The Legislative Service Commission staff updates the Revised Code on an ongoing basis, as it completes its act review of enacted legislation.
Updates may be slower during some times of the year, depending on the volume of enacted legislation.
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Section 2101.01 | Probate division - location - equipment - employees.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
(A) A probate division of the court of common pleas shall be held at the county seat in each county in an office furnished by the board of county commissioners, in which the books, records, and papers pertaining to the probate division shall be deposited and safely kept by the probate judge. The board shall provide suitable equipment or other necessary items for the safekeeping and preservation of the books, records, and papers of the court and shall furnish any books, forms, and stationery, and any machines, equipment, and materials for the keeping or examining of records, that the probate judge requires in the discharge of official duties. The board also shall authorize expenditures for accountants, financial consultants, and other agents required for auditing or financial consulting by the probate division whenever the probate judge considers these services and expenditures necessary for the efficient performance of the division's duties. The probate judge shall employ and supervise all clerks, deputies, magistrates, and other employees of the probate division. The probate judge shall supervise all probate court investigators and assessors in the performance of their duties as investigators and assessors and shall employ, appoint, or designate all probate court investigators and assessors in the manner described in divisions (A)(2) and (3) of section 2101.11 of the Revised Code. (B) As used in the Revised Code: (1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, "probate court" means the probate division of the court of common pleas, and "probate judge" means the judge of the court of common pleas who is judge of the probate division. (2) With respect to Lorain county: (a) From February 9, 2009, through September 28, 2009, "probate court" means the domestic relations division of the court of common pleas, and "probate judge" means each of the judges of the court of common pleas who are judges of the domestic relations division. (b) The judge of the court of common pleas, division of domestic relations, whose term begins on February 9, 2009, and successors, shall be the probate judge beginning September 29, 2009, and shall be elected and designated as judge of the court of common pleas, probate division. (C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, all pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in the probate division shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division," but are not defective if entitled "In the Probate Court." In Lorain county, from February 9, 2009, through September 28, 2009, all pleadings, forms, journals, and other records filed or used in probate matters shall be entitled "In the Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division," but are not defective if entitled "In the Probate Division" or "In the Probate Court."
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Section 2101.02 | Judge of probate division - election - term.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
Every six years, in each county having a separate judge of the probate division of the court of common pleas, one probate judge shall be elected who is qualified as required by section 2301.01 of the Revised Code. The probate judge shall hold office for six years, commencing on the ninth day of February next following the judge's election.
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Section 2101.021 | One additional probate judge for Cuyahoga county.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
There shall be one additional probate judge for the probate court of Cuyahoga County. The additional judge shall be elected at the general election to be held in 1954 and every six years thereafter, for a term of six years commencing on the first day of January next following the additional judge's election. The judge elected pursuant to this section shall comply with the qualifications provided for in section 2101.02 of the Revised Code. The probate judge who is senior in point of service shall be the presiding judge and shall have the care and custody of the files, papers, books and records belonging to the probate court of Cuyahoga county and shall have all the other powers and duties of the judge as provided in section 2101.11 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.022 | Jurisdiction of Marion county probate judge - clerk of probate division.
Effective:
January 15, 1998
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 444 - 122nd General Assembly
(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section and notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any other provision of the Revised Code, on and after February 9, 2003, the judge of the probate division of the court of common pleas of Marion county who is elected in 2002 pursuant to section 2101.02 of the Revised Code to fill the office of the judge of the probate division of the court of common pleas of Marion county whose term expires on February 8, 2003, and successors to that judge, shall have all the powers relating to the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of the court of common pleas of Marion county, as established pursuant to division (Z)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, in addition to the powers relating to the probate division of that court, and shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the judge of the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of the court of common pleas of Marion county over all matters that are within the jurisdiction of the probate division of that court under Chapter 2101., and other provisions, of the Revised Code and all matters that are within the jurisdiction of the domestic relations- juvenile-probate division of that court, as set forth in division (Z)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code. (B) On and after February 9, 2003, the judge of the court of common pleas of Marion county who is to serve as the clerk of the probate division of the court of common pleas of Marion county shall be determined as provided in division (Z)(2) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.023 | Adding judge to Erie County Court of Common Pleas.
Effective:
November 13, 2003
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 86 - 125th General Assembly
The judge of the court of common pleas of Erie county who is elected in 2008, and successors, is the successor to the judge of the probate division of that court whose term expires on February 8, 2009, shall be designated as a judge of the court of common pleas, general division, shall have all the powers relating to the general division of the court of common pleas of Erie county, shall be the clerk of the probate court, and shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the other judges of the general division of the court of common pleas of Erie county over matters that are within the jurisdiction of the probate division of that court under Chapter 2101., and other provisions, of the Revised Code and all matters that are within the jurisdiction of the general division of that court, as set forth in division (N)(2) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.024 | Family court division of the Logan County court of common pleas.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 341 - 132nd General Assembly
Effective January 2, 2005, the probate judge of the court of common pleas of Logan county shall have all the powers relating to the family court division of the court of common pleas of Logan county, as established pursuant to division (CC)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, and shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the judge of the family court division of the court of common pleas of Logan county over matters that are within the jurisdiction of the family court division, as set forth in division (CC)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code.
Last updated May 4, 2021 at 5:46 PM
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Section 2101.025 | Jurisdiction of Champaign county probate judge.
Effective:
December 21, 2007
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 155 - 127th General Assembly
Effective February 9, 2009, the probate judge of the court of common pleas of Champaign county shall have all the powers relating to the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of the court of common pleas of Champaign county, as established pursuant to division (DD)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, and shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division of the court of common pleas of Champaign county over matters that are within the jurisdiction of the domestic relations-juvenile-probate division, as set forth in division (DD)(1) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.026 | Franklin county probate court mental health fund.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 432 - 131st General Assembly
(A) The probate court of Franklin county may accept funds or other program assistance from, or charge fees for services described in division (B) of this section rendered to, individuals, corporations, agencies, or organizations, including, but not limited to, the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services of Franklin county or the Franklin county board of developmental disabilities. Any funds or fees received by the probate court of Franklin county under this division shall be paid into the treasury of Franklin county and credited to a fund to be known as the Franklin county probate court mental health fund. (B) The moneys in the Franklin county probate court mental health fund shall be used for services to help ensure the treatment of any person who is under the care of the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services of Franklin county, the Franklin county board of developmental disabilities, or any other guardianships. These services include, but are not limited to, involuntary commitment proceedings and the establishment and management of adult guardianships, including all associated expenses, for wards who are under the care of the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services of Franklin county, the Franklin county board of developmental disabilities, or any other guardianships. (C) If the judge of the probate court of Franklin county determines that some of the moneys in the Franklin county probate court mental health fund are needed for the efficient operation of that court, the moneys may be used for the acquisition of equipment, the hiring and training of staff, community services programs, volunteer guardianship training services, the employment of magistrates, and other related services. (D) The moneys in the Franklin county probate court mental health fund that may be used in part for the establishment and management of adult guardianships under division (B) of this section may be utilized to establish a Franklin county guardianship service. (E)(1) A Franklin county guardianship service under division (D) of this section is established by creating a Franklin county guardianship service board comprised of three members. The judge of the probate court of Franklin county shall appoint one member. The board of directors of the Franklin county board of developmental disabilities shall appoint one member. The board of directors of the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services of Franklin county shall appoint one member. The term of appointment of each member is four years. (2) The Franklin county guardianship service board may appoint a director of the board. The board shall determine the compensation of the director based on the availability of funds contained in the Franklin county probate court mental health fund. (3) The Franklin county guardianship service board may receive appointments from the probate court of Franklin county to serve as guardians of both the person and estate of wards. The director or any designee of the Franklin county guardianship service board may act on behalf of the board in relation to all guardianship matters. (4) The director of the Franklin county guardianship service board may hire employees subject to available funds in the Franklin county probate court mental health fund. (5) The Franklin county guardianship service board may charge a reasonable fee for services provided to wards. The probate judge shall approve any fees charged by the board under division (E)(5) of this section. (6) The Franklin county guardianship service board that is created under division (E)(1) of this section shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the efficient operation of the board and the Franklin county guardianship service.
