Ohio executor of estate forms are the numbered Standard Probate Forms (SPF) published by the Supreme Court of Ohio and filed with the probate division of the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the decedent lived. Every county uses the same form templates, and you can download each one as a fillable PDF from the Supreme Court’s website. Which forms you file depends on whether there’s a will and on the size of the estate, but the core sequence for a full administration runs from Form 2.0 (the application to probate the will) through Form 13.6 (the certificate of termination), with inventory, Medicaid notice, creditor handling, and accounting steps in between.
Before pulling any forms, confirm which administration track applies. A full administration is required when the estate exceeds $35,000, or $100,000 if a surviving spouse inherits everything. Smaller estates may qualify for relief from administration or summary release, which use their own short-form packages (covered at the end of this article). Everything that follows assumes a full administration.
Forms That Open the Estate
The first filings tell the court who died, who inherits, and who should serve as fiduciary.
If There Is a Will
File Form 2.0, the Application to Probate Will, and submit the original will with it. Photocopies are not accepted.1Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 2.0 – Application to Probate Will When the court accepts the will, the judge signs Form 2.3, the Entry Admitting Will to Probate.2Supreme Court of Ohio. Decedent’s Estate Forms
Next file Form 4.0, the Application for Authority to Administer Estate. The name is misleading: this is the standard form used to appoint any fiduciary, including the executor named in a will.3Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 4.0 – Application for Authority to Administer Estate Approval comes on Form 4.5, the Entry Appointing Fiduciary and Letter of Authority. That letter is your proof of authority with banks, title companies, and other third parties.
If There Is No Will
Skip Forms 2.0 through 2.4. File Form 4.0 to be appointed administrator. Ohio law gives priority to the surviving spouse, then to next of kin; anyone with higher priority who doesn’t want to serve can file Form 4.3 (Waiver of Right to Administer) so the court can appoint you instead.
In Every Estate
File Form 1.0, which lists the surviving spouse, children, next of kin, legatees, and devisees along with current mailing addresses and relationships to the decedent.4Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 1.0 – Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees and Devisees Incomplete addresses are one of the most common reasons courts delay issuing letters of authority, because every interested party has to receive notice.
The Fiduciary Bond (Form 4.2)
Before the court issues your letters, you’ll likely need to post a bond on Form 4.2. Ohio law sets the amount at not less than double the probable value of the personal property and annual real property rental income coming under your control.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2109.04 – Bond Required of Fiduciary If the will waives bond for the named executor, the court generally honors that unless it finds the estate’s interests require one. When personal property plus annual rental income is under $10,000, the court has discretion to waive or reduce the bond. Bonds are purchased from a surety company, which charges a premium based on the bond amount.
Inventory and Appraisal (Due in 3 Months)
You have three months from your appointment to file the inventory. The court can extend the deadline for good cause, but don’t plan on it.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2115.02 – Filing of Inventory
Form 6.0, the Inventory and Appraisal, groups assets into tangible personal property, intangible personal property, and real property.7Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 6.0 – Inventory and Appraisal Form 6.1 (Schedule of Assets) provides the line-item detail. Every value must reflect fair market value on the date of death. For bank and brokerage accounts, request a date-of-death statement from the institution. For real estate and collectibles, file Form 3.0 to have the court appoint an appraiser; many counties keep an approved appraiser list.
Medicaid Estate Recovery Notice (Due in 30 Days)
If the decedent or the decedent’s spouse received Medicaid, you must notify the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program within 30 days of receiving your letters of authority. This step catches many fiduciaries off guard and can stall the entire administration if skipped.
