To probate a will in Ohio, the person named as executor files the original will and an Application to Probate Will with the probate court in the county where the decedent lived, receives Letters Testamentary giving legal authority over the estate, and then works through a sequence of court-supervised steps: notifying heirs and creditors, filing an inventory, paying debts and taxes, and finally distributing what remains to the beneficiaries. Most Ohio estates close in six months to a year. The deadlines that matter most run from the date the court appoints the executor, so the clock starts the moment the court signs off on the appointment.
Decide Whether Probate Is Needed
Not every asset the decedent owned has to go through probate. Jointly held property with survivorship rights passes automatically to the surviving owner. Life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, payable-on-death bank accounts, and transfer-on-death investment accounts go directly to the named recipients. Property held in a living trust bypasses probate because the trust owns it, not the decedent personally.
Probate is required when the decedent owned assets solely in their own name with no beneficiary or transfer-on-death designation. A house titled only in the decedent’s name, a personal checking account with no payable-on-death designation, or a brokerage account without a transfer-on-death registration all have to go through the court before anyone else can take ownership.
If the probate assets add up to $35,000 or less, the estate qualifies for a shorter procedure called release from administration. Estates worth up to $100,000 also qualify if the surviving spouse inherits everything, either under the will or under Ohio’s intestacy rules.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2113.03 – Court May Order Estate Released From Administration These thresholds count only the assets that actually require probate, so non-probate assets like life insurance don’t push the estate over the limit. A separate “summary release from administration” applies to even smaller estates that meet specific criteria.
Gather the Will and Supporting Records
Before filing anything with the court, pull together the paperwork the court and third parties will ask for.
Start with the original will. Courts require the original, not a copy, because they need to verify signatures and check for physical alterations. Order several certified copies of the death certificate; ten is a common recommendation, since banks, insurers, and government agencies each want their own. You will also need the decedent’s Social Security number, last known address, and date and place of death, plus the names and addresses of every heir and beneficiary named in the will and the closest living relatives. The court requires notice to all of them.
Then build a preliminary picture of what the decedent owned and owed. Pull deeds for real estate, recent statements from banks and brokerages, and titles or VIN information for vehicles. List outstanding debts: mortgages, credit card balances, medical bills, and personal loans. This early inventory does not have to be perfect, but the more complete it is going in, the smoother the court filings will be. It is also worth searching Ohio’s unclaimed property database and the national database at unclaimed.org, since forgotten accounts and uncashed checks turn up more often than people expect.
File the Application and Get Appointed
The executor files an Application to Probate Will with the probate court in the county where the decedent lived.2Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 2.0 – Application to Probate Will Filing fees vary by county. Cuyahoga County, for example, charges $250 for a full administration filing and $100 to $130 for a release from administration.3Cuyahoga County Probate Court. Probate Court Filing Fees Check your local court for its own schedule.
Once the court reviews and approves the application, it issues Letters Testamentary to the named executor. Those letters are your proof of legal authority to act for the estate. Banks, title companies, and government agencies will not deal with you without them.
Fiduciary Bond
Ohio courts generally require the executor to post a fiduciary bond, which acts as an insurance policy protecting the beneficiaries if the executor mishandles assets. The bond amount is typically set at the value of the estate’s personal property. A will can waive the bond requirement, and the court will honor the waiver unless it believes the estate’s interests demand otherwise.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2109.04 – Bond of Fiduciary If a bond is required, the premium is typically well under five percent of the bond amount for executors with good credit, and the estate can reimburse it.
Track the Deadlines That Run From Appointment
Once you are appointed, several clocks start. Missing them can cost the estate money or expose you to personal liability.
Notice to Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Creditors
The executor must notify all heirs, beneficiaries, and known creditors that the estate is open, and publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county to alert unknown creditors.
Ohio’s creditor deadline is strict and easy to misread: all claims must be presented within six months of the decedent’s death, not six months from the date of notice publication. A claim not filed within that window is permanently barred.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2117.06 – Presenting Claims Against Estate If it takes three months to get appointed, creditors still only have the original window from the date of death, not a fresh six months. Filing promptly protects everyone’s working time inside that window.