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Section 2101.027 | Hardin County court of common pleas judgeships.
Effective:
January 9, 2021
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 312 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) From January 1, 2023, through February 8, 2027, the probate judge of the court of common pleas of Hardin county shall have all the powers relating to the general division of the court of common pleas of Hardin county, shall be the clerk of the probate court, and shall exercise jurisdiction over matters that are within the jurisdiction of the general division. (B) The judge of the court of common pleas of Hardin county who is elected in 2026, and successors, is the successor to the judge of the probate division of that court whose term expires February 8, 2027, shall be designated as a judge of the court of common pleas, general division, shall have all the powers relating to the general division of the court of common pleas of Hardin county, shall be the clerk of the probate court, and shall exercise jurisdiction over matters that are within the jurisdiction of the probate division of that court under Chapter 2101., and other provisions, of the Revised Code and all matters that are within the general division of that court, as set forth in division (FF)(2) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.03 | Bond of probate judge.
Effective:
March 20, 2019
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 291 - 132nd General Assembly
Except as otherwise provided in section 3.061 of the Revised Code, before entering upon the discharge of official duties, the probate judge shall give a bond to the state in a sum not less than five thousand dollars. The bond shall have sufficient surety, shall be approved by the board of county commissioners or by the county auditor and county recorder in the absence from the county of two of the members of the board, and shall be conditioned that the judge will faithfully pay over all moneys received by the judge in the judge's official capacity, enter and record the orders, judgments, and proceedings of the court, and faithfully and impartially perform all the duties of the judge's office. The bond, with the oath of office required by sections 3.22 and 3.23 of the Revised Code indorsed on it, shall be deposited with the county treasurer and kept in the treasurer's office. As the state of business in the probate judge's office renders it necessary, the board, except as otherwise provided in section 3.061 of the Revised Code, may require the probate judge to give additional bond.
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Section 2101.04 | Rules of practice submitted to supreme court.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
The judge or judges of the probate court shall make rules regulating the practice and conducting the business of the court, and the judge or judges shall submit those rules to the supreme court. In order to maintain regularity and uniformity in the proceedings of all the probate courts, the supreme court may alter and amend the rules submitted by the judge or judges of a probate court and make other rules.
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Section 2101.05 | Oaths and depositions.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
A probate judge may administer oaths, take acknowledgment of instruments in writing required to be acknowledged, and take depositions. Depositions taken according to sections 2319.05 to 2319.31, inclusive, of the Revised Code, to be used on the trial of civil cases, may be taken and used on the trial of any question before the probate court.
Last updated September 25, 2023 at 11:49 AM
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Section 2101.06 | Master commissioners - appointment and bond - duties.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
The probate judge, upon the motion of a party or the judge's own motion, may appoint a special master commissioner in any matter pending before the judge. The commissioner shall be an attorney at law and shall be sworn faithfully to discharge the commissioner's duties. When requested by the probate judge, the commissioner shall execute a bond to the state in the sum that the court directs, with surety approved by the court, and conditioned that the commissioner shall faithfully discharge the commissioner's duties and pay over all money received by the commissioner in that capacity. The bond shall be for the benefit of anyone aggrieved and shall be filed in the probate court. The commissioner shall take the testimony and report the testimony to the court with the commissioner's conclusions on the law and the facts involved. The report may be excepted to by the parties and confirmed, modified, or set aside by the court.
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Section 2101.07 | Master commissioners - powers - fees.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
A special master commissioner of the probate court may administer all oaths required in the discharge of the commissioner's duties, may summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses, may compel the production of books and papers, and may grant adjournments the same as the court, and, when the court directs, the commissioner shall require the witnesses severally to subscribe the witnesses' testimony. All process and orders issued by the commissioner shall be directed to the sheriff, shall be served, and return of the process and orders shall be made as if issued by the probate judge. The court shall allow the commissioner those fees that are allowed to other officers for similar services, and the court shall tax those fees with the costs.
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Section 2101.08 | Appointment of court reporters.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
The probate judge may appoint court reporters and fix their compensation in the manner provided for the court of common pleas in sections 2301.18 to 2301.26 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.09 | Liability of sheriffs, coroners, and constables for failure to serve and return process.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
When required by the probate judge, sheriffs, coroners, and constables shall attend the judge's court and shall serve and return process directed and delivered to them by the judge. No officer of that type shall neglect or refuse to serve and return any process as required by this section. If an officer does neglect or refuse to serve and return process as required by this section, the judge shall issue a summons specifying the cause for amercement, directed to the officer named in the summons, commanding the named officer to summon the officer guilty of the misconduct to appear within two days after the service of summons and show cause why the latter officer should not be amerced. In addition to a fine as provided by section 2101.99 of the Revised Code that is to be paid into the county treasury, the officer and the officer's sureties shall be liable upon the officer's official bond for damages sustained by any person by reason of the officer's misconduct.
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Section 2101.10 | Liability of sheriffs, coroners, and constables for failure to pay over moneys.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
No sheriff, coroner, or constable shall refuse to pay moneys collected by that officer to the probate judge or other person, when so directed by the judge. For refusal to pay over moneys collected, the officer shall be summoned as provided in section 2101.09 of the Revised Code and amerced for the use of the parties interested, in the amount required to be collected by the process, with ten per cent on the amount to be collected. The judge may enforce the collection of the amercement by execution or other process, by imprisonment as for contempt of court, or both. The delinquent officer and the officer's sureties shall also be liable on the officer's official bond for the amount of the amercement at the suit of the person interested.
