Chapter 5815 | Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 5815.01 | Inheritance and bequest defined.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Except when the intent of the settlor clearly is to the contrary, the following rules of construction shall apply in interpreting the terms "inheritance" and "bequest":

(A) The term "inheritance," in addition to its meaning at common law or under any other section or sections of the Revised Code, includes any change of title to real property by reason of the death of the owner of that real property, regardless of whether the owner died testate or intestate.

(B) The term "bequest," in addition to its meaning at common law or under any other section or sections of the Revised Code, includes any disposition of real property that occurs as a result of the death of the settlor.

Section 5815.02 | Issuers of securities and holders of record.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

As used in sections 5815.02 and 5815.03 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Fiduciary" includes a trustee under any trust, expressed, implied, resulting, or constructive; an executor, administrator, public administrator, guardian, committee, conservator, curator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for the benefit of creditors, partner, agent, officer of a public or private corporation, or public officer; or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust, or estate.

(B) "Good faith" includes an act done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not.

(C) "Issuer" includes domestic corporations, companies, associations, and trusts; foreign corporations, companies, associations, and trusts, to the extent that securities issued by them are held of record by persons in this state or are held on deposit in this state, and to the extent that such foreign corporation, company, association, or trust is a holder of record of, or otherwise interested in, securities of domestic corporations, companies, associations, or trusts; and also the transfer agents and registrars of the issuer and the depositories for its securities.

(D) "Person" includes a corporation, partnership, association, or two or more persons having a joint or common interest.

(E) "Securities" includes the items in the following enumeration, which, however, is not exclusive:

(1) Shares, share certificates, and other certificates and evidences of ownership or participation in property, assets, or trust estate; bonds, notes, debentures, certificates, or evidences of indebtedness, certificates of interest or participation, collateral trust certificates, equipment-trust certificates, preorganization or subscription certificates or receipts, and voting-trust certificates; passbooks or certificates of deposit of money, securities, or other property; scrip certificates, fractional interests certificates, and, in general, interests or instruments commonly known as securities, and certificates of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificates or receipts for, or warrants or rights to subscribe to, purchase, or receive, any of the foregoing, whether such securities were issued by the issuer in its corporate capacity, in its individual capacity, or in a fiduciary capacity;

(2) Securities that were issued originally by other corporations, companies, associations, or trusts, but have become the securities of the present issuer, individually or as a fiduciary.

Section 5815.03 | Issuer of securities may treat holders of record as competent.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Unless there has been delivered to an issuer a certified copy of an order, judgment, or decree of a court, judge, or administrative body or official, the legal effect of which is to restrict, suspend, or remove such capacity or authority, the issuer may treat all persons in whose names its securities are of record on its records as being of full age and competent and as having capacity and authority to exercise all rights of ownership in respect of the securities, including the right to receive and to give receipts for payments and distributions, the right to transfer the securities, and the right to vote or to give consent in person or by proxy, notwithstanding any description, limitation, or qualification appearing on the securities or on the records, any reference thereon to another instrument or to any fiduciary or pledgee or other relationship, or any knowledge or notice, actual or constructive, of the right, interest, or claim of any other person or of the infancy or lack of capacity or authority of the persons in whose names the securities are of record.

The issuer may treat a fiduciary as having capacity and authority to exercise all rights of ownership in respect of the securities that are of record in the name of a decedent holder, of a person in conservation, receivership, or bankruptcy, or of a minor, incompetent person, or person under disability, and the issuer shall be protected in any action taken or suffered by it in reliance upon any instrument showing the appointment of the fiduciary.

The issuer is not liable for loss caused by any act done or omitted by it under this section. The issuer need not see to the execution of any trust, or to the observance or performance of any obligation of a holder of record, a fiduciary, or a pledgee of the securities, and it need not inquire or inform itself concerning those matters.

This section does not enlarge the capacity, right, or authority of any holder of record of the securities as against any person other than the issuer, nor prevent any court of competent jurisdiction from enforcing or protecting any right, title, or interest in the securities in any person who is not a holder of record the securities.

This section does not protect any issuer who participates with a fiduciary in a breach of the fiduciary's trust with knowledge of such facts that the action of the issuer amounts to bad faith.

Section 5815.04 | Uniform fiduciary act definitions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

As used in sections 5815.04 to 5815.11 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Bank" includes any person, carrying on the business of banking and any financial institution defined in section 5725.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Fiduciary" includes a trustee under any trust, expressed, implied, resulting, or constructive, an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, curator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for the benefit of creditors, partner, agent, officer of a corporation, public or private, public officer, or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust, or estate.

(C) "Person" includes a corporation, partnership, association, or two or more persons having a joint or common interest.

(D) "Principal" includes any person to whom a fiduciary as such owes an obligation.

(E) "Good faith" includes an act when it is in fact done honestly.

Section 5815.05 | Transferee not responsible for proper application of money.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

A person who in good faith pays or transfers to a fiduciary any money or other property that the fiduciary as such is authorized to receive is not responsible for the proper application of the money or other property by the fiduciary. Any right or title acquired from the fiduciary in consideration of the payment or transfer is not invalid because of a misapplication by the fiduciary.

Section 5815.06 | Deposit in name of fiduciary as such - liability of bank.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

If a deposit is made in a bank to the credit of a fiduciary as such, the bank may pay the amount of the deposit or any part thereof upon the check of the fiduciary, signed with the name in which the deposit is entered, without being liable to the principal, unless the bank pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of the obligation as fiduciary in drawing the check or with knowledge of such facts that its action in paying the check amounts to bad faith.

If such a check is payable to the drawee bank and is delivered to it in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to it, the bank is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of the obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the check.

Section 5815.07 | Check drawn by fiduciary upon account of his principal - liability of bank.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

If a check is drawn upon the principal's account by a fiduciary who is empowered to do so, the bank may pay the check without being liable to the principal, unless the bank pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of the obligation as fiduciary in drawing the check or with knowledge of such facts that its action in paying the check amounts to bad faith.

If such a check is payable to the drawee bank and is delivered to it in payment of or as security for a personal debt of the fiduciary to it, the bank is liable to the principal if the fiduciary in fact commits a breach of the obligation as fiduciary in drawing or delivering the check.

Section 5815.08 | Deposit to personal credit of fiduciary.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

If a fiduciary makes a deposit in a bank to the fiduciary's personal credit of checks drawn by the fiduciary upon an account in the fiduciary's own name as fiduciary, checks payable to the fiduciary as fiduciary, checks drawn by the fiduciary upon an account in the name of the principal if the fiduciary is empowered to draw checks thereon, checks payable to the principal and indorsed by the fiduciary if the fiduciary is empowered to indorse the checks, or if the fiduciary otherwise makes a deposit of funds held by the fiduciary as fiduciary, the bank receiving the deposit is not bound to inquire whether the fiduciary is committing a breach of the obligation as fiduciary.

The bank may pay the amount of the deposit or any part thereof upon the personal check of the fiduciary without being liable to the principal, unless the bank receives the deposit or pays the check with actual knowledge that the fiduciary is committing a breach of the obligation as fiduciary in making the deposit or in drawing the check, or with knowledge of such facts that the action of the bank in receiving the deposit or paying the check amounts to bad faith.

Section 5815.09 | Deposit in name of two or more trustees - checks.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

When a deposit is made in a bank in the name of two or more persons as trustees and a check is drawn upon the trust account by any trustee authorized to do so by the other, neither the payee or other holder nor the bank is bound to inquire whether it is a breach of trust to authorize the trustee to draw checks upon the trust account and neither is liable unless the circumstances are such that the action of the payee or other holder or the bank amounts to bad faith.

Section 5815.10 | Interpretation and construction.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Sections 5815.04 to 5815.11 of the Revised Code shall be construed to effectuate their general purpose of making the law of this state uniform with the law of those states that enact similar legislation.