Inventory
Within three months of appointment, the executor must file a detailed inventory of the estate’s assets with the probate court, valued as of the date of death.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2115.02 – Filing of Inventory The court can grant an extension for good cause, but do not count on one without a solid reason. The inventory covers real estate in Ohio (using the county auditor’s valuation or an independent appraisal), financial accounts by account number, stocks with share counts, bonds with serial numbers, vehicles with VIN numbers and fair market values, and any business interests or income owed to the decedent up to the date of death.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2115 – 2115.09 Inventory Contents After filing, the court sets a hearing on the inventory within one month.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2115.16 – Hearing on Inventory
Surviving Spouse’s Right to Elect
A surviving spouse may take what the will provides or, instead, take a statutory share: up to one-half of the net estate, or up to one-third if two or more of the decedent’s children or their descendants survive.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2106.01 – Election by Surviving Spouse The deadline is five months from the date the executor is first appointed. If the spouse does nothing in that window, the law conclusively presumes they chose to take under the will. The court can extend the deadline only on a motion filed before it expires, and only for good cause.
Accounts
Ohio expects estates to close reasonably quickly. The executor must file a final and distributive account within six months of appointment, unless an exception applies, such as a pending will contest, an elective share filing, pending litigation, or insolvency.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2109.301 – Fiduciary Accounts If the estate cannot close within six months, the executor must file an account by the thirteen-month mark, and then at least annually until the estate closes.
Pay Debts and Taxes Before Distributing
The executor pays valid debts from estate funds. Order of operations matters here more than anywhere else, because distributing assets to beneficiaries before settling debts can make the executor personally liable for unpaid claims. Pay debts first, distribute later.
If the estate does not have enough to cover all debts, it is insolvent, and Ohio law sets a priority: administration costs first, then funeral expenses, then taxes, and so on. An executor who pays a lower-priority creditor before a higher-priority one can be held personally responsible for the difference.
Federal Tax Filings
The executor needs to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for the estate. That is the estate’s tax ID, separate from the decedent’s Social Security number, and it is required for filing estate income tax returns.11Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator If the estate earns more than $600 in gross income during the tax year, the executor must file IRS Form 1041.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 The executor also files the decedent’s final personal income tax return (Form 1040) for the year of death.
For estates large enough to trigger the federal estate tax, Form 706 is due within nine months of death.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 706 For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per individual, so most estates will not owe federal estate tax.14Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Even when no tax is owed, a surviving spouse may want to file Form 706 to elect portability, which transfers the deceased spouse’s unused exemption to the survivor for later use.
Ohio Estate Tax
Ohio eliminated its state estate tax for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2013.15Ohio Department of Taxation. Estate Tax Information Release No Ohio estate tax return is required for anyone dying after that date.
Close the Estate
The final account is a complete record of everything the executor received, spent, and proposes to distribute. It has to account for every dollar. The court will not approve the final account until at least three months have passed since the decedent’s death, the inventory has been approved, the creditor claim period has expired, all debts and costs are paid, and the spousal election period has run out. If the executor is the sole heir, Ohio allows filing a Certificate of Termination instead of a full accounting, which simplifies closing.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2109.301 – Fiduciary Accounts
After the court approves the final account, the executor distributes remaining assets according to the will, obtains receipts from beneficiaries, and files for discharge. The court’s discharge order formally ends the executor’s legal obligations. If any beneficiary is under 18, the executor cannot simply hand over the inheritance; the court must approve how the funds are held, whether through a conservatorship, a restricted bank account, or a custodial account under Ohio’s Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. No distribution to a minor should happen without written court authorization.
Executor Compensation and Personal Liability
Ohio sets executor fees by statute based on the value of the estate’s personal property, plus income received and proceeds from any real estate sold: 4% on the first $100,000, 3% on the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000, with an additional 1% on the value of real property that is not sold during administration.16Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2113.35 – Executor and Administrator Fees The fee is taxable income to the executor and is paid from the estate before distribution. Many family-member executors waive the fee, especially when they are also a beneficiary, because executor compensation is taxed as ordinary income while inherited assets generally are not.
The executor is a fiduciary and must act in the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries, not their own. The common ways executors get into trouble are mixing estate funds with personal accounts, paying themselves unreasonable fees, favoring one beneficiary, making risky investments with estate money, and failing to act when action is required. Missing tax deadlines, ignoring creditor claims, or letting property fall into disrepair can all constitute a breach of fiduciary duty.
An executor generally is not personally responsible for the decedent’s debts. But an executor who distributes assets to beneficiaries before paying valid creditors, or who mismanages the estate and causes it to lose value, can be held personally liable. The safest approach is to wait until the six-month creditor claim period has passed and all known debts are resolved before making final distributions.
If There Is No Will
If the decedent died without a valid will, the procedure looks much the same: someone applies to be administrator, the court issues Letters of Administration, debts get paid, and assets get distributed. What changes is who inherits. Distribution follows Ohio’s statute of descent and distribution rather than the decedent’s wishes, with the surviving spouse’s share depending on whether there are children and whether those children are also children of the surviving spouse.17Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2105.06 – Statute of Descent and Distribution