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Section 2101.11 | Court records - investigators - bond.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
(A)(1) The probate judge shall have the care and custody of the files, papers, books, and records belonging to the probate court. The probate judge is authorized to perform the duties of clerk of the judge's court. The probate judge may appoint deputy clerks, court reporters, a bailiff, and any other necessary employees, each of whom shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the employee's appointment and, when so qualified, may perform the duties appertaining to the office of clerk of the court. (2)(a) The probate judge shall provide for one or more probate court investigators to perform the duties that are established for a probate court investigator by the Revised Code or the probate judge. The probate judge may provide for an investigator in any of the following manners, as the court determines is appropriate: (i) By appointing a person as a full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as investigator, or by designating a current full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as investigator; (ii) By contracting with a person to serve and be compensated as investigator only when needed by the probate court, as determined by the court, and by designating that person as a probate court investigator during the times when the person is performing the duties of an investigator for the court; (iii) By entering into an agreement with another department or agency of the county, including, but not limited to, the sheriff's department or the county department of job and family services, pursuant to which an employee of the other department or agency will serve and perform the duties of investigator for the court, upon request of the probate judge, and designating that employee as a probate court investigator during the times when the person is performing the duties of an investigator for the court. (b) Each person appointed or otherwise designated as a probate court investigator shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the person's appointment. When so qualified, an investigator may perform the duties that are established for a probate court investigator by the Revised Code or the probate judge. (c) Except as otherwise provided in this division, a probate court investigator shall hold at least a bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, education, special education, or a related human services field. A probate judge may waive the education requirement of this division for a person the judge appoints or otherwise designates as a probate court investigator if the judge determines that the person has experience in family services work that is equivalent to the required education. (d) Within one year after appointment or designation, a probate court investigator shall attend an orientation course of at least six hours, and each calendar year after the calendar year of appointment or designation, a probate court investigator shall satisfactorily complete at least six hours of continuing education. (e) For purposes of divisions (A)(4), (B), and (C) of this section, a person designated as a probate court investigator under division (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section shall be considered an appointee of the probate court at any time that the person is performing the duties established under the Revised Code or by the probate judge for a probate court investigator. (3)(a) The probate judge may provide for one or more persons to perform the duties of an assessor under sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.082, 3107.09, 3107.101, and 3107.12 of the Revised Code or may enter into agreements with public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, or private noncustodial agencies under which the agency provides for one or more persons to perform the duties of an assessor. A probate judge who provides for an assessor shall do so in either of the following manners, as the judge considers appropriate: (i) By appointing a person as a full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as assessor, or by designating a current full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as assessor; (ii) By contracting with a person to serve and be compensated as assessor only when needed by the probate court, as determined by the court, and by designating that person as an assessor during the times when the person is performing the duties of an assessor for the court. (b) Each person appointed or designated as a probate court assessor shall take an oath of office before entering on the duties of the person's appointment. (c) A probate court assessor must meet the qualifications for an assessor established by section 3107.014 of the Revised Code. (d) A probate court assessor shall perform additional duties, including duties of an investigator under division (A)(2) of this section, when the probate judge assigns additional duties to the assessor. (e) For purposes of divisions (A)(4), (B), and (C) of this section, a person designated as a probate court assessor shall be considered an appointee of the probate court at any time that the person is performing assessor duties. (4) Each appointee of the probate judge may administer oaths in all cases when necessary, in the discharge of official duties. (B)(1)(a) Subject to the appropriation made by the board of county commissioners pursuant to this division, each appointee of a probate judge under division (A) of this section shall receive such compensation and expenses as the judge determines and shall serve during the pleasure of the judge. The compensation of each appointee shall be paid in semimonthly installments by the county treasurer from the county treasury, upon the warrants of the county auditor, certified to by the judge. (b) Except as otherwise provided in the Revised Code, the total compensation paid to all appointees of the probate judge in any calendar year shall not exceed the total fees earned by the probate court during the preceding calendar year, unless the board of county commissioners approves otherwise. (2) The probate judge annually shall submit a written request for an appropriation to the board of county commissioners that shall set forth estimated administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses, including, but not limited to, those enumerated in section 5123.96 of the Revised Code, that the judge considers reasonably necessary for the operation of the court. The board shall conduct a public hearing with respect to the written request submitted by the judge and shall appropriate such sum of money each year as it determines, after conducting the public hearing and considering the written request of the judge, is reasonably necessary to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses, including, but not limited to, the costs, fees, and expenses enumerated in section 5123.96 of the Revised Code. If the judge considers the appropriation made by the board pursuant to this division insufficient to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, the judge shall commence an action under Chapter 2731. of the Revised Code in the court of appeals for the judicial district for a determination of the duty of the board of county commissioners to appropriate the amount of money in dispute. The court of appeals shall give priority to the action filed by the probate judge over all cases pending on its docket. The burden shall be on the probate judge to prove that the appropriation requested is reasonably necessary to meet all administrative expenses of the court. If, prior to the filing of an action under Chapter 2731. of the Revised Code or during the pendency of the action, the judge exercises the judge's contempt power in order to obtain the sum of money in dispute, the judge shall not order the imprisonment of any member of the board of county commissioners notwithstanding sections 2705.02 to 2705.06 of the Revised Code. (C) The probate judge may require any of the judge's appointees to give bond in the sum of not less than one thousand dollars, conditioned for the honest and faithful performance of the appointee's duties. The sureties on the bonds shall be approved in the manner provided in section 2101.03 of the Revised Code. The judge shall not be personally liable for the default, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of any appointee. All bonds required to be given in the probate court, on being accepted and approved by the probate judge, shall be filed in the judge's office.
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Section 2101.12 | Records to be kept - indexes.
Effective:
August 29, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 313 - 123rd General Assembly
The following records shall be kept by the probate court: (A) An administration docket, showing the grant of letters of administration or letters testamentary, the name of the decedent, the amount of bond and names of sureties in the bond, and the date of filing and a brief note of each order or proceeding relating to the estate with reference to the journal or other record in which the order or proceeding is found; (B) A guardian's docket, showing the name of each ward and, if the ward is an infant, the infant's age and the name of the infant's parents, the amount of bond and names of sureties in any bond, any limited powers or limited duration of powers, and the date of filing and a brief note of the orders and proceedings as described in division (A) of this section; (C) A civil docket, in which shall be noted the names of parties to actions and proceedings, the date of the commencement of the actions and proceedings and of the filing of the papers relating to the actions and proceedings, a brief note of the orders made in the actions and proceedings, and the date of entering the orders; (D) A journal, in which shall be kept minutes of official business transacted in the probate court, or by the probate judge, in civil actions and proceedings; (E) A record of wills, in which the wills proved in the court shall be recorded with a certificate of the probate of the will, and wills proved elsewhere with the certificate of probate, authenticated copies of which have been admitted to record by the court; (F) A final record that shall contain a complete record of each cause or matter and shall be completed within ninety days after the final order or judgment has been made in the cause or matter; (G) An execution docket, in which shall be entered a memorandum of executions issued by the probate judge stating the names of the parties, the name of the person to whom the execution is delivered, the person's return on the execution, the date of issuing the execution, the amount ordered to be collected, stating the costs separately from the fine or damages, the payments on the execution, and the satisfaction of the execution when it is satisfied; (H) A marriage record, in which shall be entered licenses, the names of the parties to whom a license is issued, the names of the persons applying for a license, a brief statement of the facts sworn to by persons applying for a license, and the returns of the person solemnizing the marriage; (I) A naturalization record, in which shall be entered the declaration of intention of the person seeking to be naturalized, the oath of the person naturalized, and the affidavit or oath of witnesses who testify in the person's behalf, in which affidavit shall be stated the place of residence of the witnesses; (J) A permanent record of all births and deaths occurring within the county, reported as provided by law, which record shall be kept in the form and manner that may be designated by the director of health; (K) A separate record and index of adoptions, in accordance with section 3107.17 of the Revised Code; (L) A summary release from administration docket, showing the date of the filing of the application for a summary release from administration pursuant to section 2113.031 of the Revised Code, the decedent's name, the applicant's name, whether the applicant is the decedent's surviving spouse or a person described in division (B)(1) of that section, and a brief note of the grant of the order of summary release from administration and of any other order or proceeding relating to the decedent's estate, with reference to the journal or other record in which the order or proceeding is found. For each record required by this section, an index shall be maintained. Each index shall be kept current with the entries in the record and shall refer to the entries alphabetically by the names of the persons as they were originally entered, indexing the page of the record where the entry is made. On the order of the probate judge, blankbooks, other record forms, or other record-keeping materials approved by the judge for the records and indexes shall be furnished by the board of county commissioners at the expense of the county.
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Section 2101.121 | Record-keeping methods.
Effective:
March 13, 1986
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 419 - 116th General Assembly
(A) A probate court may keep and maintain records that are required by section 2101.12 or another section of the Revised Code by record-keeping methods other than bound volumes of paper pages. These record-keeping methods include, but are not limited to, photography, microphotography, photostatic process, electrostatic process, facsimile reproduction, perforated tape, magnetic tape or other electromagnetic methods, electronic data processing, machine-readable media, and graphic or video display. (B) If a probate court keeps records by record-keeping methods other than bound volumes of paper pages, it shall possess, and make readily available to the public, machines or equipment necessary for an examination of the records. The machines or equipment shall present the records in a format that is readable without difficulty. (C) If a probate court keeps records by record-keeping methods other than bound volumes of paper pages, it shall keep and maintain indices to the records that permit the records to be retrieved readily.
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Section 2101.13 | Probate judge shall make entries omitted by his predecessor.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
When a probate judge, whether elected or appointed, enters upon the discharge of the judge's official duties, the judge shall make, in the books and other record-keeping materials of the judge's office, the proper records, entries, and indexes omitted by the judge's predecessors in office. When made, the entries shall have the same validity and effect as though they had been made at the proper time and by the officer whose duty it was to make them, and the judge shall sign all entries and records made by the judge as though the entries, proceedings, and records had been commenced, prosecuted, determined, and made by or before the judge.
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Section 2101.14 | Care and preservation of papers - time stamp.