Section 5815.11 | Rules of law and equity applicable.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

In any case not provided for in sections 5815.04 to 5815.11 of the Revised Code, the rules of law and equity, including the law merchant and those rules of law and equity relating to trusts, agency, negotiable instruments, and banking apply.

Section 5815.12 | Power of appointment defined.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

As used in sections 5815.13, 5815.14, and 5815.15 of the Revised Code, "power of appointment" means any power that is in effect a power to appoint, however created, regardless of the nomenclature used in creating the power and regardless of connotations under the law of property, trusts, or wills. The power includes but is not limited to powers which are special, general, limited, absolute, in gross, appendant, appurtenant, or collateral.

Section 5815.13 | Exercising power of appointment.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Any power of appointment that is not subject to an express condition that it may be exercised only by a donee or holder of a greater age may be exercised by any donee or holder of the age of eighteen years or over.

Section 5815.14 | Release and disclaimer of a power.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Any power of appointment may be released in whole or in part by the donee or holder of the power by an instrument in writing, signed and acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the execution of deeds. No such release is ineffective because it was given either for or without consideration, because it was signed and acknowledged before June 3, 1943, or because no delivery is made of a copy of the release as provided for in section 5815.15 of the Revised Code.

Sections 5815.14 and 5815.15 of the Revised Code do not affect the validity of a release of a power of appointment effected in any other form or manner.

A donee or holder of a power of appointment may disclaim the same at any time, wholly or in part, in the same manner and to the same extent as the donee or holder of the power might release it.

Section 5815.15 | Notice of release.

• Effective: January 30, 2014
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 72 - 130th General Assembly

No fiduciary or other person having the possession or control of any property subject to a power of appointment, other than the donee or holder of such power, has notice of a release of the power until a copy of the release is delivered to the fiduciary or other person having possession or control.

No purchaser or mortgagee of real property subject to a power of appointment has notice of a release of the power until a copy of the release is delivered to the officer charged by law with the recording of deeds in the county in which the property is situated. If the property is in this state, the county recorder to whom a release is delivered shall record the release in the official records, and shall charge a fee computed in the same manner as the fee charged for recording deeds.

Section 5815.16 | Duty of attorney to third parties.

• Effective: March 22, 2019
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 595 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) Absent an express agreement to the contrary, an attorney who performs legal services for a fiduciary, by reason of the attorney performing those legal services for the fiduciary, has no duty or obligation in contract, tort, or otherwise to any third party to whom the fiduciary owes fiduciary obligations.

(B) Any communication between an attorney and a client who is acting as a fiduciary is privileged and protected from disclosure to third parties to whom the fiduciary owes fiduciary duties to the same extent as if the client was not acting as a fiduciary.

(C) As used in this section, "fiduciary" means a trustee under an express trust or an executor or administrator of a decedent's estate.

Section 5815.21 | Federal estate tax marital deduction distributions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Whenever the executor of a will or the trustee of a testamentary or inter vivos trust is permitted or required to select assets in kind to satisfy a gift, devise, or bequest, whether outright or in trust, intended to qualify for the federal estate tax marital deduction prescribed by the United States "Internal Revenue Code of 1954," 68A Stat. 392, 26 U.S.C.A. 2056, or any comparable federal statute enacted after July 20, 1965, and the will or trust instrument empowers or requires the fiduciary to satisfy such gift, devise, or bequest by allocating assets thereto at any values other than market values at the date of satisfaction of such gift, devise, or bequest, the executor or trustee shall satisfy such gift, devise, or bequest by distribution of assets having a value fairly representative in the aggregate of appreciation or depreciation in the value of all property, including cash, available for distribution in satisfaction of such gift, devise, or bequest, unless the will or trust instrument expressly requires that distribution be made in a manner so as not to be fairly representative of such appreciation or depreciation.

Section 5815.22 | Spendthrift provisions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A)(1) Except as provided in divisions (A)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, a spendthrift provision in an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust shall not cause any forfeiture or postponement of any interest in property that satisfies both of the following:

(a) It is granted to a surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor.

(b) It qualifies for the federal estate tax marital deduction allowed by Subtitle B, Chapter 11, of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 26 U.S.C.A. 2056, as amended, the estate tax marital deduction allowed by division (A) of section 5731.15 of the Revised Code, or the qualified terminable interest property deduction allowed by division (B) of section 5731.15 of the Revised Code.

(2) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply if an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust expressly states the intention of the testator or other settlor that obtaining a marital deduction or a qualified terminable interest property deduction as described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section is less important than enforcing the forfeiture or postponement of the interest in property in accordance with the spendthrift provision in the instrument.

(3) Division (A)(1) of this section applies only to the forfeiture or postponement portions of a spendthrift provision and does not apply to any portion of a spendthrift provision that prohibits a beneficiary from assigning, alienating, or otherwise disposing of any beneficial interest in a trust or prohibits a creditor of a beneficiary from attaching or otherwise encumbering the trust estate.

(4) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to any beneficiary of an inter vivos or testamentary trust other than the surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor or to any inter vivos or testamentary trust of which the surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor is a beneficiary if an interest in property does not qualify for a marital deduction or a qualified terminable interest property deduction as described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section.

(B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, if an instrument creating an inter vivos or testamentary trust includes a spendthrift provision and the trust holds shares in an S corporation, the spendthrift provision shall not cause any forfeiture or postponement of any beneficial interest, income, principal, or other interest in the shares of the S corporation held by the trust. For purposes of division (B)(1) of this section, "S corporation" has the same meaning as in section 1361 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 26 U.S.C. 1361.

(2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply if an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust expressly states the intention of the testator or other settlor that maintenance of the corporation's status as an S corporation is less important than enforcing the forfeiture or postponement of any beneficial interest, income, principal, or other interest in the S corporation shares in accordance with the spendthrift provision in the instrument.

(3) Division (B)(1) of this section applies only to the forfeiture or postponement portions of a spendthrift provision and does not apply to any portion of a spendthrift provision that prohibits a beneficiary from assigning, alienating, or otherwise disposing of any beneficial interest in a trust or prohibits a creditor of a beneficiary from attaching or otherwise encumbering the trust estate.

(C)(1) Except as provided in divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section, a spendthrift provision in an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust shall not cause any forfeiture or postponement of any interest in property that satisfies both of the following:

(a) It is granted to a person who is a skip person under the federal generation-skipping transfer tax imposed by Subtitle B, Chapter 13, of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 26 U.S.C.A. 2601-2663, as amended.

(b) It qualifies as a nontaxable gift under section 2642(c) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 26 U.S.C.A. 2642(c).

(2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply if an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust expressly states the intention of the testator or other settlor that qualifying as a nontaxable trust gift as described in division (C)(1)(b) of this section is less important than enforcing the forfeiture or postponement of the interest in property in accordance with the spendthrift provision in the instrument.

(3) Division (C)(1) of this section applies only to the forfeiture or postponement portions of a spendthrift provision and does not apply to any portion of a spendthrift provision that prohibits a beneficiary from assigning, alienating, or otherwise disposing of any beneficial interest in a trust or prohibits a creditor of a beneficiary from attaching or otherwise encumbering the trust estate.

(D) Divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section are intended to codify certain fiduciary and trust law principles relating to the interpretation of a testator's or other settlor's intent with respect to the provisions of a trust. Divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section apply to trust instruments executed prior to and existing on August 29, 2000, and to trust instruments executed on or after August 29, 2000.

Section 5815.23 | Effect of requiring or permitting accumulation for more than one year of any income of property.

• Effective: April 6, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 432 - 131st General Assembly

(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust shall not require or permit the accumulation for more than one year of any income of property that satisfies both of the following:

(1) The property is granted to a surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor.

