Cost context
Use the selected county probate court schedule for an exact filing total.
No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule.
Ohio route screening
Ohio small-estate limit: $35,000
The ordinary ceiling is $35,000. It rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is entitled to all estate assets. A separate, smaller procedure — summary release from administration under O.R.C. 2113.031 — is available to a person who paid the funeral and burial expenses when the assets do not exceed the lesser of $5,000 or those expenses, or to a surviving spouse up to the statutory support allowance plus up to $5,000 for funeral and burial.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Threshold evidence and currency
What the reviewed source establishes
Currency: Creditor claims are barred six months after the date of death under O.R.C. 2117.06(B), and that period runs whether or not an executor or administrator is appointed within it.
Controlling citation: Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.03(A) — Effective: January 13, 2012.
Verbatim threshold text from that source:
(A) Subject to division (I) of this section, an estate may be released from administration under division (B) of this section if either of the following applies: (1) The value of the assets of the estate is thirty-five thousand dollars or less. (2) The value of the assets of the estate is one hundred thousand dollars or less and either of the following applies:
What the Ohio amount screen counts
The headline limit is not a count of everything the person owned. It is a test of the property and deductions named by this procedure. Classify title and beneficiary status first; property that transfers by a valid survivorship right, beneficiary designation, or funded trust follows its own transfer path.
This screen counts the probate estate within the statute’s stated scope, not merely cash accounts. Solely owned real property can therefore affect the amount test. That does not necessarily mean the same simplified procedure transfers the house; counting scope and transfer authority are separate questions.
The reviewed value basis is gross for this route. The tool does not subtract a mortgage or other lien from the amount test unless the cited rule says to do so.
Timing and facts the threshold cannot answer
The cited section states no universal waiting period for the value-based route. This site records that as “none stated,” not as permission to file immediately: will status, prior appointments, notices, family rights, and local filing instructions can still control.
A separate surviving-spouse ceiling of $100,000 appears in the reviewed rule. The relationship and inheritance condition must be true; checking a spouse box does not decide a disputed family or will question.
What does not qualify for this route
- An estate above $35,000 does not qualify for this value-based route, unless the separately described alternate route applies.
- Property that transfers by survivorship, beneficiary designation, or a funded trust is not probate property for this screen.
- A pending or completed personal-representative appointment, a will condition, creditor issue, or family-rights condition can disqualify the route even when the amount appears within the reviewed rule.
Move from the screen to the official Ohio path
Assemble the death date, will status, asset titles, beneficiary confirmations, values, enforceable liens, family facts, and any prior court filing before signing anything. Then use the court publisher’s current artifact for the selected route.
- Form 5.10, Summary Release From Administration — Supreme Court of Ohio. Standard probate form adopted for use in every Ohio probate court.
- Ohio standard probate forms, decedent estates — Supreme Court of Ohio
Ohio adopts statewide standard probate forms, but each county probate court sets its own filing charges and local rules.
If the state publishes no statewide form, that is a finding—not a missing link. Contact the Probate Court or clerk in the proper county for its packet and current filing instructions rather than borrowing an unofficial form from another county.
Questions to resolve before relying on “likely qualifies”
- Actual filing totals vary by probate court.
- The simplified procedure requires a court application.
- Summary release from administration (O.R.C. 2113.031) is a distinct, smaller track from the $35,000/$100,000 release from administration: it is limited to the lesser of $5,000 or the decedent's funeral and burial expenses for a person who paid them, or, for a surviving spouse, the statutory support allowance plus up to $5,000 for funeral and burial. Form 5.10 is the application.
- Executor compensation is not a single percentage of one figure. O.R.C. 2113.35(A) pays 4%/3%/2% on personal property and realty sold, while subsection (B) adds 1% on real property that is not sold and 1% on certain non-probate property, so the total depends on the estate accounting rather than on the probate value alone.
- Creditor claims are barred six months after the date of death under O.R.C. 2117.06(B), and that period runs whether or not an executor or administrator is appointed within it.
- Confirm deed, account title, beneficiary, and trust ownership from the actual records.
- Confirm whether a will, prior appointment, creditor issue, or family allowance changes the route.