Effective:
March 13, 1986
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 419 - 116th General Assembly
All pleadings, accounts, vouchers, and other papers in each estate, trust, assignment, guardianship, or other proceeding, ex parte or adversary, which are filed in the probate court shall be kept together, and upon the final termination or settlement of the case, cause, or proceeding shall be preserved for future reference and examination. The papers shall be properly jacketed, and otherwise tied, fastened, or held together, numbered, lettered, or otherwise marked in such manner that they may be readily found by reference to proper memoranda upon the docket, record, or index entries thereof, which memoranda shall be made by the probate judge, or the papers may be kept, maintained, and indexed as described in section 2101.121 of the Revised Code. Certificates of marriage, reports of births and deaths, and similar papers not part of a case or proceeding, shall be arranged and preserved separately in the order of their dates or in which they were filed. As used in this section "case" or "cause" includes all proceedings in the settlement of any estate, guardianship, or assignment, except as provided in section 2101.141 of the Revised Code. The probate court shall provide a time stamp and shall stamp on all papers filed in that court the day, month, and year of the filing.
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Section 2101.141 | Record disposal.
Effective:
September 26, 1990
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 580 - 118th General Assembly
The vouchers, proof, or other evidence filed in support of the expenditures or distribution stated in an account, which has been filed in the probate court, may be ordered destroyed or otherwise disposed of five years after the account with which it was filed has been approved or settled and recorded and after there has been a compliance with section 149.38 of the Revised Code. When the vouchers, proof, or other evidence filed in support of expenditures or distribution stated in an account are microfilmed, they may be ordered destroyed immediately after such record is made and, if required by law, after the approval and settlement of the account. The inventories, schedules of debts, accounts, pleadings, wills, trusts, bonds, and other papers, excluding vouchers or other evidence of expenditures and distributions, filed in the probate courts by fiduciaries appointed by the probate courts, and all pleadings filed and court entries for the determination of inheritance tax under former sections 5731.01 to 5731.56 of the Revised Code, and estate tax under sections 5731.01 to 5731.51 of the Revised Code, and all documents filed or received and entries made by the court in conjunction with the instruments referred to in this section, after having been recorded, if required by law to be recorded, may be ordered microfilmed and destroyed after being microfilmed. All instruments referred to in this paragraph that are not microfilmed may be ordered destroyed or otherwise disposed of without microfilming after a period of twenty-one years has elapsed from the closing or termination of the administration of the estate, trust, or other fiduciary relationship and after there has been a compliance with section 149.38 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this section shall apply to records pertaining to estates on which inheritance tax temporary orders are pending. Prior to the order of the court directing the destruction or disposition of the vouchers, proof, or other evidence of expenditures or distribution, any party in interest, upon application filed, may have the vouchers, proof, or other evidence of expenditures or distribution recorded, upon payment of the costs incident to doing so. An estate, trust, or other fiduciary relationship shall be deemed to be closed or terminated when a final accounting has been filed, and if required by law at the time of filing, the account has been approved and settled.
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Section 2101.15 | Probate judge to file itemized account of fees with county auditor.
Effective:
August 17, 2021
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 7 - 134th General Assembly
In each case, examination, or proceeding, the probate judge shall file an itemized account of fees received or charged by the judge. Not later than the fifteenth day of January, in each year, the judge shall file with the county auditor an account, certified by the judge, of all fees received by the judge during the preceding year. No judge shall fail to perform the duties imposed in this section. At the instance of any person, the prosecuting attorney shall institute and prosecute an action against the defaulting judge.
Last updated May 20, 2021 at 2:06 PM
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Section 2101.16 | Fees.
Effective:
October 3, 2023
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
(A) Except as provided in section 2101.164 of the Revised Code, the fees enumerated in this division shall be charged and collected, if possible, by the probate judge and shall be in full for all services rendered in the respective proceedings: | (1) | Account, in addition to advertising charges | | | ___________________________________________________ | $12.00 | | Waivers and proof of notice of hearing on account, per page, minimum one dollar | | | ___________________________________________________ | $1.00 | | (2) | Account of distribution, in addition to advertising charges | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (3) | Adoption of child, petition for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (4) | Alter or cancel contract for sale or purchase of real property, complaint to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (5) | Application and order not otherwise provided for in this section or by rule adopted pursuant to division (E) of this section | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (6) | Appropriation suit, per day, hearing in | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (7) | Birth, application for registration of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (8) | Birth record, application to correct | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (9) | Bond, application for new or additional | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (10) | Bond, application for release of surety or reduction of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (11) | Bond, receipt for securities deposited in lieu of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (12) | Certified copy of journal entry, record, or proceeding, per page, minimum fee one dollar | | | ___________________________________________________ | $1.00 | | (13) | Citation and issuing citation, application for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (14) | Change of name, petition for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (15) | Claim, application of administrator or executor for allowance of administrator's or executor's own | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (16) | Claim, application to compromise or settle | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (17) | Claim, authority to present | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (18) | Commissioner, appointment of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (19) | Compensation for extraordinary services and attorney's fees for fiduciary, application for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (20) | Competency, application to procure adjudication of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (21) | Complete contract, application to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (22) | Concealment of assets, citation for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (23) | Construction of will, complaint for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (24) | Continue decedent's business, application to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | Monthly reports of operation | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (25) | Declaratory judgment, complaint for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (26) | Deposit of will | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (27) | Designation of heir | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (28) | Distribution in kind, application, assent, and order for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (29) | Distribution under section 2109.36 of the Revised Code, application for an order of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (30) | Docketing and indexing proceedings, including the filing and noting of all necessary documents, maximum fee, fifteen dollars | | | ___________________________________________________ | $15.00 | | (31) | Exceptions to any proceeding named in this section, contest of appointment or | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (32) | Election of surviving partner to purchase assets of partnership, proceedings relating to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (33) | Election of surviving spouse under will | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (34) | Fiduciary, including an assignee or trustee of an insolvent debtor or any guardian or conservator accountable to the probate court, appointment of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $35.00 | | (35) | Foreign will, application to record | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | Record of foreign will, additional, per page | | | ___________________________________________________ | $1.00 | | (36) | Forms when supplied by the probate court, not to exceed | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (37) | Heirship, complaint to determine | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (38) | Injunction proceedings | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (39) | Improve real property, petition to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (40) | Inventory with appraisement | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (41) | Inventory without appraisement | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (42) | Investment or expenditure of funds, application for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (43) | Invest in real property, application to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (44) | Lease for oil, gas, coal, or other mineral, petition to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (45) | Lease or lease and improve real property, petition to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (46) | Marriage license | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | Certified abstract of each marriage | | | ___________________________________________________ | $2.00 | | (47) | Minor or incompetent person, etc., disposal of estate under twenty-five thousand dollars of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (48) | Mortgage or mortgage and repair or improve real property, complaint to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (49) | Newly discovered assets, report of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (50) | Nonresident executor or administrator to bar creditors' claims, proceedings by | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (51) | Power of attorney or revocation of power, bonding company | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (52) | Presumption of death, petition to establish | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (53) | Probating will | | | ___________________________________________________ | $15.00 | | Proof of notice to beneficiaries | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (54) | Purchase personal property, application of surviving spouse to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (55) | Purchase real property at appraised value, petition of surviving spouse to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (56) | Receipts in addition to advertising charges, application and order to record | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | Record of those receipts, additional, per page | | | ___________________________________________________ | $1.00 | | (57) | Record in excess of fifteen hundred words in any proceeding in the probate court, per page | | | ___________________________________________________ | $1.00 | | (58) | Release of estate by mortgagee or other lienholder | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (59) | Relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code or granting an order for a summary release from administration under section 2113.031 of the Revised Code | | | ___________________________________________________ | $60.00 | | (60) | Removal of fiduciary, application for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (61) | Requalification of executor or administrator | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (62) | Resignation of fiduciary | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (63) | Sale bill, public sale of personal property | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (64) | Sale of personal property and report, application for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (65) | Sale of real property, petition for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $25.00 | | (66) | Terminate guardianship, petition to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (67) | Transfer of real property, application, entry, and certificate for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (68) | Unclaimed money, application to invest | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (69) | Vacate approval of account or order of distribution, motion to | | | ___________________________________________________ | $10.00 | | (70) | Writ of execution | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (71) | Writ of possession | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (72) | Wrongful death, application and settlement of claim for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $20.00 | | (73) | Year's allowance, petition to review | | | ___________________________________________________ | $7.00 | | (74) | Guardian's report, filing and review of | | | ___________________________________________________ | $5.00 | | (75) | Person with a mental illness subject to court order, filing of affidavit and proceedings for | | | ___________________________________________________ | $25.00 |
(B)(1) In relation to an application for the appointment of a guardian or the review of a report of a guardian under section 2111.49 of the Revised Code, the probate court, pursuant to court order or in accordance with a court rule, may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.041 or division (A)(2) of section 2111.49 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that an alleged incompetent or a ward is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation. (2) In relation to the appointment or functioning of a guardian for a minor or the guardianship of a minor, the probate court may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.042 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that the guardian or applicant is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation. (3) In relation to the filing of an affidavit of mental illness for a person with a mental illness subject to court order, the court may waive the fee under division (A)(75) of this section if the court finds that the affiant is indigent or for good cause shown. (C) Thirty dollars of the thirty-five-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(34) of this section and twenty dollars of the sixty-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(59) of this section shall be deposited by the county treasurer in the indigent guardianship fund created pursuant to section 2111.51 of the Revised Code. (D) The fees of witnesses, jurors, sheriffs, coroners, and constables for services rendered in the probate court or by order of the probate judge shall be the same as provided for similar services in the court of common pleas. (E) The probate court, by rule, may require an advance deposit for costs, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars, at the time application is made for an appointment as executor or administrator or at the time a will is presented for probate. (F)(1) The "putative father registry fund" is hereby created in the state treasury. The department of job and family services shall use the money in the fund to fund the department's costs of performing its duties related to the putative father registry established under section 3107.062 of the Revised Code. (2) If the department determines that money in the putative father registry fund is more than is needed for its duties related to the putative father registry, the department may use the surplus moneys in the fund as permitted in division (D) of section 2151.3527 or section 5103.155 of the Revised Code.