(2) The property qualifies for the federal estate tax marital deduction allowed by subtitle B, Chapter 11 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 26 U.S.C. 2056, as amended, the estate tax marital deduction allowed by division (A) of section 5731.15 of the Revised Code, or the qualified terminable interest property deduction allowed by division (B) of section 5731.15 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) Division (A) of this section does not apply if an instrument that creates an inter vivos or testamentary trust expressly states the intention of the testator or other settlor that obtaining a marital deduction or a qualified terminable interest property deduction as described in division (A)(2) of this section is less important than requiring or permitting the accumulation of income of property in accordance with a provision in the instrument that requires or permits the accumulation for more than one year of any income of property.

(2) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any beneficiary of an inter vivos or testamentary trust other than the surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor or to any inter vivos or testamentary trust of which the surviving spouse of the testator or other settlor is a beneficiary if an interest in property does not qualify for a marital deduction or a qualified terminable interest property deduction as described in division (A)(2) of this section.

(C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section are intended to codify existing fiduciary and trust law principles relating to the interpretation of a testator's or other settlor's intent with respect to the income provisions of a trust. Divisions (A) and (B) of this section apply to trust instruments executed prior to and existing on October 1, 1996, or executed thereafter. The trustee of a trust described in division (A) or (B) of this section, in a written trust amendment, may elect to not apply divisions (A) and (B) of this section to the trust. Any election of that nature, when made, is irrevocable.

Section 5815.24 | Limitations on liability.

• Effective: March 27, 2013
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 479 - 129th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section, "fiduciary" means a trustee under any expressed, implied, resulting, or constructive trust; an executor, administrator, public administrator, committee, guardian, conservator, curator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or assignee for the benefit of creditors; a partner, agent, officer of a public or private corporation, or public officer; or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust, or estate.

(B) A fiduciary, or a custodian, who is a transferee of real or personal property that is held by a fiduciary other than the person or entity serving as the transferee, is not required to inquire into any act, or audit any account, of the transferor fiduciary, unless the transferee is specifically directed to do so in the instrument governing the transferee or unless the transferee has actual knowledge of conduct of the transferor that would constitute a breach of the transferor's fiduciary responsibilities.

(C) If a trustee is authorized or directed in a trust instrument to pay or advance all or any part of the trust property to the personal representative of a decedent's estate for the payment of the decedent's legal obligations, death taxes, bequests, or expenses of administration, the trustee is not liable for the application of the trust property paid or advanced to the personal representative and is not liable for any act or omission of the personal representative with respect to the trust property, unless the trustee has actual knowledge, prior to the payment or advancement of the trust property, that the personal representative does not intend to use the trust property for such purposes.

(D) Regardless of whether a beneficiary is subject to the claims of any creditor, a trustee may pay any expense incurred by a beneficiary to the extent that payment is permitted by the instrument governing the trust, and the trustee may make those payments even if the payments exhaust the income and principal of the trust. A trustee is not liable to any creditor of a beneficiary for paying the expenses of a beneficiary as allowed by this division.

Section 5815.25 | Administrative duties and responsibilities of trust; exclusion of fiduciaries.

• Effective: March 27, 2013
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 479 - 129th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section, "fiduciary" means a trustee under any testamentary, inter vivos, or other trust, an executor or administrator, or any other person who is acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust, or estate.

(B) If an instrument or other applicable written agreement describes, appoints, or directs a fiduciary to handle only the administrative duties and responsibilities of a trust, that administrative fiduciary shall not have any duties, responsibilities, or liabilities to the trust beneficiaries or to other persons interested in a trust except for those administrative duties and responsibilities specifically described in the instrument or written agreement. The administrative duties and responsibilities of a trust under this division may include any of the following:

(1) Opening and maintaining bank, brokerage, financial, or other custodial accounts to receive trust income or contributions and from which trust expenditures, bills, and distributions may be disbursed;

(2) Maintaining and handling trust records, reports, correspondence, or communications;

(3) Maintaining an office for trust business;

(4) Filing any trust tax returns;

(5) Employing agents in connection with the fiduciary's administrative duties;

(6) Taking custody of or storing trust property;

(7) Any other similar administrative duties for the trust.

(C) If an instrument under which a fiduciary acts reserves to the grantor, or vests in an advisory or investment committee or in one or more other persons, including one or more fiduciaries, to the exclusion of the fiduciary or of one or more of several fiduciaries, any power, including, but not limited to, the authority to direct the acquisition, disposition, or retention of any investment or the power to authorize any act that an excluded fiduciary may propose, any excluded fiduciary is not liable, either individually or as a fiduciary, for either of the following:

(1) Any loss that results from compliance with an authorized direction of the grantor, committee, person, or persons;

(2) Any loss that results from a failure to take any action proposed by an excluded fiduciary that requires a prior authorization of the grantor, committee, person, or persons if that excluded fiduciary timely sought but failed to obtain that authorization.

(D) Any administrative fiduciary as described in division (B) of this section or any excluded fiduciary as described in division (C) of this section is relieved from any obligation to perform investment reviews and make recommendations with respect to any investments to the extent the grantor, an advisory or investment committee, or one or more other persons have authority to direct the acquisition, disposition, or retention of any investment.

(E) This section does not apply to the extent that the instrument under which an administrative fiduciary as described in division (B) of this section or an excluded fiduciary as described in division (C) of this section contains provisions that are inconsistent with this section.

Section 5815.26 | Holding cash or making temporary investments.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Fiduciary" means a trustee under any testamentary, inter vivos, or other trust, an executor or administrator, or any other person who is acting in a fiduciary capacity for a person, trust, or estate.

(2) "Short term trust-quality investment fund" means a short term investment fund that meets both of the following conditions:

(a) The fund may be either a collective investment fund established pursuant to section 1111.14 of the Revised Code or a registered investment company, including any affiliated investment company whether or not the fiduciary has invested other funds held by it in an agency or other nonfiduciary capacity in the securities of the same registered investment company or affiliated investment company.

(b) The fund is invested in any one or more of the following manners:

(i) In obligations of the United States or of its agencies;

(ii) In obligations of one or more of the states of the United States or their political subdivisions;

(iii) In variable demand notes, corporate money market instruments including, but not limited to, commercial paper rated at the time of purchase in either of the two highest classifications established by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization;

(iv) In deposits in banks or savings and loan associations whose deposits are insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation, if the rate of interest paid on such deposits is at least equal to the rate of interest generally paid by such banks or savings and loan associations on deposits of similar terms or amounts;

(v) In fully collateralized repurchase agreements or other evidences of indebtedness that are of trust quality and are payable on demand or have a maturity date consistent with the purpose of the fund and the duty of fiduciary prudence.

(3) "Registered investment company" means any investment company that is defined in and registered under sections 3 and 8 of the "Investment Company Act of 1940," 54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C.A. 80a-3 and 80a-8.

(4) "Affiliated investment company" has the same meaning as in division (E)(1) of section 1111.10 of the Revised Code.

(B) A fiduciary is not required to invest cash that belongs to the trust and may hold that cash for the period prior to distribution if either of the following applies:

(1) The fiduciary reasonably expects to do either of the following:

(a) Distribute the cash to beneficiaries of the trust on a quarterly or more frequent basis;

(b) Use the cash for the payment of debts, taxes, or expenses of administration within the ninety-day period following the receipt of the cash by the fiduciary.

(2) Determined on the basis of the facilities available to the fiduciary and the amount of the income that reasonably could be earned by the investment of the cash, the amount of the cash does not justify the administrative burden or expense associated with its investment.

(C) If a fiduciary wishes to hold funds that belong to the trust in liquid form and division (B) of this section does not apply, the fiduciary may so hold the funds as long as they are temporarily invested as described in division (D) of this section.

(D)(1) A fiduciary may make a temporary investment of cash that may be held uninvested in accordance with division (B) of this section, and shall make a temporary investment of funds held in liquid form pursuant to division (C) of this section, in any of the following investments, unless the governing instrument provides for other investments in which the temporary investment of cash or funds is permitted:

(a) A short term trust-quality investment fund;

(b) Direct obligations of the United States or of its agencies;

(c) A deposit with a bank or savings and loan association, including a deposit with the fiduciary itself or any bank subsidiary corporation owned or controlled by the bank holding company that owns or controls the fiduciary, whose deposits are insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation, if the rate of interest paid on that deposit is at least equal to the rate of interest generally paid by that bank or savings and loan association on deposits of similar terms or amounts.

(2) A fiduciary that makes a temporary investment of cash or funds pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section may charge a reasonable fee for the services associated with that investment. The fee shall be in addition to the compensation to which the fiduciary is entitled for his ordinary fiduciary services.

(3) Fiduciaries that make one or more temporary investments of cash or funds pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section shall provide to the beneficiaries of the trusts involved, that are currently receiving income or have a right to receive income, a written disclosure of their temporary investment practices and, if applicable, the method of computing reasonable fees for their temporary investment services pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section. Fiduciaries may comply with this requirement in any appropriate written document, including, but not limited to, any periodic statement or account.

(4) A fiduciary that makes a temporary investment of cash or funds in an affiliated investment company pursuant to division (D)(1)(a) of this section shall, when providing any periodic account statements of its temporary investment practices, report the net asset value of the shares comprising the investment in the affiliated investment company.

(5) If a fiduciary that makes a temporary investment of cash or funds in an affiliated investment company pursuant to division (D)(1)(a) of this section invests in any mutual fund, the fiduciary shall provide to the beneficiaries of the trust involved, that are currently receiving income or have a right to receive income, a written disclosure, in at least ten-point boldface type, that the mutual fund is not insured or guaranteed by the federal deposit insurance corporation or by any other government agency or government-sponsored agency of the federal government or of this state.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:56 PM

Section 5815.27 | Application of generation-skipping transfer tax provisions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A) A provision in a will or trust agreement, which provision pertains to the payment of any taxes that are imposed by reason of the testator's or trust creator's death, does not include the payment of any portion of any tax that is imposed on any transfer under any other will or trust agreement by Chapter 13 of subtitle B of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2718, 26 U.S.C. 2601-2624, as amended, unless the provision of the will or trust agreement specifically states, using the words "generation-skipping transfer tax," that the payment of the tax imposed under that chapter is included within the provision of the will or trust agreement.

(B) This section applies to wills and trust agreements that are executed before or after March 14, 1979.

Section 5815.28 | Supplemental services for beneficiary with physical or mental disability.

• Effective: October 12, 2016
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 158 - 131st General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Ascertainable standard" includes a standard in a trust instrument requiring the trustee to provide for the care, comfort, maintenance, welfare, education, or general well-being of the beneficiary.

(2) "Disability" means any substantial, medically determinable impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least twelve months, except that "disability" does not include an impairment that is the result of abuse of alcohol or drugs.

(3) "Political subdivision" and "state" have the same meanings as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Supplemental services" means services specified by rule of the department of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.10 of the Revised Code or the department of developmental disabilities under section 5123.04 of the Revised Code that are provided to an individual with a disability in addition to services the individual is eligible to receive under programs authorized by federal or state law.

(B) Any person may create a trust under this section to provide funding for supplemental services for the benefit of another individual who meets either of the following conditions:

(1) The individual has a physical or mental disability and is eligible to receive services through the department of developmental disabilities or a county board of developmental disabilities;

(2) The individual has a mental disability and is eligible to receive services through the department of mental health and addiction services or a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services.

The trust may confer discretion upon the trustee and may contain specific instructions or conditions governing the exercise of the discretion.

(C) The general division of the court of common pleas and the probate court of the county in which the beneficiary of a trust authorized by division (B) of this section resides or is confined have concurrent original jurisdiction to hear and determine actions pertaining to the trust. In any action pertaining to the trust in a court of common pleas or probate court and in any appeal of the action, all of the following apply to the trial or appellate court:

(1) The court shall render determinations consistent with the testator's or other settlor's intent in creating the trust, as evidenced by the terms of the trust instrument.

(2) The court may order the trustee to exercise discretion that the trust instrument confers upon the trustee only if the instrument contains specific instructions or conditions governing the exercise of that discretion and the trustee has failed to comply with the instructions or conditions. In issuing an order pursuant to this division, the court shall require the trustee to exercise the trustee's discretion only in accordance with the instructions or conditions.

(3) The court may order the trustee to maintain the trust and distribute assets in accordance with rules adopted by the director of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.10 of the Revised Code or the director of developmental disabilities under section 5123.04 of the Revised Code if the trustee has failed to comply with such rules.

(D) To the extent permitted by federal law and subject to the provisions of division (C)(2) of this section pertaining to the enforcement of specific instructions or conditions governing a trustee's discretion, a trust authorized by division (B) of this section that confers discretion upon the trustee shall not be considered an asset or resource of the beneficiary, the beneficiary's estate, the settlor, or the settlor's estate and shall be exempt from the claims of creditors, political subdivisions, the state, other governmental entities, and other claimants against the beneficiary, the beneficiary's estate, the settlor, or the settlor's estate, including claims regarding the medicaid program or based on provisions of Chapters 5121. or 5123. of the Revised Code and claims sought to be satisfied by way of a civil action, subrogation, execution, garnishment, attachment, judicial sale, or other legal process, if all of the following apply:

(1) At the time the trust is created, the trust principal does not exceed the maximum amount determined under division (E) of this section;

(2) The trust instrument contains a statement of the settlor's intent, or otherwise clearly evidences the settlor's intent, that the beneficiary does not have authority to compel the trustee under any circumstances to furnish the beneficiary with minimal or other maintenance or support, to make payments from the principal of the trust or from the income derived from the principal, or to convert any portion of the principal into cash, whether pursuant to an ascertainable standard specified in the instrument or otherwise;

(3) The trust instrument provides that trust assets can be used only to provide supplemental services, as defined by rule of the director of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.10 of the Revised Code or the director of developmental disabilities under section 5123.04 of the Revised Code, to the beneficiary;

(4) The trust is maintained and assets are distributed in accordance with rules adopted by the director of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.10 of the Revised Code or the director of developmental disabilities under section 5123.04 of the Revised Code;

(5) The trust instrument provides that on the death of the beneficiary, a portion of the remaining assets of the trust, which shall be not less than fifty per cent of such assets, will be deposited to the credit of the services fund for individuals with mental illness created by section 5119.51 of the Revised Code or the services fund for individuals with developmental disabilities created by section 5123.40 of the Revised Code.

(E) In 1994, the trust principal maximum amount for a trust created under this section shall be two hundred thousand dollars. The maximum amount for a trust created under this section prior to November 11, 1994, may be increased to two hundred thousand dollars.

In 1995, the maximum amount for a trust created under this section shall be two hundred two thousand dollars. Each year thereafter, the maximum amount shall be the prior year's amount plus two thousand dollars.

(F) This section does not limit or otherwise affect the creation, validity, interpretation, or effect of any trust that is not created under this section.

(G) Once a trustee takes action on a trust created by a settlor under this section and disburses trust funds on behalf of the beneficiary of the trust, then the trust may not be terminated or otherwise revoked by a particular event or otherwise without payment into the services fund created pursuant to section 5119.51 or 5123.40 of the Revised Code of an amount that is equal to the disbursements made on behalf of the beneficiary for medical care by the state from the date the trust vests but that is not more than fifty per cent of the trust corpus.

Section 5815.31 | Termination of marriage revokes any trust provision conferring a beneficial interest or a power or nomination.

• Effective: March 24, 2010
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 106 - 128th General Assembly

Unless the trust or separation agreement provides otherwise, if, after executing a trust in which the grantor reserves to self a power to alter, amend, revoke, or terminate the provisions of the trust, a grantor is divorced, obtains a dissolution of marriage, has the grantor's marriage annulled, or, upon actual separation from the grantor's spouse, enters into a separation agreement pursuant to which the parties intend to fully and finally settle their prospective property rights in the property of the other, whether by expected inheritance or otherwise, the spouse or former spouse of the grantor shall be deemed to have predeceased the grantor, and any provision in the trust conferring any beneficial interest or a general or special power of appointment on the spouse or former spouse or nominating the spouse or former spouse as trustee or trust advisor shall be revoked. If the grantor remarries the grantor's former spouse or if the separation agreement is terminated, the spouse shall not be deemed to have predeceased the grantor, and any provision in the trust conferring any beneficial interest or a general or special power of appointment on the spouse or former spouse or nominating the spouse or former spouse as trustee or trust advisor shall not be revoked.

Section 5815.32 | Revocation of power of attorney upon termination of marriage or entering separation agreement.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

If a principal executes a power of attorney designating the principal's spouse as the attorney in fact for the principal and if after executing the power of attorney, the principal and the principal's spouse are divorced, obtain a dissolution or annulment of their marriage, or enter into a separation agreement pursuant to which they intend to fully and finally settle each spouse's prospective property rights in the property of the other, the designation in the power of attorney of the spouse or former spouse of the principal to act as attorney in fact for the principal is revoked, unless the power of attorney provides otherwise. The subsequent remarriage of the principal to the principal's former spouse, or the termination of a separation agreement between the principal and the principal's spouse, does not revive a power of attorney that is revoked under this section.

Section 5815.33 | Termination of marriage revokes designation of spouse as beneficiary.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Beneficiary" means a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, an annuity, a payable on death account, an individual retirement plan, an employer death benefit plan, or another right to death benefits arising under a contract.

(2) "Employer death benefit plan" means any funded or unfunded plan or program, or any fund, that is established to provide the beneficiaries of an employee participating in the plan, program, or fund with benefits that may be payable upon the death of that employee.

(3) "Individual retirement plan" means an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity as defined in section 408 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 408, as amended.

(B)(1) Unless the designation of beneficiary or the judgment or decree granting the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment specifically provides otherwise, and subject to division (B)(2) of this section, if a spouse designates the other spouse as a beneficiary or if another person having the right to designate a beneficiary on behalf of the spouse designates the other spouse as a beneficiary, and if, after either type of designation, the spouse who made the designation or on whose behalf the designation was made, is divorced from the other spouse, obtains a dissolution of marriage, or has the marriage to the other spouse annulled, then the other spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased the spouse who made the designation or on whose behalf the designation was made, and the designation of the other spouse as a beneficiary is revoked as a result of the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment.

(2) If the spouse who made the designation or on whose behalf the designation was made remarries the other spouse, then, unless the designation no longer can be made, the other spouse shall not be deemed to have predeceased the spouse who made the designation or on whose behalf the designation was made, and the designation of the other spouse as a beneficiary is not revoked because of the previous divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment.

(C) An agent, bank, broker, custodian, issuer, life insurance company, plan administrator, savings and loan association, transfer agent, trustee, or other person is not liable in damages or otherwise in a civil or criminal action or proceeding for distributing or disposing of property in reliance on and in accordance with a designation of beneficiary as described in division (B)(1) of this section, if both of the following apply:

(1) The distribution or disposition otherwise is proper;

(2) The agent, bank, broker, custodian, issuer, life insurance company, plan administrator, savings and loan association, transfer agent, trustee, or other person did not have any notice of the facts that resulted in the revocation of the beneficiary designation by operation of division (B)(1) of this section.

Section 5815.34 | Termination of marriage affects survivorship rights.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A)(1) Unless the judgment or decree granting the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment specifically provides otherwise, and subject to division (A)(2) of this section, if the title to any personal property is held by two persons who are married to each other, if the title is so held for the joint lives of the spouses and then to the survivor of them, and if the marriage of the spouses subsequently is terminated by a judgment or decree granting a divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment, then the survivorship rights of the spouses terminate, and each spouse shall be deemed the owner of an undivided interest in common in the title to the personal property, that is in proportion to the spouse's net contributions to the personal property.

(2) If the spouses described in division (A)(1) of this section remarry each other and the title to the personal property continues to be held by them in accordance with that division, then the survivorship rights of the spouses are not terminated, and the spouses again hold title in the personal property for their joint lives and then to the survivor of them.

(B)(1) Unless the judgment or decree granting the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment specifically provides otherwise, and subject to division (B)(2) of this section, if the title to any personal property is held by more than two persons and at least two of the persons are married to each other, if the title is so held for the joint lives of the titleholders and then to the survivor or survivors of them, and if the marriage of any of the titleholders who are married to each other subsequently is terminated by a judgment or decree granting a divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment, then the survivorship rights of the titleholders who were married to each other terminate, the survivorship rights of the other titleholders are not affected, and each of the titleholders who were married to each other shall be deemed to be the owner of an undivided interest in common in the personal property, that is in proportion to the net contributions of the titleholders who were married to each other to the personal property.

(2) If the titleholders who were married to each other as described in division (B)(1) of this section remarry each other, and if the title to the personal property continues to be held by them, and the other titleholders whose survivorship rights continued unaffected, in accordance with that division, then the survivorship rights of the remarried titleholders are not terminated, and the remarried and other titleholders again hold title in the personal property for their joint lives and then to the survivor or survivors of them.

(C) An agent, bank, broker, custodian, issuer, life insurance company, plan administrator, savings and loan association, transfer agent, trustee, or other person is not liable in damages or otherwise in a civil or criminal action or proceeding for distributing or disposing of personal property in reliance on and in accordance with a registration in the form of a joint ownership for life, with rights of survivorship, as described in division (A)(1) or (B)(1) of this section, if both of the following apply:

(1) The distribution or disposition otherwise is proper;

(2) The agent, bank, broker, custodian, issuer, life insurance company, plan administrator, savings and loan association, transfer agent, trustee, or other person did not have any notice of the facts that resulted in the termination of the rights of survivorship by operation of division (A)(1) or (B)(1) of this section.

Section 5815.35 | General partners acting as fiduciary.

• Effective: October 12, 2016
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 158 - 131st General Assembly

(A)(1) As used in this division, "fiduciary" means any person, association, or corporation, other than a trustee of a testamentary trust, an assignee or trustee for an insolvent debtor, or a guardian under Chapter 5905. of the Revised Code, that is appointed by and accountable to the probate court, and that is acting in a fiduciary capacity for another or charged with duties in relation to any property, interest, or estate for another's benefit. A fiduciary also includes an agency under contract with the department of developmental disabilities for the provision of protective service under sections 5123.55 to 5123.59 of the Revised Code, when appointed by and accountable to the probate court as a guardian or trustee for a person with a developmental disability.

(2) A fiduciary who enters a contract as fiduciary on or after March 22, 1984, is not personally liable on that contract, unless the contract otherwise specifies, if the contract is within the fiduciary's authority and the fiduciary discloses that the contract is being entered into in a fiduciary capacity. In a contract, the words "fiduciary" or "as fiduciary" or other words that indicate one's fiduciary capacity following the name or signature of a fiduciary are sufficient disclosure for purposes of this division.

(B)(1) As used in this division, "partnership" includes a partnership composed of only general partners and a partnership composed of general and limited partners.

(2) Subject to division (D) of this section, an executor or administrator who acquires, in a fiduciary capacity, a general partnership interest upon the death of a general partner of a partnership is not personally liable for any debt, obligation, or liability of the partnership that arises from the executor's or administrator's actions, except as provided in this division, as a general partner, or for any debt, obligation, or liability of the partnership for which the executor or administrator otherwise would be personally liable because the executor or administrator holds the general partnership interest, if the executor or administrator discloses that the general partnership interest is held by the executor or administrator in a fiduciary capacity. This immunity does not apply if an executor or administrator causes loss or injury to a person who is not a partner in the partnership by a wrongful act or omission. This immunity is not available to an executor or administrator who holds a general partnership interest in a fiduciary capacity if the spouse or any lineal descendants of the executor or administrator, or the executor or administrator other than in a fiduciary capacity, holds any interest in the partnership.

