the expenses and debts that were paid and any income that was received by the estate during the past six months. The income may include a tax refund, or a dividend income received on an investment. A final accounting is usually due with the Court 13 months after the initial filing of the Last Will and Testament. The filing and the Court's approval of a final accounting officially ends the probate process. The final accounting needs to show that all of the expenses, debts of the deceased person were paid and that the beneficiaries under the Last Will and Testament received the money or other items that they are entitled to inherit under the Last Will and Testament.

This is the general probate process in Ohio but often the probate process does not run as smoothly as one might hope. This may be due to the fact that some beneficiaries under the Will are contesting a provision of the Will or maybe the Executor is having a difficult time selling some real estate.

If you have any questions about the Probate Process in the State of Ohio or would like to discuss anything in this article please contact our firm.

[1] O.R.C. 2107.26

[2] O.R.C. 2107.19