Last updated September 20, 2023 at 1:01 PM
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Section 2101.161 | Deposit of prepaid and unearned costs.
Effective:
April 14, 2006
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 81 - 126th General Assembly
The probate court may order that prepaid and unearned costs be deposited with a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or trust company incorporated under the laws of this state or of the United States. The order shall be entered on the journal of the court and may specify that deposited costs are to be held in an account, or invested in an investment, supervised by the bank, savings bank, association, credit union, or company. Interest earned on deposited costs shall be paid into the county treasury by the end of the calendar year in which it is received.
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Section 2101.162 | Computerizing court of paying cost of computerized legal research.
Effective:
March 20, 2015
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 23 - 130th General Assembly
(A)(1) The probate judge may determine that, for the efficient operation of the probate court, additional funds are required to computerize the court, make available computerized legal research services, or to do both. Upon making a determination that additional funds are required for either or both of those purposes, the probate judge shall charge a fee not to exceed three dollars or authorize and direct a deputy clerk of the probate court to charge a fee not to exceed three dollars, in addition to the fees specified in divisions (A)(1), (3), (4), (6), (14) to (17), (20) to (25), (27), (30) to (32), (34), (35), (37) to (48), (50) to (55), (59) to (61), (63) to (66), (69), and (72) of section 2101.16 of the Revised Code and the fee charged in connection with the docketing and indexing of an appeal. (2) All moneys collected under division (A)(1) of this section shall be paid to the county treasurer. The treasurer shall place the moneys from the fees in a separate fund to be disbursed, upon an order of the probate judge, in an amount no greater than the actual cost to the court of procuring and maintaining computerization of the court, computerized legal research services, or both. (3) If the court determines that the funds in the fund described in division (A)(2) of this section are more than sufficient to satisfy the purpose for which the additional fee described in division (A)(1) of this section was imposed, the court may declare a surplus in the fund and expend those surplus funds for other appropriate technological expenses of the court. (B)(1) The probate judge may determine that, for the efficient operation of the probate court, additional funds are required to computerize the office of the clerk of the court and, upon that determination, may charge a fee, not to exceed ten dollars, or authorize and direct a deputy clerk of the probate court to charge a fee, not to exceed ten dollars, in addition to the fees specified in divisions (A)(1), (3), (4), (6), (14) to (17), (20) to (25), (27), (30) to (32), (34), (35), (37) to (48), (50) to (55), (59) to (61), (63) to (66), (69), and (72) of section 2101.16 of the Revised Code and the fee charged in connection with the docketing and indexing of an appeal. Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, all moneys collected under this division shall be paid to the county treasurer to be disbursed, upon an order of the probate judge and subject to appropriation by the board of county commissioners, in an amount no greater than the actual cost to the probate court of procuring and maintaining computer systems for the office of the clerk of the court. (2) If the probate judge makes the determination described in division (B)(1) of this section, the board of county commissioners may issue one or more general obligation bonds for the purpose of procuring and maintaining the computer systems for the office of the clerk of the probate court. In addition to the purposes stated in division (B)(1) of this section for which the moneys collected under that division may be expended, the moneys additionally may be expended to pay debt charges on and financing costs related to any general obligation bonds issued pursuant to this division as they become due. General obligation bonds issued pursuant to this division are Chapter 133. securities.
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Section 2101.163 | Dispute resolution procedures in probate court.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 51 - 125th General Assembly
(A) A probate judge may establish by rule procedures for the resolution of disputes between parties to any civil action or proceeding that is within the jurisdiction of the probate court. Any procedures so adopted shall include, but are not limited to, mediation. If the probate judge establishes any procedures under this division, the probate judge may charge, in addition to the fees and costs authorized under section 2101.16 of the Revised Code, a reasonable fee, not to exceed fifteen dollars, that is to be collected on the filing of each action or proceeding and that is to be used to implement the procedures. (B) The probate court shall pay to the county treasurer of the county in which the court is located all fees collected under division (A) of this section. The treasurer shall place the funds from the fees in a separate fund to be disbursed upon an order of the probate judge. (C) If the probate judge determines that the amount of the moneys in the fund described in division (B) of this section is more than the amount that is sufficient to satisfy the purpose for which the additional fee described in division (A) of this section was imposed, the probate judge may declare a surplus in the fund and expend the surplus moneys for other appropriate judicial expenses of the probate court.
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Section 2101.164 | Fees waived for combat zone military casualties.
Effective:
March 24, 2008
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 372 - 127th General Assembly
(A) As used in this section, "combat zone" means an area that the president of the United States by executive order designates for purposes of 26 U.S.C. 112 as an area in which armed forces of the United States or the national guard are engaging or have engaged in combat. (B) A probate judge shall not charge, or collect from, the estate of a decedent who died while in active service as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the national guard any of the following fees if the death occurred while the decedent was serving in a combat zone or as a result of wounds, disease, or injury incurred while serving in a combat zone: (1) Any fee for or associated with the filing of the decedent's will for probate; (2) Any fee for any service rendered by the probate court that is associated with the administration of the decedent's estate; (3) Any fee for relieving the decedent's estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code or granting an order for a summary release from administration under section 2113.031 of the Revised Code. (C) In determining whether a decedent died in a place or manner that exempts the estate of the decedent from fees under division (B) of this section, a probate judge may consider a casualty report issued pursuant to Army Regulation 600-8-1 or the regulations of any of the armed services of the United States or the national guard, the list of combat zones set forth in Publication 3, "The Armed Forces' Tax Guide," of the Internal Revenue Service, or any other form of documentation satisfactory to the probate judge.
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Section 2101.165 | Cancellation of uncollectible debts.
Effective:
March 22, 2013
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 247 - 129th General Assembly
If at any time the court finds that an amount owing to the court is due and uncollectible, in whole or in part, the court may direct the clerk of the court to cancel all or part of the claim. The clerk shall then effect the cancellation.