A partnership certificate that is filed pursuant to Chapter 1777. or another chapter of the Revised Code and that indicates that an executor or administrator holds a general partnership interest in a fiduciary capacity by the use following the name or signature of the executor or administrator of the words "executor under the will of (name of decedent)" or "administrator of the estate of (name of decedent)" or other words that indicate the executor's or administrator's fiduciary capacity constitutes a sufficient disclosure for purposes of this division.

If a partnership certificate is not required to be filed pursuant to Chapter 1776. or 1777. or another chapter of the Revised Code, a sufficient disclosure for purposes of this division can be made by an executor or administrator if a certificate that satisfies the following requirements is filed with the recorder of the county in which the partnership's principal office or place of business is situated and with the recorder of each county in which the partnership owns real estate:

(a) The certificate shall state in full the names of all persons holding interests in the partnership and their places of residence;

(b) The certificate shall be signed by all persons who are general partners in the partnership, and shall be acknowledged by a person authorized to take acknowledgements of deeds;

(c) The certificate shall use the words "executor under the will of (name of decedent)" or "administrator of the estate of (name of decedent)" or other words that indicate the executor's or administrator's fiduciary capacity, following the name or signature of the executor or administrator.

A contract or other written instrument delivered to a party that contracts with the partnership in which an executor or administrator holds a general partnership interest in a fiduciary capacity, that indicates that the executor or administrator so holds the interest, constitutes a disclosure for purposes of this division with respect to transactions between the party and the partnership. If a disclosure has been made by a certificate in accordance with this division, a disclosure for purposes of this division with respect to such transactions exists regardless of whether a contract or other instrument indicates the executor or administrator holds the general partnership interest in a fiduciary capacity.

If an executor or administrator acquires, in a fiduciary capacity, a general partnership interest, the decedent's estate is liable for debts, obligations, or liabilities of the partnership.

(C) An estate that includes a general partnership interest is not liable for the debts, obligations, or liabilities of a partnership in which another estate has a general partnership interest, merely because the executor or administrator of the estates holds a general partnership interest in both of the partnerships in the executor's or administrator's fiduciary capacities.

(D) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section apply to general partnership interests held by executors or administrators in their fiduciary capacities prior to and on or after March 22, 1984. If an appropriate disclosure is made pursuant to division (B) of this section, the immunity acquired under that division extends only to debts, obligations, and liabilities of the partnership arising on and after the date of the disclosure and to debts, obligations, and liabilities of the partnership that arose prior to the acquisition of the general partnership interest by the executor or administrator becoming a general partner.

(E) The liability limitations in this section apply to fiduciaries as partners notwithstanding the broader personal liabilities otherwise imposed by any partnership law.

(F) If an estate or other fund held by a fiduciary is identified as a partner, the reference is deemed to be to, and the partner is, the current executor, administrator, or other fiduciary of the estate or other fund and their successors as executors, administrators, or other fiduciaries.

Section 5815.36 | Disclaiming testamentary and nontestamentary succession to real and personal property.

• Effective: March 27, 2013
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 479 - 129th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Disclaimant" means any person, any guardian or personal representative of a person or estate of a person, or any attorney-in-fact or agent of a person having a general or specific authority to act granted in a written instrument, who is any of the following:

(a) With respect to testamentary instruments and intestate succession, an heir, next of kin, devisee, legatee, donee, person succeeding to a disclaimed interest, surviving joint tenant, surviving tenant by the entireties, surviving tenant of a tenancy with a right of survivorship, beneficiary under a testamentary instrument, or person designated to take pursuant to a power of appointment exercised by a testamentary instrument;

(b) With respect to nontestamentary instruments, a grantee, donee, person succeeding to a disclaimed interest, surviving joint tenant, surviving tenant by the entireties, surviving tenant of a tenancy with a right of survivorship, beneficiary under a nontestamentary instrument, or person designated to take pursuant to a power of appointment exercised by a nontestamentary instrument;

(c) With respect to fiduciary rights, privileges, powers, and immunities, a fiduciary under a testamentary or nontestamentary instrument. Division (A)(1)(c) of this section does not authorize a fiduciary who disclaims fiduciary rights, privileges, powers, and immunities to cause the rights of any beneficiary to be disclaimed unless the instrument creating the fiduciary relationship authorizes the fiduciary to make such a disclaimer.

(d) Any person entitled to take an interest in property upon the death of a person or upon the occurrence of any other event.

(2) "Personal representative" includes any fiduciary as defined in section 2109.01 of the Revised Code and any executor, trustee, guardian, or other person or entity having a fiduciary relationship with regard to any interest in property passing to the fiduciary, executor, trustee, guardian, or other person or entity by reason of a disclaimant's death.

(3) "Property" means all forms of property, real and personal, tangible and intangible.

(B)(1) A disclaimant, other than a fiduciary under an instrument who is not authorized by the instrument to disclaim the interest of a beneficiary, may disclaim, in whole or in part, the succession to any property by executing and by delivering, filing, or recording a written disclaimer instrument in the manner provided in this section.

(2) A disclaimant who is a fiduciary under an instrument may disclaim, in whole or in part, any right, power, privilege, or immunity, by executing and by delivering, filing, or recording a written disclaimer instrument in the manner provided in this section.

(3) The written instrument of disclaimer shall be signed and acknowledged by the disclaimant and shall contain all of the following:

(a) A reference to the donative instrument;

(b) A description of the property, part of property, or interest disclaimed, and of any fiduciary right, power, privilege, or immunity disclaimed;

(c) A declaration of the disclaimer and its extent.

(4) The guardian of the estate of a minor or an incompetent, or the personal representative of a deceased person, whether or not authorized by the instrument to disclaim, with the consent of the probate division of the court of common pleas may disclaim, in whole or in part, the succession to any property, or interest in property, that the ward, if an adult and competent, or the deceased, if living, might have disclaimed. The guardian or personal representative, or any interested person may file an application with the probate division of the court of common pleas that has jurisdiction of the estate, asking that the court order the guardian or personal representative to execute and deliver, file, or record the disclaimer on behalf of the ward, estate, or deceased person. The court shall order the guardian or personal representative to execute and deliver, file, or record the disclaimer if the court finds, upon hearing after notice to interested parties and such other persons as the court shall direct, that:

(a) It is in the best interests of those interested in the estate of the person and of those who will take the disclaimed interest;

(b) It would not materially, adversely affect the minor or incompetent, or the beneficiaries of the estate of the decedent, taking into consideration other available resources and the age, probable life expectancy, physical and mental condition, and present and reasonably anticipated future needs of the minor or incompetent or the beneficiaries of the estate of the decedent.

A written instrument of disclaimer ordered by the court under this division shall be executed and be delivered, filed, or recorded within the time and in the manner in which the person could have disclaimed if the person were living, an adult, and competent.

(C) A partial disclaimer of property that is subject to a burdensome interest created by the donative instrument is not effective unless the disclaimed property constitutes a gift that is separate and distinct from undisclaimed gifts.

(D) The disclaimant shall deliver, file, or record the disclaimer, or cause the same to be done, prior to accepting any benefits of the disclaimed interest and at any time after the latest of the following dates:

(1) The effective date of the donative instrument if both the taker and the taker's interest in the property are finally ascertained on that date;

(2) The date of the occurrence of the event upon which both the taker and the taker's interest in the property become finally ascertainable;

(3) The date on which the disclaimant attains eighteen years of age or is no longer an incompetent, without tendering or repaying any benefit received while the disclaimant was under eighteen years of age or an incompetent, and even if a guardian of a minor or incompetent had filed an application pursuant to division (B)(4) of this section and the probate division of the court of common pleas involved did not consent to the guardian executing a disclaimer.

