Ohio Executor and Estate Kit: the $35,000 Small Estate Route, First Month Checklist and Estate Ledger

Who it is for

Whoever is settling the estate of someone who lived in Ohio. 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.

Not the right fit if

The person didn't live in or own property in Ohio, or a will contest or family dispute means you need an estate attorney. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• Sources, checked November 2026: 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); 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).
• All 12 Ohio facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.

What is inside

• Ohio small estate route. 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. Real estate counts toward the value, and the procedure can reach it. 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. 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. 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. Form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate from Administration. Supreme Court of Ohio standard probate form. 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. The release limit rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is entitled to all the assets.
• How a Ohio will had to be signed. Two or more witnesses, who sign in the testator's conscious presence after seeing the signing or hearing it acknowledged. 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. A handwritten will is fine, but it still needs two witnesses. There's no separate unwitnessed handwritten will. A gift to someone who is one of only two witnesses is void.
• Ohio estate ledger (Excel). Assets, debts, payments and distributions; it compares the countable assets with $35,000, counts real estate in the person's name and notes the $100,000 figure with a surviving spouse.
• First 30 days, tracker and letters. The first month in order, a documents and accounts tracker, and plain letters to a bank, a utility and Social Security.