Probate Estate and Guardianship
Probate Court is where a dead person's assets are managed and transferred to the living. Guardianship is the Court process when an individual is deemed incompetent by the Court and a Guardian is chosen to be in charge of making decisions on that person's behalf.
Probate Estate
​
Probate Court is the process of changing the title of the deceased's assets. This can be done with or without a will.
​
What happens if the deceased has no will?
If there is no will, then the person died intestate. This mean they did not leave any valid directions on how to divide up their estate. The State of Ohio came up with a contingency plan if you don't have a will; that is we follow R.C. §2105.06. The Court takes applications to appoint an Administrator of the estate to be in charge.
​
Intestate Succession-
(A) If there is no surviving spouse, to the children of the intestate or their lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(B) If there is a spouse and one or more children of the decedent or their lineal descendants surviving, and all of the decedent's children who survive or have lineal descendants surviving also are children of the surviving spouse, then the whole to the surviving spouse;
(C) If there is a spouse and one child of the decedent or the child's lineal descendants surviving and the surviving spouse is not the natural or adoptive parent of the decedent's child, the first twenty thousand dollars plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the child or the child's lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(D) If there is a spouse and more than one child or their lineal descendants surviving, the first sixty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of one, but not all, of the children, or the first twenty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of none of the children, plus one-third of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the children equally, or to the lineal descendants of any deceased child, per stirpes;
(E) If there are no children or their lineal descendants, then the whole to the surviving spouse;
(F) Except as provided in section 2105.062 of the Revised Code, if there is no spouse and no children or their lineal descendants, to the parents of the intestate equally, or to the surviving parent;
(G) Except as provided in section 2105.062 of the Revised Code, if there is no spouse, no children or their lineal descendants, and no parent surviving, to the brothers and sisters, whether of the whole or of the half blood of the intestate, or their lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(H) Except as provided in section 2105.062 of the Revised Code, if there are no brothers or sisters or their lineal descendants, one-half to the paternal grandparents of the intestate equally, or to the survivor of them, and one-half to the maternal grandparents of the intestate equally, or to the survivor of them;
(I) Except as provided in section 2105.062 of the Revised Code, if there is no paternal grandparent or no maternal grandparent, one-half to the lineal descendants of the deceased grandparents, per stirpes; if there are no such lineal descendants, then to the surviving grandparents or their lineal descendants, per stirpes; if there are no surviving grandparents or their lineal descendants, then to the next of kin of the intestate, provided there shall be no representation among the next of kin;
(J) If there are no next of kin, to stepchildren or their lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(K) If there are no stepchildren or their lineal descendants, escheat to the state.
​
What happens if the deceased has a will?
The will has to be probated, that is formally admitted to the Court to be approved. Once approved, the Court will appoint an Executor/Executrix.
​
How expensive is probate?
Probate Court costs are between $100 and $400 depending on the County the deceased passed away and the amount of assets left in the deceased's name. There are also potential creditors, lawyer fees, and administrator fees.
​
How long does it take?
It all depends. But typically at least 6 months, but it can range from a couple weeks to a couple years.
​
What is a Guardianship?
The process where the Court determines that an individual is incompetent and appoints a Guardian to be in charge.
​
Where can I get help in Probate?
Call, email, or click contact me below for a free initial consultation.
​