(E) No disclaimer instrument is effective under this section if either of the following applies under the terms of the disclaimer instrument:

(1) The disclaimant has power to revoke the disclaimer.

(2) The disclaimant may transfer, or direct to be transferred, to self the entire legal and equitable ownership of the property subject to the disclaimer instrument.

(F)(1) Subject to division (F)(2) of this section, if the interest disclaimed is created by a nontestamentary instrument, including, but not limited to, a transfer on death designation affidavit pursuant to section 5302.22 of the Revised Code, the disclaimer instrument shall be delivered personally or by certified mail to the trustee or other person who has legal title to, or possession of, the property disclaimed. If the interest disclaimed is created by a transfer on death designation affidavit pursuant to section 5302.22 of the Revised Code, the disclaimer instrument shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in which the real property that is the subject of that affidavit is located.

(2) If the interest disclaimed is created by a testamentary instrument, by intestate succession, or by a certificate of title to a motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor that evidences ownership of the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor that is transferable on death pursuant to section 2131.13 of the Revised Code, the disclaimer instrument shall be filed in the probate division of the court of common pleas in the county in which proceedings for the administration of the decedent's estate have been commenced, and an executed copy of the disclaimer instrument shall be delivered personally or by certified mail to the personal representative of the decedent's estate.

(3) If no proceedings for the administration of the decedent's estate have been commenced, the disclaimer instrument shall be filed in the probate division of the court of common pleas in the county in which proceedings for the administration of the decedent's estate might be commenced according to law. The disclaimer instrument shall be filed and indexed, and fees charged, in the same manner as provided by law for an application to be appointed as personal representative to administer the decedent's estate. The disclaimer is effective whether or not proceedings thereafter are commenced to administer the decedent's estate. If proceedings thereafter are commenced for the administration of the decedent's estate, they shall be filed under, or consolidated with, the case number assigned to the disclaimer instrument.

(4) If an interest in real estate is disclaimed, an executed copy of the disclaimer instrument also shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the real estate is located. The disclaimer instrument shall include a description of the real estate with sufficient certainty to identify it, and shall contain a reference to the record of the instrument that created the interest disclaimed. If title to the real estate is registered under Chapters 5309. and 5310. of the Revised Code, the disclaimer interest shall be entered as a memorial on the last certificate of title. A spouse of a disclaimant has no dower or other interest in the real estate disclaimed.

(G) If a donative instrument expressly provides for the distribution of property, part of property, or interest in property if there is a disclaimer, the property, part of property, or interest disclaimed shall be distributed or disposed of, and accelerated or not accelerated, in accordance with the donative instrument. In the absence of express provisions to the contrary in the donative instrument, the property, part of property, or interest in property disclaimed, and any future interest that is to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after the termination of the interest disclaimed, shall descend, be distributed, or otherwise be disposed of, and shall be accelerated, in the following manner:

(1) If intestate or testate succession is disclaimed, as if the disclaimant had predeceased the decedent;

(2) If the disclaimant is one designated to take pursuant to a power of appointment exercised by a testamentary instrument, as if the disclaimant had predeceased the donee of the power;

(3) If the donative instrument is a nontestamentary instrument, as if the disclaimant had died before the effective date of the nontestamentary instrument;

(4) If the disclaimer is of a fiduciary right, power, privilege, or immunity, as if the right, power, privilege, or immunity was never in the donative instrument.

(H) A disclaimer pursuant to this section is effective as of, and relates back for all purposes to, the date upon which the taker and the taker's interest have been finally ascertained.

(I) A disclaimant who has a present and future interest in property, and disclaims the disclaimant's present interest in whole or in part, is considered to have disclaimed the disclaimant's future interest to the same extent, unless a contrary intention appears in the disclaimer instrument or the donative instrument. A disclaimant is not precluded from receiving, as an alternative taker, a beneficial interest in the property disclaimed, unless a contrary intention appears in the disclaimer instrument or in the donative instrument.

(J) The disclaimant's right to disclaim under this section is barred if the disclaimant does any of the following:

(1) Assigns, conveys, encumbers, pledges, or transfers, or contracts to assign, convey, encumber, pledge, or transfer, the property or any interest in it;

(2) Waives in writing the disclaimant's right to disclaim and executes and delivers, files, or records the waiver in the manner provided in this section for a disclaimer instrument;

(3) Accepts the property or an interest in it;

(4) Permits or suffers a sale or other disposition of the property pursuant to judicial action against the disclaimant.

(K) Neither a fiduciary's application for appointment or assumption of duties as a fiduciary nor a beneficiary's application for appointment as a personal representative or fiduciary waives or bars the disclaimant's right to disclaim a right, power, privilege, or immunity as a personal representative or fiduciary or the beneficiary's right to disclaim property.

(L) The right to disclaim under this section exists irrespective of any limitation on the interest of the disclaimant in the nature of a spendthrift provision or similar restriction.

(M) A disclaimer instrument or written waiver of the right to disclaim that has been executed and delivered, filed, or recorded as required by this section is final and binding upon all persons.

(N)(1) The right to disclaim and the procedures for disclaimer established by this section are in addition to, and do not exclude or abridge, any other rights or procedures that exist or formerly existed under any other section of the Revised Code or at common law to assign, convey, release, refuse to accept, renounce, waive, or disclaim property.

(2) A disclaimer is not considered a transfer or conveyance by the disclaimant, and no creditor of a disclaimant may avoid a disclaimer.

(3) This section shall take precedence over any other section of the Revised Code that conflicts with this section.

(O)(1) No person is liable for distributing or disposing of property in a manner inconsistent with the terms of a valid disclaimer if the distribution or disposition is otherwise proper and the person has no actual knowledge of the disclaimer.

(2) No person is liable for distributing or disposing of property in reliance upon the terms of a disclaimer that is invalid because the right of disclaimer has been waived or barred if the distribution or disposition is otherwise proper and the person has no actual knowledge of the facts that constitute a waiver or bar to the right to disclaim.

(P)(1) A disclaimant may disclaim pursuant to this section any interest in property that is in existence on September 27, 1976, if either the interest in the property or the taker of the interest in the property is not finally ascertained on that date.

(2) No disclaimer executed pursuant to this section destroys or diminishes an interest in property that exists on September 27, 1976, in any person other than the disclaimant.

(Q) This section may be applied separately to different interests or powers created in the disclaimant by the same testamentary or nontestamentary instrument.

Section 5815.37 | Temporary conveyances.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) If any interest in real property held by any trustee of an express trust that is wholly or partially governed by a law of this state or any interest in real property located in this state that is held by the trustee of a trust wholly governed by the law of one or more jurisdictions other than this state is temporarily conveyed to any beneficiary of that trust and reconveyed back to any trustee of that trust, the interest in the real property shall be subject to divisions (B) and (C) of this section if all of the following apply:

(1) That temporary conveyance is for the principal purpose of enabling some or all of that interest in the real property to be used as collateral in a loan transaction.

(2) The loan proceeds will be delivered to the trustee of the trust or will otherwise be principally used for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries of the trust.

(3) The interest in the real property is reconveyed back to one or more trustees of the trust within a reasonable time after the reconveying beneficiary acquired actual notice that the lender has perfected the lender's collateral rights in and to the interest in the real property.

(4) The lender in question is any of the following:

(a) A bank, thrift, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or any other similar financial institution if the activities of the other similar financial institution are subject to supervision by the Ohio superintendent of financial institutions, the federal deposit insurance corporation, the comptroller of the currency, any other comparable state or federal regulatory agency or entity, or a successor of any of them;

(b) An insurance company subject to supervision by the Ohio department of insurance or any comparable agency established by the law of any other jurisdiction;

(c) Any other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other similar or comparable entity the routine and regular business activities of which commonly include the making of commercial or residential loans that are wholly or partially secured by real property.

(B) If a temporary conveyance and reconveyance of an interest in real property is made for the principal purpose of allowing a lender to acquire, perfect, foreclose on, or exercise collateral rights in and to the real property interest in question, the temporary conveyance to a beneficiary shall be disregarded for all other purposes, and the reconveyance back to a trustee shall relate back to the date immediately preceding that reconveyance on which the interest in the real property was transferred to any trustee of the trust in a transaction other than a loan transaction described in division (A)(1) of this section.

(C) In connection with any temporary conveyance and reconveyance of an interest in real property pursuant to division (A) of this section, the following shall survive unimpaired after any reconveyance back to a trustee made pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section:

(1) The rights, duties, and obligations of a lender under the documents governing the loan transaction, including, but not limited to, any of the following to the extent they are provided for in those documents:

(a) A lender's collateral rights in and to any interest in real property that is reconveyed to a trustee;

(b) The lender's rights under any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, encumbrance, or any other similar or comparable instrument or arrangement used to give the lender collateral rights in and to the interest being reconveyed, including, but not limited to, a lender's right to foreclose on that interest in real property;

(c) The lender's obligations to make loans or advances or to provide any person with any notice called for by the documents governing the loan transaction.

(2) The rights, duties, and obligations of any debtor under any documents governing the loan transaction, including, but not limited to, the following to the extent they are provided for in those documents:

(a) The duty to repay the lender or any other person who is entitled to receive payments under the documents governing the loan transaction;

(b) The duty to honor any agreements or covenants made by the debtor in the documents governing the loan transaction;

(c) The right to receive any advances, loans, notices, or other benefits called for by the documents governing the loan transaction.

(D) The following apply for purposes of division (A)(1) of this section:

(1) A court shall liberally construe the temporary conveyance to a beneficiary of the trust in question in determining whether the principal purpose of the temporary conveyance is to enable some or all of the interest in the real property to be used as collateral in a loan transaction.

(2) An interest in real property shall be considered to be used as collateral if, as part of a lending transaction, that interest is wholly or partially made subject to a mortgage, deed of trust, lien, encumbrance, or any other similar or comparable instrument or arrangement used to give the lender collateral rights in and to that interest.

(E) A court shall liberally construe division (A)(2) of this section in determining whether the loan proceeds referred to in that division will be principally used for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries of the trust in question.

(F) For purposes of division (A)(3) of this section, any reconveyance to a trustee shall be considered to have occurred within a reasonable time if it is made within one hundred twenty days of the date on which the reconveying beneficiary acquired actual notice that the lender has perfected the lender's collateral rights in and to the interest in the real property. In all other cases, a court shall consider all relevant facts and circumstances in determining whether a beneficiary has reconveyed the interest in the real property back to a trustee within a reasonable time after the reconveying beneficiary acquired that actual notice.

(G)(1) A court shall liberally construe division (A)(4) of this section in determining whether a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other similar or comparable entity qualifies as a lender within the meaning of that division.

(2) Subject to the rule of liberal interpretation set forth in division (G)(1) of this section, the Ohio superintendent of financial institutions may from time to time issue regulations setting forth a nonexhaustive list of entities that qualify as a lender within the meaning of division (A)(4) of this section and also may from time to time issue regulations setting forth specific entities or classes of entities that do not qualify as a lender within the meaning of that division.

(H) An interest in real property may be subject to or involved in more than one loan transaction undertaken pursuant to this section.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:57 PM

Section 5815.41 | Consignment of art works definitions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

As used in sections 5815.41 to 5815.48 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Art dealer" means a person engaged in the business of selling works of art, other than a person exclusively engaged in the business of selling goods at public auction.

(B) "Artist" means the creator of a work of art.

(C) "On consignment" means delivered to an art dealer for the purpose of sale or exhibition, or both, to the public by the art dealer other than at a public auction.

(D) "Work of art" means an original art work that is any of the following:

(1) A visual rendition including, but not limited to, a painting, drawing, sculpture, mosaic, or photograph;

(2) A work of calligraphy;

(3) A work of graphic art, including, but not limited to, an etching, lithograph, offset print, or silk screen;

(4) A craft work in materials, including, but not limited to, clay, textile, fiber, wood, metal, plastic, or glass;

(5) A work in mixed media, including, but not limited to, a collage or a work consisting of any combination of the items listed in divisions (D)(1) to (4) of this section.

Section 5815.42 | Art dealer's acceptance of work on consignment from artist.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

If an art dealer accepts a work of art, on a fee, commission, or other compensation basis, on consignment from the artist who created the work of art, the following consequences attach:

(A) The art dealer is, with respect to that work of art, the agent of the artist.

(B) The work of art is trust property and the art dealer is a trustee for the benefit of the artist until the work of art is sold to a bona fide third party or returned to the artist.

(C) The proceeds of the sale of the work of art are trust property and the art dealer is a trustee for the benefit of the artist until the amount due the artist from the sale is paid.

(D) The art dealer is strictly liable for the loss of, or damage to, the work of art while it is in the art dealer's possession or control. The value of the work of art is, for the purpose of this division, the value established in the written contract between the artist and art dealer entered into pursuant to section 5815.45 of the Revised Code.

Section 5815.43 | When work of art ceases to be trust property.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A) If a work of art is trust property under section 5815.42 of the Revised Code when it is initially received by the art dealer, it remains trust property, notwithstanding the subsequent purchase of the work of art by the art dealer directly or indirectly for the art dealer's own account, until the purchase price specified pursuant to division (A)(3) of section 5815.45 of the Revised Code is paid in full to the artist.

(B) If an art dealer resells a work of art that the art dealer purchased for the art dealer's own account to a bona fide third party before the artist has been paid in full, the work of art ceases to be trust property and the proceeds of the resale are trust funds in the possession or control of the art dealer for the benefit of the artist to the extent necessary to pay any balance still due to the artist. The trusteeship of the proceeds continues until the artist is paid in full under the contract entered into pursuant to section 5815.45 of the Revised Code.

Section 5815.44 | Work of art not subject to claims of creditors of art dealer.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

A work of art that is trust property under section 5815.42 or 5815.43 of the Revised Code is not subject to the claims, liens, or security interests of the creditors of the art dealer, notwithstanding Chapters 1301. to 1310. of the Revised Code.

Section 5815.45 | Written contract prerequisite for accepting work of art.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

(A) An art dealer shall not accept a work of art, on a fee, commission, or other compensation basis, on consignment from the artist who created the work of art unless, prior to or at the time of acceptance, the art dealer enters into a written contract with the artist that contains all of the following:

(1) The value of the work of art and whether it may be sold;

(2) The time within which the proceeds of the sale are to be paid to the artist, if the work of art is sold;

(3) The minimum price for the sale of the work of art;

(4) The fee or percentage of the sale price that is to be paid to the art dealer for displaying or selling the work of art.

(B) If an art dealer violates this section, a court, at the request of the artist, may void the obligation of the artist to that art dealer or to a person to whom the obligation is transferred, other than a holder in due course.

Section 5815.46 | Display conditions.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

An art dealer who accepts a work of art, on a fee, commission, or other compensation basis, on consignment from the artist who created the work of art shall not use or display the work of art or a photograph of the work of art, or permit the use or display of the work of art or a photograph of the work of art, unless both of the following occur:

(A) Notice is given to users or viewers that the work of art is the work of the artist;

(B) The artist gives prior written consent to the particular use or display.

Section 5815.47 | Waiver of provisions is void.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Any portion of an agreement that waives any provision of sections 5815.41 to 5815.48 of the Revised Code is void.

Section 5815.48 | Liability for violations.

• Effective: January 1, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 416 - 126th General Assembly

Any art dealer who violates section 5815.45 or 5815.46 of the Revised Code is liable to the artist for the artist's reasonable attorney's fees and in an amount equal to the greater of either of the following:

(A) Fifty dollars;

(B) The actual damages, if any, including the incidental and consequential damages, sustained by the artist by reason of the violation.