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Section 2101.17 | Fees from county treasury.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 281 - 134th General Assembly
The fees enumerated in this section shall be paid to the probate court from the county treasury upon the warrant of the county auditor which shall issue upon the certificate of the probate judge and shall be in full for all services rendered in the respective proceedings as follows: | (A) | For each hearing to determine if a person is an individualwith a mental illnesssubject to hospitalization when the person is committed to a state hospital or to relatives | | | _____________________________________________ | $ 12.00; | | (B) | When the person is discharged | | | _____________________________________________ | 7.00; | | (C) | For order of return of a personwith a mental illnessto a state hospital or removal therefrom | | | _____________________________________________ | 2.00; | | (D) | For proceedings for committing a person to an institution for persons with intellectual disabilities | | | _____________________________________________ | 10.00; | | (E) | For habeas corpus proceedings when a person is confined under color of proceedings in a criminal case and is discharged | | | ____________________________________________ | 10.00; | | (F) | When acting as a juvenile judge, for each case filed against a delinquent, dependent, unruly, or neglected child, or a juvenile traffic offender | | | _____________________________________________ | 5.00; | | (G) | For proceedings to take a child from parents or other persons having control thereof | | | _____________________________________________ | 5.00. |
Last updated March 10, 2023 at 11:10 AM
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Section 2101.18 | Fees for other services.
Effective:
April 11, 1991
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 211 - 118th General Assembly
For services for which compensation is not provided but subject to section 2101.27 of the Revised Code insofar as the probate judge solemnizes marriages, the probate judge shall be allowed the same fees as are allowed the clerk of the court of common pleas for similar services. The probate judge shall administer oaths and make certificates in pension and bounty cases without compensation.
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Section 2101.19 | Limitation of charges by probate judge - probate court conduct of business fund.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
(A) No probate judge or probate judge's deputy clerk shall sell or offer for sale for more than one dollar any merchandise to be used in connection with any license, order, or document issued by the probate court, or make any charge in connection with the issuance of any license, order, or document except that specifically provided by law. (B) All moneys obtained from the sale of merchandise to be used in connection with any license, order, or document issued by a probate court shall be paid by the probate judge or the deputy clerk of the court into the county treasury. The moneys shall be credited to a fund to be known as the probate court conduct of business fund. The moneys so credited shall be used solely for the conduct of the business of the probate court. (C) Upon receipt of an order of the probate judge for the payment of moneys from the fund for the conduct of the business of the court, the county auditor shall draw a warrant on the county treasurer for the amount of money specified in the order, but not exceeding the balance of the moneys in the fund, which warrant shall be made payable to the probate judge or another person designated in the order.
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Section 2101.20 | Reduction of fees.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
When the aggregate amount of fees and allowances collected by the probate judge in any calendar year exceeds by more than ten per cent the amount necessary to pay the salaries of the judge and the employees of the probate court, including court constables, for the same calendar year, the judge may, by an order entered on the judge's journal, provide for a discount of all the fees and allowances the judge is required to charge and collect for the use of the county by fixing a per cent of discount that shall be applied to all the earnings of the office for the ensuing year and shall constitute the legal fees of the office for that year.
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Section 2101.21 | Fiduciary - payment of costs in advance.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
Before appointing any person as a fiduciary, the probate court may require payment of the costs incident to such appointment.
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Section 2101.22 | Process.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
The probate judge shall issue any process, notices, commissions, rules, and orders that are necessary to carry into effect the powers granted to the judge.
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Section 2101.23 | Contempt.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
The probate judge may keep order in the judge's court and has authority throughout the state to compel performance of any duty incumbent upon any fiduciary appointed by or accounting to the judge. The probate judge may punish any contempt of the judge's authority as that contempt might be punished in the court of common pleas. If a person neglects or refuses to perform an order or judgment of a probate court, other than for the payment of money, the person is guilty of contempt of court, and the judge shall issue a summons directing the person to appear before the court within two days from the service of the summons and show cause why the person should not be punished for contempt. If it appears to the judge that the person is attempting to avoid the process of the court or is about to leave the county for that purpose, the judge may issue an attachment instead of the summons, commanding the officer to whom it is directed, to bring the person before the judge to answer for contempt. If no sufficient excuse is shown, the person shall be punished for contempt.
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Section 2101.24 | Jurisdiction of probate court.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 281 - 134th General Assembly
(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the probate court has exclusive jurisdiction: (a) To take the proof of wills and to admit to record authenticated copies of wills executed, proved, and allowed in the courts of any other state, territory, or country. If the probate judge is unavoidably absent, any judge of the court of common pleas may take proof of wills and approve bonds to be given, but the record of these acts shall be preserved in the usual records of the probate court. (b) To grant and revoke letters testamentary and of administration; (c) To direct and control the conduct and settle the accounts of executors and administrators and order the distribution of estates; (d) To appoint the attorney general to serve as the administrator of an estate pursuant to section 2113.06 of the Revised Code; (e) To appoint and remove guardians, conservators, and testamentary trustees, direct and control their conduct, and settle their accounts; (f) To grant marriage licenses; (g) To make inquests respecting persons who are so mentally impaired as a result of a mental or physical illness or disability, as a result of intellectual disability, or as a result of chronic substance abuse, that they are unable to manage their property and affairs effectively, subject to guardianship; (h) To qualify assignees, appoint and qualify trustees and commissioners of insolvents, control their conduct, and settle their accounts; (i) To authorize the sale of lands, equitable estates, or interests in lands or equitable estates, and the assignments of inchoate dower in such cases of sale, on petition by executors, administrators, and guardians; (j) To authorize the completion of real property contracts on petition of executors and administrators; (k) To construe wills; (l) To render declaratory judgments, including, but not limited to, those rendered pursuant to Chapter 5817. of the Revised Code; (m) To direct and control the conduct of fiduciaries and settle their accounts; (n) To authorize the sale or lease of any estate created by will if the estate is held in trust, on petition by the trustee; (o) To terminate a testamentary trust in any case in which a court of equity may do so; (p) To hear and determine actions to contest the validity of wills; (q) To make a determination of the presumption of death of missing persons and to adjudicate the property rights and obligations of all parties affected by the presumption; (r) To act for and issue orders regarding wards pursuant to section 2111.50 of the Revised Code; (s) To hear and determine actions against sureties on the bonds of fiduciaries appointed by the probate court; (t) To hear and determine actions involving informed consent for medication of persons hospitalized pursuant to section 5122.141 or 5122.15 of the Revised Code; (u) To hear and determine actions relating to durable powers of attorney for health care as described in division (D) of section 1337.16 of the Revised Code; (v) To hear and determine actions commenced by objecting individuals, in accordance with section 2133.05 of the Revised Code; (w) To hear and determine complaints that pertain to the use or continuation, or the withholding or withdrawal, of life-sustaining treatment in connection with certain patients allegedly in a terminal condition or in a permanently unconscious state pursuant to division (E) of section 2133.08 of the Revised Code, in accordance with that division; (x) To hear and determine applications that pertain to the withholding or withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from certain patients allegedly in a permanently unconscious state pursuant to section 2133.09 of the Revised Code, in accordance with that section; (y) To hear and determine applications of attending physicians in accordance with division (B) of section 2133.15 of the Revised Code; (z) To hear and determine actions relative to the use or continuation of comfort care in connection with certain principals under durable powers of attorney for health care, declarants under declarations, or patients in accordance with division (E) of either section 1337.16 or 2133.12 of the Revised Code; (aa) To hear and determine applications for an order relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code; (bb) To hear and determine applications for an order granting a summary release from administration under section 2113.031 of the Revised Code; (cc) To hear and determine actions relating to the exercise of the right of disposition, in accordance with section 2108.90 of the Revised Code; (dd) To hear and determine actions relating to the disinterment and reinterment of human remains under section 517.23 of the Revised Code; (ee) To hear and determine petitions for an order for treatment of a person experiencing alcohol and other drug abuse filed under section 5119.93 of the Revised Code and to order treatment of that nature in accordance with, and take other actions afforded to the court under, sections 5119.90 to 5119.98 of the Revised Code. (2) In addition to the exclusive jurisdiction conferred upon the probate court by division (A)(1) of this section, the probate court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over a particular subject matter if both of the following apply: (a) Another section of the Revised Code expressly confers jurisdiction over that subject matter upon the probate court. (b) No section of the Revised Code expressly confers jurisdiction over that subject matter upon any other court or agency. (B)(1) The probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with, and the same powers at law and in equity as, the general division of the court of common pleas to issue writs and orders, and to hear and determine actions as follows: (a) If jurisdiction relative to a particular subject matter is stated to be concurrent in a section of the Revised Code or has been construed by judicial decision to be concurrent, any action that involves that subject matter; (b) Any action that involves an inter vivos trust; a trust created pursuant to section 5815.28 of the Revised Code; a charitable trust or foundation; subject to divisions (A)(1)(t) and (y) of this section, a power of attorney, including, but not limited to, a durable power of attorney; the medical treatment of a competent adult; or a writ of habeas corpus; (c) Subject to section 2101.31 of the Revised Code, any action with respect to a probate estate, guardianship, trust, or post-death dispute that involves any of the following: (i) A designation or removal of a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, annuity contract, retirement plan, brokerage account, security account, bank account, real property, or tangible personal property; (ii) A designation or removal of a payable-on-death beneficiary or transfer-on-death beneficiary; (iii) A change in the title to any asset involving a joint and survivorship interest; (iv) An alleged gift; (v) The passing of assets upon the death of an individual otherwise than by will, intestate succession, or trust. (2) Any action that involves a concurrent jurisdiction subject matter and that is before the probate court may be transferred by the probate court, on its order, to the general division of the court of common pleas. (3) Notwithstanding that the probate court has exclusive jurisdiction to render declaratory judgments under Chapter 5817. of the Revised Code, the probate court may transfer the proceeding to the general division of the court of common pleas pursuant to division (A) of section 5817.04 of the Revised Code. (C) The probate court has plenary power at law and in equity to dispose fully of any matter that is properly before the court, unless the power is expressly otherwise limited or denied by a section of the Revised Code. (D) The jurisdiction acquired by a probate court over a matter or proceeding is exclusive of that of any other probate court, except when otherwise provided by law.