Send Form 7.0A, the Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery, to the program at 30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215.8Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0A – Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Include a copy of Form 6.1 (or Form 5.1 if you’re using the relief-from-administration track) and a schedule of any other property the decedent had an interest in at death, including jointly held property, life estates, and living trust assets. Form 7.0A does not go to the probate court; it is not a public record. Then file Form 7.0 (Certification of Notice) with the court to prove the notice went out.9Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0 – Certification of Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program Medicaid then has 90 days from receiving the notice, or one year from the death (whichever is later), to file a claim.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2117.061 – Medicaid Estate Recovery Notice
Handling Creditor Claims
Creditors have six months from the date of death (not from your appointment) to present claims. Claims filed after that are permanently barred.11Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2117.06 – Presentation of Claims
When the estate has enough money for everyone, the order of payment doesn’t matter much. When it doesn’t, Ohio Revised Code 2117.25 sets a strict payment hierarchy, starting with administration costs, then funeral expenses (up to $4,000 from the funeral director plus up to $3,000 for burial), the statutory family allowance, federal priority debts, last-illness expenses, additional funeral expenses, long-term care from the decedent’s last continuous facility stay, taxes and Medicaid claims, limited manual labor debts, and finally all remaining claims.12Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2117.25 – Order in Which Debts to Be Paid You cannot pay a lower-priority creditor until higher classes are fully satisfied. Pay out of order and you’re personally liable for the shortfall.
The Fiduciary’s Account (Due in 6 Months)
A full administration requires a final and distributive account within six months of appointment, unless an exception applies (a will contest, a surviving spouse electing against the will, an insolvent estate, or a pending civil action involving the fiduciary).13Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2109.301 – Account by Administrator or Executor If you can’t close in six months, file at least a partial account or obtain a waiver no later than 13 months after appointment, and then annually until the estate closes. Form 13.8 (Application to Extend Administration) is how you ask for more time.
Form 13.0, the Fiduciary’s Account, summarizes receipts and disbursements.14Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 13.0 – Fiduciary’s Account Form 13.1 (Receipts and Disbursements) carries the itemized detail: every check, every deposit, every transfer. Form 13.2 (Assets Remaining in Fiduciary’s Hands) lists what has not yet been distributed. Every dollar must either go out to a creditor or beneficiary or appear on the remaining-assets schedule. A gap between the inventory and the final account will put you in front of a judge for an explanation.
Closing the Estate
The court approves your final account on Form 13.3 (Entry Approving and Settling Account). Before that approval, every beneficiary needs to sign a receipt confirming distribution, or you need a waiver of notice of hearing on account using Form 13.7 so the court can approve the account without a formal hearing. Once the account is settled, file Form 13.6, the Certificate of Termination, to formally close the estate.2Supreme Court of Ohio. Decedent’s Estate Forms
Real estate that passed through the estate needs its own paperwork. File Form 12.0 (Application for Certificate of Transfer) and obtain Form 12.1 (Certificate of Transfer). The county recorder uses the certificate to update the deed; without it, the new owner cannot sell or refinance.
Smaller Estates: Relief and Summary Release
If the estate is worth $35,000 or less (or up to $100,000 when a surviving spouse inherits everything, by will or under intestacy), you can skip the full administration package and apply for relief from administration using Form 5.0 and Form 5.1 (Assets and Liabilities).15Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2113.03 – Court May Order Estate Released From Administration For the smallest estates, summary release uses Forms 5.10 and 5.11: a non-spouse applicant who paid or is obligated to pay funeral expenses qualifies when the estate does not exceed the lesser of $5,000 or the actual funeral and burial costs, and a surviving spouse has a separate qualifying path when funeral expenses are prepaid.16Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2113.031 – Summary Release From Administration Assets that pass outside probate (joint accounts with survivorship, life insurance with a named beneficiary, transfer-on-death deeds) don’t count toward either threshold.
Where to File, Fees, and Certified Copies
File with the clerk of the probate court in the county where the decedent lived at the time of death. Filing fees vary by county and administration type. Cuyahoga County, for example, charges $250 to open a full administration and $100 to $165 for a release from administration depending on whether a will is involved.17Cuyahoga County Probate Court. Probate Court Filing Fees Call your county’s probate clerk for the exact deposit schedule before filing. Courts treat the deposit as an upfront cost requirement and will not accept filings without it.
Some counties offer electronic filing through secure web portals. If you file in person, bring original signatures on every form; stamped or photocopied signatures get rejected. The clerk assigns a case number at filing and provides time-stamped copies as proof of your filing date.
Order several certified copies of your letters of authority (Form 4.5) at the time of filing. Banks, brokerages, insurance companies, and title agencies will each want one, and going back later means another trip. Certified copy fees are modest, often around $1 per page; authenticated copies for use outside the county can run $10 or more plus per-page charges.