Probate in Ohio: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Ohio

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

Ohio law does not set a number of days for handing in a will. But the probate court can order whoever has the will to produce it, and a person who hides it or refuses without good reason can be jailed until they do and must pay any damages. A beneficiary who knows about the will, has it, and without good reason keeps it from the probate court for one year after the death loses their share, as if they had died first.

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2107.10, 2107.09, 2107.08Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Mar 22, 2019

Which court handles probate

In Ohio, probate is handled by the probate court (a division of the county court of common pleas) in the county where the person who died lived.

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2107.11, 2113.01Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Mar 22, 2019

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Ohio, creditors must present their claims within 6 months after the death, whether or not an executor or administrator has been appointed. A claim not presented in time is barred for good. Ohio law does not require a published notice to creditors.

Ohio Rev. Code § 2117.06Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Apr 3, 2023

Estate inventory

In Ohio, the executor or administrator must file an inventory of the estate with the probate court within 3 months after being appointed, unless the court gives more time for good cause.

Ohio Rev. Code § 2115.02Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 13, 2012

The order estate debts are paid

In Ohio, if the estate cannot pay every debt, the executor or administrator pays them in the order set by law, starting with the costs of running the estate and up to $4,000 of funeral costs. Each group is paid in full before the next, and a group that cannot be paid in full is shared out proportionally.

Ohio Rev. Code § 2117.25Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Sep 29, 2013

State estate and inheritance tax

Ohio has no estate tax for people who died on or after January 1, 2013, and no inheritance tax.

Ohio Rev. Code § 5731.02Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Sep 29, 2011

Closing an estate

In Ohio, the executor or administrator closes the estate by filing a final account with the probate court, usually a final and distributive account within 6 months after appointment. If the only heir or beneficiary is also the executor or administrator, a shorter certificate of termination can be filed instead, within 30 days after the work is done.

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2109.30, 2109.301Read the statute · codes.ohio.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Mar 14, 2017