Last updated March 10, 2023 at 11:11 AM
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Section 2101.25 | Optional jurisdiction of probate judge.
Effective:
September 4, 1957
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 35 - 102nd General Assembly
When any action for the appropriation of property or any appeal in a road case, in a sewer district case, or in any county water supply system case is filed in the probate court, the judge may certify such cause to the court of common pleas of the county, together with all the papers filed therein, whereupon the clerk of the court of common pleas shall file said papers and enter said cause on the docket. Thereupon the court of common pleas shall have jurisdiction to hear, determine, and make record of said cause, as if commenced in such court. The court of common pleas, upon said case being docketed in that court, shall advance the same for trial at the earliest date permitted, on application by any party to said case.
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Section 2101.26 | Referring information as to abuse, exploitation or theft to law enforcement agency.
Effective:
January 1, 1990
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 46 - 118th General Assembly
If the probate judge receives information of the alleged abuse or financial exploitation of a person of advanced age or of an incompetent or minor under guardianship, or receives information of an alleged theft from the estate of a decedent, the judge may refer the information to the appropriate law enforcement agency of the political subdivision in which the abuse, exploitation, or theft allegedly occurred, which agency shall conduct an investigation to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a violation of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, or of any ordinance, resolution, or regulation of a municipal corporation or other political subdivision of the state that sets forth a criminal offense, has occurred. Upon completion of the investigation, the law enforcement agency involved shall file with the judge a report that summarizes its findings and indicates whether an indictment will be sought or charges will be filed as a result of the investigation.
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Section 2101.27 | Probate judge has authority to solemnize marriage within county.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
(A) A probate judge has jurisdiction and authority to solemnize marriages within the county and may charge a fee for providing the service in accordance with division (B) of this section. The fee charged is subject to disposition in accordance with division (C) of this section. (B)(1) If a probate judge intends to charge a fee for solemnizing any marriage in accordance with division (A) of this section, prior to doing so, the probate judge, by rule, shall establish a reasonable fee for providing the service. (2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not do either of the following: (a) Require a probate judge who, by rule, has established a reasonable fee for solemnizing marriages to charge that fee for every marriage that the probate judge solemnizes; (b) Affect specific fees to which the probate judge is entitled under section 2101.16 or any other section of the Revised Code for issuing marriage licenses, recording returns of solemnized marriages, providing certified abstracts of marriages, or performing any other task related to a marriage other than its solemnization. (C) If, in accordance with division (B) of this section, a reasonable fee is charged by a probate judge for solemnizing any marriage, the probate judge shall not retain any portion of that fee and instead shall pay the entire fee into the county treasury. The county treasurer shall credit the fee to the general fund of the county.
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Section 2101.30 | Jury - drawing.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 268 - 129th General Assembly
Whenever a jury is required in the probate court, the probate judge shall notify the commissioners of jurors, who shall cause to be drawn from the annual jury list the names of sixteen jurors. Additional names may be drawn if required. The clerk of the court of common pleas or one of the clerk's deputies shall make a list of those names in the order drawn and certify the list to the probate court, and the court shall issue a summons commanding the persons whose names were drawn to appear on the day and at the hour set for trial. The probate court shall deliver the summons to the sheriff, who shall serve it within five days of delivery and make prompt return of the service.
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Section 2101.31 | Determination of questions of fact.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 108 - 124th General Assembly
All questions of fact shall be determined by the probate judge, unless the judge orders those questions of fact to be tried before a jury or refers those questions of fact to a special master commissioner as provided in sections 2101.06 and 2101.07 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.32 | Rules and procedure of court of common pleas to govern - power to award and tax costs.
Effective:
January 1, 1990
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 46 - 118th General Assembly
The probate judge shall have the powers and perform the duties provided for, and shall be governed by the sections of the Revised Code and rules that apply to, the courts of common pleas and the judges of those courts. The Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern actions and proceedings in the probate court as provided in Civil Rule 73. In all actions or proceedings in the probate court, whether ex parte or adversary, costs may be awarded to, taxed against, and apportioned between the parties, whether on the same or adverse sides, including, but not limited to, costs covered by division (B) of section 2101.16 of the Revised Code.
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Section 2101.33 | Vacation and modification of judgments.
Effective:
August 6, 1976
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 390 - 111th General Assembly
The probate court has the same power as the court of common pleas to vacate or modify its orders or judgments.
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Section 2101.34 | Judgments by confession.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
If the judges of the court of common pleas are absent from the county or are under a disability, the probate judge of the county may enter judgments by confession in cases pending in the court of common pleas of the judge's county.
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Section 2101.35 | Execution.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
Orders for the payment of money may be enforced as judgments in the court of common pleas. Such execution shall be directed to the sheriff, or, in the sheriff's absence or disability, to the coroner.
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Section 2101.37 | Judge of court of common pleas to act as probate judge - compensation.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
When the probate judge of any county is absent, or is unable to attend court, or the volume of work in the judge's office necessitates it, the judge may call upon a judge of the court of common pleas having jurisdiction in that county to act in the probate judge's place or in conjunction with the probate judge, or the probate judge may call upon the chief justice of the supreme court, who shall designate a judge of the court of common pleas or a probate judge to act in the place of the absent or incapacitated probate judge or in conjunction with the absent or incapacitated probate judge. If the probate judge of any county dies or resigns during the judge's term of office, a judge of the court of common pleas of that county shall act in the place of the probate judge until a successor is appointed and qualified. When a judge of the court of common pleas or a probate judge so designated resides outside the county in which the designated judge is called upon to act, the designated judge shall receive the compensation that is provided for judges of the court of common pleas designated by the chief justice to hold court outside their respective counties. The record of the cases shall be made and preserved in the proper records of the probate court by the deputy clerk of the probate court.
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Section 2101.38 | Administration when the probate judge is interested.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
Letters testamentary, of administration, or of guardianship shall not be issued to a person after the person's election to the office of probate judge and before the expiration of the person's term. If a probate judge is interested as heir, legatee, devisee, or other manner in an estate that would otherwise be settled in the probate court of the county where the judge resides, the estate, and all of the accounts of guardians in which the judge is interested, shall be settled by the court of common pleas of the county. In those matters and cases in which the judge is interested, the judge shall certify the original papers to the court of common pleas. In other matters and proceedings in a probate court in which the judge of the probate court is interested or in which the judge is required to be a witness to a will, the judge shall, upon the motion of a party interested in the proceedings or upon the judge's own motion, certify the matters and proceedings to the court of common pleas and file with the clerk of the court of common pleas all original papers connected with those matters and proceedings. When a matter or proceeding is so certified, a judge of the court of common pleas shall hear and determine the matter or proceeding in chambers or in open court as though the court had original jurisdiction of the subject matter. Upon final decision of the questions involved in the matter or proceedings, the final settlement of the estate in which the judge is interested as executor, administrator, or guardian, or when the judge's interest in the estate ceases, the clerk shall deliver the original papers to the probate court in which the original papers were filed and make and file in that court an authenticated transcript of the orders, judgments, and proceedings of the court of common pleas. The probate judge shall record the orders, judgments, and proceedings in the proper records.
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Section 2101.39 | Affidavit of disqualification.
Effective:
November 20, 1996
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 263 - 121st General Assembly
If a probate judge allegedly has a bias or prejudice for or against a party or a party's counsel in a proceeding pending before the judge, allegedly otherwise is interested in a proceeding pending before the judge, or allegedly is disqualified to preside in the proceeding and if the bias, prejudice, interest, or disqualification does not permit or require certification of the proceeding to the court of common pleas as provided by section 2101.38 of the Revised Code, any party to the proceeding or the party's counsel may file an affidavit of disqualification with the clerk of the supreme court. The affidavit of disqualification shall be filed and decided in accordance with divisions (B) to (E) of section 2701.03 of the Revised Code, and, upon the filing of the affidavit, the provisions of those divisions apply to the affidavit, the proceeding, the judge, and the parties to the proceeding.
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Section 2101.40 | Dealing in assets of estate.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
A probate judge shall not in any way deal in property or securities involved in probate court cases. This section applies to all appointees of the probate court.
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Section 2101.41 | Prohibition.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
No probate judge shall practice law, be associated with another as partner in the practice of law in a court or tribunal of this state, prepare a complaint or answer, make out an account required for the settlement of an estate committed to the care or management of another, or appear as attorney before a court or judicial tribunal. Whoever violates this section shall forfeit the office of probate judge. The deputy clerk of a probate court may engage in the practice of law if the deputy's practice is not related in any way to probate law or practice. The deputy may engage in the practice of law only with the continued consent and approval of all of the judges of the probate court. A magistrate appointed solely to conduct hearings under Chapters 5122. and 5123. of the Revised Code may engage in the practice of law, including probate law, except that the magistrate shall not practice law under those chapters other than as a magistrate and shall not knowingly accept any business arising out of or otherwise connected with a proceeding in which the magistrate served as a magistrate under those chapters. The prosecuting attorney shall file the prosecuting attorney's information against a judge or deputy clerk who practices law in violation of this section in the court of common pleas, and proceed as upon indictment. This section does not prevent a probate judge or deputy clerk from finishing business commenced by the judge or deputy clerk prior to the judge's or clerk's election or appointment, provided it is not connected with the official duties of the judge or clerk.
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Section 2101.42 | Cases appealable from probate court.
Effective:
January 1, 1976
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 145 - 111th General Assembly
From any final order, judgment, or decree of the probate court, an appeal on a question of law may be prosecuted to the court of appeals in the manner and within the time provided for the prosecution of such appeals from the court of common pleas to the court of appeals. For the purpose of prosecuting appeals on questions of law from the probate court, the probate court shall exercise judicial functions inferior only to the court of appeals and the supreme court.
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Section 2101.43 | Petition for submission of question of combining probate court and court of common pleas.
Effective:
January 13, 2012
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 124 - 129th General Assembly
Whenever ten per cent of the number of electors voting for governor at the most recent election in any county having less than sixty thousand population, as determined by the most recent federal census, petition a judge of the court of common pleas of the county, not less than ninety days before any general election for county officers, for the submission to the electors of the county the question of combining the probate court with the court of common pleas, the judge shall place upon the journal of the court an order requiring the sheriff to make proclamation that at the next general election there will be submitted to the electors the question of combining the probate court with the court of common pleas. The clerk of the court of common pleas shall make and deliver a certified copy of the order to the sheriff, and the sheriff shall include notice of the submission of the question in the sheriff's proclamation of election for the next general election. Each elector joining in a petition for the submission of the question of combining the probate court with the court of common pleas shall sign the petition in the elector's own handwriting, unless the elector cannot write and the elector's signature is made by mark, and shall include in the petition the township, precinct, or ward of which the elector is a resident. The petition may consist of as many parts as are convenient. One of the signers to each separate paper shall swear before an officer who is qualified to administer the oath that the petition is bona fide to the best of the signer's knowledge and belief. The oath shall be a part of or attached to the paper. The judge upon receipt of the petition shall deposit it with the clerk of the court of common pleas. No signature shall be taken from or added to the petition after it has been filed with the judge. When deposited the petition shall be preserved and open to public inspection, and, if it is in conformity with this section, it shall be valid unless an objection to the petition is made in writing by an elector of the county within five days after the filing of the petition. The objections, or any other questions arising in the course of the submission of the question of combining the probate court with the court of common pleas, shall be considered and determined by the judge, and the judge's decision shall be final.
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Section 2101.44 | Conduct of election - form of ballot - returns and canvass.
Effective:
February 25, 2014
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 109 - 130th General Assembly
The election upon the question of combining the probate court and the court of common pleas shall be conducted as provided for the election of county officers. The board of elections shall provide separate ballots, tally sheets, blanks, stationery, and all such other supplies as may be necessary in the conduct of such election. Ballots shall be printed with an affirmative and negative statement thereon, as follows: | The probate court and the court of common pleas shall be combined. | | | The probate court and the court of common pleas shall not be combined. | |
Returns of said election shall be made and canvassed at the same time and in the same manner as an election for county officers. The board shall certify the result of said election to the secretary of state, to the probate judge of said county, and to the judge of the court of common pleas, and such result shall be spread upon the journal of the probate court and of the court of common pleas. If a majority of the votes cast at such an election are in favor of combining said courts, such courts shall stand combined upon determination of the fact that a majority of the persons voting upon the question of the combination of such courts voted in favor of such combination.
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Section 2101.45 | Probate division established - appeals.
Effective:
March 17, 1987
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 412 - 116th General Assembly
When the probate court and the court of common pleas have been combined as provided in sections 2101.43 and 2101.44 of the Revised Code, there shall be established in the court of common pleas a probate division and all matters of which the probate court has jurisdiction shall be filed and separately docketed in that division. The resident judge of the court of common pleas shall appoint the necessary deputies, clerks, and assistants to have charge of and perform the work incident to the division. An appeal on questions of law may be prosecuted from that division to the court of appeals.
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Section 2101.46 | Re-establishment of the probate court.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
After three years from the date of an election held under sections 2101.43 to 2101.45, inclusive, of the Revised Code, another election may be petitioned for and shall be ordered by the judge of the court of common pleas as provided in such sections either to perfect a combination of said court or to dissolve said combination and re-establish the probate court. Whenever in any county where such courts have been combined a decennial federal census shows that such county has a population of sixty thousand or more, and such fact is certified by the secretary of state to said court of common pleas and entered upon its journal, the probate court shall be re-established in such county. A probate judge shall be elected for the regular term at the next election ensuing in an even-numbered year, and the records of the probate division of the court of common pleas shall be delivered to such re-established probate court upon the entry into office of an elected probate judge.
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Section 2101.99 | Penalty.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
(A) Whoever violates section 2101.09 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars. (B) Whoever violates section 2101.15 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than ten nor more than two hundred dollars. (C) Whoever violates section 2101.41 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than fifty dollars.
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