Ohio executor and estate paperwork checklist

This is an organizer, not legal advice. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation.

The first 30 days

Work down the list; nothing you tick is saved or sent. The steps are general, the dates come from the official pages.

1. Ask for certified death certificates, more than you thinkThe funeral director or vital records office issues them. Institutions often keep the copy you send, so plan on one each.
2. Make sure Social Security knowsFuneral homes generally report the death. If not, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). A surviving spouse, or some children if there's no spouse, may get a one-time $255 payment.
3. Track down the willCheck the home, a safe deposit box and the lawyer who drafted it. Leave the original exactly as you found it and work from copies.
4. Keep the house and vehicles safeTell the insurer about the death so coverage stays in place, take photos of what's inside, and redirect the mail.
5. Don't pay bills or hand out belongings yetFirst learn which route fits and who is allowed to act; ask the probate office or an attorney about anything urgent.
6. Put the power of attorney awayA power of attorney ends at the principal's death. Whoever was the agent no longer signs for the person.
7. List what the person owned and owedNote how each asset is held: in the person's name alone, jointly, or with a named beneficiary. Accounts with a beneficiary or joint owner usually pass outside the will.
8. Check the total against $35,000The official page's small estate figure. Leave out anything the page says isn't counted.
9. Open a simple money logOne line per payment or deposit, with the date, who, how much and the receipt. It makes the final accounting easy.
10. Once you have authority: EIN and an estate accountThe IRS says you need an EIN before filing the estate's Form 1041, which is due if the estate has more than $600 of gross income in a year.

Sources for the federal steps: Social Security Administration: When someone dies · IRS: Deceased taxpayers, filing the estate income tax return (Form 1041) · power of attorney: Power of attorney at a real estate closing.

The small estate route

• ConfirmedSmall estate limit

  Estate assets of $35,000 or less; $100,000 or less when a surviving spouse is entitled to all of them (named in the will, or the sole heir without one). The court's release order can direct delivery of personal property and transfer of real estate.

  "The value of the assets of the estate is thirty-five thousand dollars or less."

  • With a surviving spouse, as the page describes: up to $100,000.

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration; Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration; Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF); Social Security Administration POMS GN 02315.073, Ohio Small Estates; Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedReal estate

  Real estate counts toward the value, and the procedure can reach it.

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration; Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration; Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF); Social Security Administration POMS GN 02315.073, Ohio Small Estates; Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWaiting period after the death

  No general waiting period for release from administration. The Franklin County Probate Court's real-estate-only release requires the death to be more than six months ago with no creditor claims filed.

  "decedent's date of death was longer than six months ago"

  Source: Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedNotary or oath

  It depends on the route. The release application (form 5.0) has no notary block; a summary release application is signed before a notary or deputy clerk.

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration; Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration; Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF); Social Security Administration POMS GN 02315.073, Ohio Small Estates; Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWhere the paperwork goes

  Through a court office. An interested party applies to the probate court, with notice to the spouse and heirs unless waived; the court orders the release.

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration; Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration; Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF); Social Security Administration POMS GN 02315.073, Ohio Small Estates; Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedOfficial form

  Form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration. Supreme Court of Ohio standard probate form.

  Source: Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSimplified court procedure

  Release from administration, and summary release from administration: Release from administration up to $35,000 ($100,000 when the spouse takes everything). Summary release (2113.031) is for estates no larger than the lesser of $5,000 or the funeral bill, or a spouse's support allowance plus up to $5,000 of funeral costs; that application is signed before a notary or deputy clerk.

  Source: Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration, checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSurviving spouse

  The release limit rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is entitled to all the assets.

  "The value of the assets of the estate is one hundred thousand dollars or less"

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration; Ohio Revised Code 2113.031, Summary release from administration; Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF); Social Security Administration POMS GN 02315.073, Ohio Small Estates; Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWorth knowing

  Ohio has no affidavit handed to a bank; both routes are probate court orders. Section 2113.03's current version is effective January 13, 2012.

  Source: Ohio Revised Code 2113.03, Release from administration, checked November 2026

The will at probate

How the will had to be signed matters when it's offered to the court.

• ConfirmedWitnesses the will needed

  Two or more witnesses, who sign in the testator's conscious presence after seeing the signing or hearing it acknowledged.

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2107.03, Method of making will; Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2107, Wills; Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Ohio (e-wills and self-proving); Nolo (secondary source): Self-proving affidavits (D.C. and Ohio don't offer one), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSelf-proving affidavit

  Not available. Nolo's Ohio will page and its self-proving affidavits page both say Ohio doesn't offer a self-proving affidavit, and Ohio's will statute (2107.03) provides none, so the witnesses may need to testify about the signing.

  "Ohio does not give you this option"

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2107.03, Method of making will; Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2107, Wills; Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Ohio (e-wills and self-proving); Nolo (secondary source): Self-proving affidavits (D.C. and Ohio don't offer one), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedIf the will is handwritten

  A handwritten will is fine, but it still needs two witnesses. There's no separate unwitnessed handwritten will.

  "may be handwritten or typewritten"

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2107.03, Method of making will; Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2107, Wills; Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Ohio (e-wills and self-proving); Nolo (secondary source): Self-proving affidavits (D.C. and Ohio don't offer one), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedA witness who inherits

  A gift to someone who is one of only two witnesses is void.

  "If a devise or bequest is made to a person who is one of only two witnesses to a will, the devise or bequest is void."

  Sources: Ohio Revised Code 2107.03, Method of making will; Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2107, Wills; Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Ohio (e-wills and self-proving); Nolo (secondary source): Self-proving affidavits (D.C. and Ohio don't offer one), checked November 2026

Documents to gather

• Vehicle titles and registrations
• Recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements
• Life insurance policies and annuities
• The last few years of tax returns
• Recent bills, loan and credit card statements
• Pension, Social Security and benefit letters
• Safe deposit box location and keys
• Certified death certificates
• The original will and any codicils
• Deeds and mortgage statements
• The official small estate form: Form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration

Who to notify

Credit card companies, Pension or employer, Social Security (if the funeral home hasn't), Banks and credit unions, Brokerage and retirement accounts, Life insurance companies, Utilities and phone, Landlord or mortgage servicer. Write once to each, enclose a death certificate copy, and record the reply.

Documents needed abroad

• ConfirmedA death certificate needed abroad

  Apostilles for this state's documents come from the Secretary of State.

  Source: Secretary of State, checked November 2026

Where to ask

An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Official pages for Ohio:

• Supreme Court of Ohio probate form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration (PDF)
• Franklin County Probate Court: Release from administration (no administration, summary release, real estate only)

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Facts checked November 2026.

Common questions

Related: Executor guide by state · Small estate affidavit details · Will signing requirements · Estate paperwork help