- Confirm the official form, fee, copy count, and filing method with the receiving court or institution.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
Ohio eligibility map
What the Ohio simplified route still requires
The Ohio threshold is one screen, not a complete legal conclusion. This map pairs the recorded ceiling with the property scope, deductions, date, and court artifact that have to be checked before relying on a likely-qualifies result.
| Question | Recorded Ohio answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Release from administration | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $35,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No universal waiting period stated; Ohio bars creditor claims six months after the decedent's death (O.R.C. 2117.06(B), (C)). The period runs from death, not from publication, actual notice, or appointment of the executor or administrator. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. | Ask the Probate Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Ohio applies a percentage schedule — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000 — to personal property and the proceeds of real property that is sold (O.R.C. 2113.35(A)). Section 2113.35(B) then allows a separate 1% fee on the value of real property that is not sold, and a further 1% on certain non-probate property that would have been includable for Ohio estate tax (excluding joint-and-survivorship property). Because that 1% real-property component rests on a base the asset list does not supply on its own, the schedule above is not applied to a single combined figure. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Eligibility inputs
The Ohio screen is made of these inputs
A threshold is useful only when the amount is measured the way the source describes. Keep this table with the asset worksheet so an empty or misclassified field cannot look like a confirmed qualification.
| Input | Registry record |
|---|---|
| Threshold | $35,000 |
| Property scope | probate property within the rule's stated scope |
| Value basis | gross value for this route |
| Waiting period | No universal waiting period stated |
| Required extra facts | None listed in the registry |
| Surviving-spouse ceiling | $100,000 |
Case-file context
Keep the Ohio answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Ohio descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Compensation context
Ohio applies a percentage schedule — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000 — to personal property and the proceeds of real property that is sold (O.R.C. 2113.35(A)). Section 2113.35(B) then allows a separate 1% fee on the value of real property that is not sold, and a further 1% on certain non-probate property that would have been includable for Ohio estate tax (excluding joint-and-survivorship property). Because that 1% real-property component rests on a base the asset list does not supply on its own, the schedule above is not applied to a single combined figure.
Ohio applies a percentage schedule — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000 — to personal property and the proceeds of real property that is sold (O.R.C. 2113.35(A)). Section 2113.35(B) then allows a separate 1% fee on the value of real property that is not sold, and a further 1% on certain non-probate property that would have been includable for Ohio estate tax (excluding joint-and-survivorship property). Because that 1% real-property component rests on a base the asset list does not supply on its own, the schedule above is not applied to a single combined figure. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Ohio bars creditor claims six months after the decedent's death (O.R.C. 2117.06(B), (C)). The period runs from death, not from publication, actual notice, or appointment of the executor or administrator.
- Actual filing totals vary by probate court.
- The simplified procedure requires a court application.
- Summary release from administration (O.R.C. 2113.031) is a distinct, smaller track from the $35,000/$100,000 release from administration: it is limited to the lesser of $5,000 or the decedent's funeral and burial expenses for a person who paid them, or, for a surviving spouse, the statutory support allowance plus up to $5,000 for funeral and burial. Form 5.10 is the application.
- Executor compensation is not a single percentage of one figure. O.R.C. 2113.35(A) pays 4%/3%/2% on personal property and realty sold, while subsection (B) adds 1% on real property that is not sold and 1% on certain non-probate property, so the total depends on the estate accounting rather than on the probate value alone.
- Creditor claims are barred six months after the date of death under O.R.C. 2117.06(B), and that period runs whether or not an executor or administrator is appointed within it.
Court-material note: Ohio adopts statewide standard probate forms, but each county probate court sets its own filing charges and local rules.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Ohio amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Ohio ceiling is $35,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $26,300 sits below the Ohio figure and $43,800 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Ohio counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Ohio ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $26,300 | Below $35,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $43,800 | Above $35,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Use the calculator for arithmetic, then verify title, timing, and the receiving court's form.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Form 5.10, Summary Release From AdministrationSupreme Court of Ohio
- Ohio standard probate forms, decedent estatesSupreme Court of Ohio
Ohio adopts statewide standard probate forms, but each county probate court sets its own filing charges and local rules.
Source trail
Records used by this Ohio map
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.03(A)Ohio Revised Code, Release from Administration; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2101.16Ohio Revised Code, Probate Court Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.031(B)Ohio Revised Code, Summary Release From Administration; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.35Ohio Revised Code, Executor and Administrator Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2117.06(B)Ohio Revised Code, Presentation of Creditor Claims; reviewed August 7, 2026
Controlling source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Ohio Rev. Code § 2113.03(A)
Reviewed source note: (A) Subject to division (I) of this section, an estate may be released from administration under division (B) of this section if either of the following applies: (1) The value of the assets of the estate is thirty-five thousand dollars or less. (2) The value of the assets of the estate is one hundred thousand dollars or less and either of the following applies: