Ohio Small Estate Affidavit: Release From Administration Rules

Ohio has no small estate affidavit that lets a family member collect a deceased person's bank accounts or other property without going to court. Both Ohio routes that release an estate from full administration run through the probate court: release from administration under R.C. 2113.03, for estates worth $35,000 or less (or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse takes everything), and summary release from administration under R.C. 2113.031, for estates no larger than the funeral bill, capped at $5,000, or for a surviving spouse, the support allowance plus up to $5,000 for the funeral. Neither statute sets a waiting period after the death.

Both routes end in a court order, not a sworn statement handed to a bank. Ohio does have narrow affidavit-style rules outside the probate court, mainly a surviving spouse's vehicle transfer at the clerk of courts title office and an employer's payment of final wages to family. For how other states handle small estates, see our small estate affidavit rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-09. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Ohio's release from administration (R.C. 2113.03), summary release from administration (R.C. 2113.031), the probate fee for both (R.C. 2101.16(A)(59)), the six-month creditor claim period (R.C. 2117.06), a surviving spouse's vehicle and boat transfers (R.C. 2106.18, 2106.19 and 4505.10), payment of a deceased employee's wages (R.C. 2113.04) and the Medicaid estate recovery affidavit to a bank (R.C. 2113.041). It does not cover full probate administration, who inherits under Ohio law, Ohio estate tax, or other states' procedures.

Does Ohio have a small estate affidavit?

No. Chapter 2113 of the Ohio Revised Code, which governs estate administration, contains no procedure that lets an heir collect a decedent's property by signing an affidavit and presenting it to the holder. The routes in that chapter that avoid a full administration are:

• R.C. 2113.03, "Court may order estate released from administration."
• R.C. 2113.031, "Summary release from administration."
• R.C. 2113.04, which lets an employer pay a deceased employee's wages to family members without letters.
• R.C. 2113.041, which lets the administrator of Ohio's Medicaid estate recovery program present an affidavit to a bank, a tool for the state, not for heirs.

Both release routes require an order from the probate court. If you were expecting to sign a form at the bank, plan instead on filing an application with the probate court in the county where the person lived and asking the clerk what that court requires.

Ohio's small estate options at a glance

Release from administration: the $35,000 and $100,000 limits

R.C. 2113.03(A) lets the probate court relieve an estate from administration when either of two tests is met:

"(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:"

The two situations that follow in the statute both involve a surviving spouse who receives the whole estate: one where the will leaves all of the estate's assets to the surviving spouse named in it, and one where there is no will and the surviving spouse is entitled to everything under Ohio's intestacy and support-allowance rules (R.C. 2105.06 and 2106.13).

These are fixed amounts written into the statute and are not adjusted for inflation. The official Ohio code site shows R.C. 2113.03 was last amended effective January 13, 2012.

What counts toward the limit

The statute measures "the value of the assets of the estate." It does not say whether that value is gross or net of mortgages and other liens, or whether property that passes outside probate (such as joint accounts or payable-on-death accounts) is counted. The official Form 5.1, "Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved From Administration," lists the estate's real estate and other assets and, separately, its debts. Ask the probate court how it applies the limit before you file.

When the estate is close to the limit and is not made up entirely of money, stocks, bonds or other property with a readily ascertainable value, R.C. 2113.03(C) says its value "shall be determined by an appraiser selected by the applicant, subject to the approval of the court."

Form 5.1 also tells applicants to omit the value of automobiles a surviving spouse selects under R.C. 2106.18 when computing total assets (see the vehicle section below).

Who can apply, notice and timing

Any interested party can apply. Under R.C. 2113.03(B), the court acts "after notice of the filing of the application has been given to the surviving spouse and heirs at law in the manner and for the length of time the probate court directs, and after notice to all interested parties by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, unless the notices are waived or found unnecessary."

There is no fixed post-death waiting period in the section. The time the process takes depends on the notice the court orders.

If the person left a will, R.C. 2113.03(F) requires that "the will shall be presented for probate." If it is admitted, the court may relieve the estate from administration and order distribution under the will.

What the order does

When the court is satisfied that a limit is met, it "may enter an order relieving the estate from administration and directing delivery of personal property and transfer of real property to the persons entitled to the personal property or real property." The order works for both bank accounts and a house.

For real estate, R.C. 2113.03(G) gives the order "the same effect as administration proceedings in freeing real property in the possession or under the control of an innocent purchaser for value from possible claims of unsecured creditors." The court may also appoint a commissioner to sign the deeds needed to carry out the transfer. For how deeds are recorded once the order issues, see our guide to Ohio property records.

Two limits stay in place after release:

• Under R.C. 2113.03(H), any delivery or transfer under the order "is made subject to the limitations pertaining to the claims of creditors set forth in divisions (B) and (C) of section 2117.06 of the Revised Code."
• Under R.C. 2113.03(I), release "does not affect any duty of any person to file an estate tax return and certificate under division (A) of section 5731.21 of the Revised Code."

Steps for release from administration

1. List the assets and their values. Use an appraiser approved by the court for property that is not readily valued.
2. Present any will for probate if the person left one.
3. Prepare the Supreme Court of Ohio forms: Form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate From Administration, with Form 5.1 (assets and liabilities) and Form 1.0 (next of kin). Form 5.0 is dated 1999 and its printed dollar checkboxes predate the current limits; R.C. 2113.03 now sets $35,000 and $100,000. Ask the probate court whether it uses a current local version.
4. File with the probate court and pay the $60 statutory fee under R.C. 2101.16(A)(59), plus any deposit or certificate costs the county charges.
5. Give the notice the court orders to the surviving spouse and heirs, and newspaper notice unless it is waived or found unnecessary.
6. Use the court's order to collect personal property and transfer real property to the persons entitled to it.

Summary release from administration: the funeral-cost route

Summary release under R.C. 2113.031 is narrower and faster than release from administration. It is not a $35,000 route. It exists for two situations.

A person other than the spouse who paid for the funeral. The statute applies "If the value of the assets of the decedent's estate does not exceed the lesser of five thousand dollars or the amount of the decedent's funeral and burial expenses." The applicant must be a person "who is not a surviving spouse and who has paid or is obligated in writing to pay the decedent's funeral and burial expenses, including a person described in section 2108.89 of the Revised Code." For example, if the funeral cost $4,000, an estate worth $4,500 does not fit, because the lower figure, $4,000, is the limit.

A surviving spouse. A surviving spouse can use summary release when the estate is worth no more than the spouse's allowance for support under R.C. 2106.13, which is $40,000, plus up to $5,000 for funeral and burial expenses that were prepaid or that the spouse paid or is obligated in writing to pay. If the surviving spouse took more than one automobile under R.C. 2106.18, R.C. 2106.13(A) reduces the $40,000 allowance by the value of the lowest-valued automobile selected, which lowers this limit. Under R.C. 2113.031(A)(3), the spouse route is available only if the decedent left no minor children, or left minor children who are all children of both the decedent and the surviving spouse.

The $5,000 figure is fixed in R.C. 2113.031 and the $40,000 allowance is fixed in R.C. 2106.13(A); neither is indexed.

What the application needs

The application must describe all known assets with their date-of-death values and must be made on the form the Supreme Court of Ohio prescribes, Form 5.10, Application for Summary Release From Administration. Under R.C. 2113.031 it must have "been signed and acknowledged by the applicant in the presence of a notary public or a deputy clerk of the probate court."

Filed with it:

• The receipt or contract showing the funeral and burial expenses.
• "An application for a certificate of transfer as described in section 2113.61 of the Revised Code, if an interest in real property is included in the assets of the decedent's estate" (Forms 12.0 and 12.1).
• The fee under R.C. 2101.16(A)(59), which is $60.

Form 5.10 is used with Form 5.11 (the entry the court signs) and Form 1.0 (next of kin). County courts publish their own packets with local requirements, for example the Butler County Probate Court summary release packet, so check your county court's list before filing.

What the court must find

The court grants the order only if, among other findings, "there are no pending proceedings for the administration of the decedent's estate and no pending proceedings for relief of the decedent's estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code," and "there are no known assets of the decedent's estate other than the assets described in the application."

If those requirements are met, R.C. 2113.031(D) says "the probate court shall issue an order that grants a summary release from administration."

What the order does

The order "directs the delivery to the applicant of the decedent's personal property together with the title to that property" and "directs the transfer to the applicant of the title to any interests in real property included in the decedent's estate." The property goes to the applicant.

Under R.C. 2113.031(E), a certified copy of the order together with a certified copy of the application "constitutes sufficient authority for a financial institution, corporation, or other entity or person" covered by R.C. 5731.39, "or for a clerk of a court of common pleas to transfer title to an asset of the decedent's estate to the applicant." That is what you show the bank or the title office.

Cars and other vehicles

Ohio's vehicle rules work separately from the probate release routes and have three tracks.

Surviving spouse, up to $65,000. Under R.C. 2106.18, a surviving spouse may take the decedent's interest in one or more automobiles that do not pass by survivorship, transfer-on-death designation or will. Automobiles include motorcycles and trucks used as a family conveyance. The statute says the total "of the values of the automobiles selected by a surviving spouse under this division, as specified in the affidavit that the surviving spouse executes pursuant to division (B) of section 4505.10 of the Revised Code, shall not exceed sixty-five thousand dollars." Under R.C. 4505.10(B), "A clerk shall transfer a decedent's interest in one or more automobiles to the surviving spouse ... upon receipt of the title or titles," with the spouse's affidavit. Selecting more than one automobile reduces the spouse's $40,000 support allowance by the value of the cheapest automobile selected (R.C. 2106.13(A)).

Survivorship or transfer-on-death titles. A vehicle titled with a survivorship or transfer-on-death designation passes on the title plus the death certificate at the clerk of courts title office, under R.C. 4505.10(C) and (D).

Everyone else. Otherwise, under R.C. 4505.10(A), the clerk may issue a title on the affidavit of the person in possession of the vehicle together with the journal entry, court order or instrument that transfers it, such as a release order under R.C. 2113.03 or 2113.031. Ask the county clerk of courts title office which Bureau of Motor Vehicles forms it uses.

Boats. Under R.C. 2106.19, a surviving spouse may also take one watercraft, one watercraft trailer and one outboard motor not left by will, by presenting the title (if titled) and a sworn affidavit to the clerk of the court of common pleas. These items are not estate assets.

Final wages

R.C. 2113.04(A) lets an employer, "at any time after the death of an employee," pay "all wages or personal earnings due to the deceased employee" to family members in this order of preference: the surviving spouse, then children who are 18 or older, then a parent. The employer may do so "without requiring letters testamentary or letters of administration to be issued upon the estate of the deceased employee, and without requiring an Ohio estate tax release if the wages or personal earnings do not exceed five thousand dollars."

Payment fully discharges the employer. The person who receives the wages remains answerable: "If letters testamentary or letters of administration are thereafter issued upon the estate of the deceased employee, any person receiving payment of wages or personal earnings under that division is liable to the executor or administrator for the sum received by the person."

Unclaimed funds held by the state

The Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds publishes a Table of Heirship form for heirs claiming a deceased owner's funds. The form states: "This document can only be used for claims less than $ 3000." It is signed under penalty of perjury and requires a certified, unredacted death certificate.

For larger claims, the Division asks for probate documents. Which ones it accepts, including whether a summary release order qualifies, is set by the Division, so contact it before filing. See our page on Ohio unclaimed property for how to search.

Creditors, Medicaid recovery and false statements

Six-month claim period. R.C. 2117.06(B) requires that "all claims shall be presented within six months after the death of the decedent, whether or not the estate is released from administration or an executor or administrator is appointed during that six-month period." Under R.C. 2117.06(C), a claim not presented within six months "shall be forever barred as to all parties, including, but not limited to, devisees, legatees, and distributees." Both rules have an exception in R.C. 2117.061. A release order does not cut this period short.

Medicaid estate recovery. Under R.C. 2113.041(A), the administrator of Ohio's Medicaid estate recovery program "may present an affidavit to a financial institution requesting that the financial institution release account proceeds to recover the cost of services correctly provided to a medicaid recipient who is subject to the medicaid estate recovery program." If the person received Medicaid, expect the state to have a claim, and some county packets ask about it.

False statements. The release statutes do not set their own penalty for a false application. Ohio's general falsification statute, R.C. 2921.13, makes falsification a first-degree misdemeanor in most cases, with felony levels in some situations involving theft offenses. The summary release application is signed and acknowledged before a notary or deputy clerk, so treat every statement in it as one you may have to answer for.

Watch out: Summary release sends the estate's property to the applicant, and a release from administration sends it to the persons entitled to it. Neither order ends the six-month creditor period under R.C. 2117.06, so paying out everything to family before that period runs can leave the recipients facing a valid claim.

When you need full probate instead

The release routes are available only when every statutory condition is met. Expect to need a full administration when:

• The estate's assets are worth more than $35,000, or more than $100,000 when the surviving spouse takes the whole estate.
• The estate is larger than the summary release limits and does not fit release from administration either.
• The court is not satisfied that a limit is met, or interested parties dispute who is entitled to the property.

Our guide to Ohio probate explains how a full administration works.

Pending changes

As of October 9, 2026, no amendment to R.C. 2113.03, 2113.031 or 2113.04 was pending. House Bill 446 of the 136th General Assembly, a trust and probate bill, was in Senate committee, and its title does not list any of those three sections.

Related

• Small estate affidavit rules by state
• Ohio probate
• Ohio unclaimed property
• Ohio property records
• Indiana small estate affidavit
• Pennsylvania small estate affidavit

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Ohio's small estate procedures under the Ohio Revised Code (R.C. 2113.03, 2113.031, 2113.04, 2113.041, 2101.16, 2106.13, 2106.18, 2106.19, 2117.06 and 4505.10), verified on 2026-10-09. It is not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact the probate court in the county where the person lived, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Ohio.

Last updated: 2026-10-09.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ohio have a small estate affidavit?

No. Ohio law has no procedure for collecting a decedent's property by affidavit alone. The small estate routes are release from administration (R.C. 2113.03) and summary release from administration (R.C. 2113.031), and both require a probate court order.

What is the small estate limit in Ohio?

Release from administration under R.C. 2113.03 is available for estates of $35,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is entitled to the whole estate. Summary release under R.C. 2113.031 is limited to the lesser of $5,000 or the funeral and burial expenses for a non-spouse, or the $40,000 support allowance (reduced if the spouse took more than one car under R.C. 2106.18) plus up to $5,000 for a surviving spouse.

How long after death can I apply for release from administration in Ohio?

Neither R.C. 2113.03 nor R.C. 2113.031 sets a waiting period after the death. For release from administration, the court sets the notice to the spouse and heirs. Creditors still have six months after the death to present claims under R.C. 2117.06.

Does an Ohio small estate need to be filed with the probate court?

Yes. Both release from administration and summary release are applications to the probate court, and the property is released by court order. The statutory fee for either is $60 under R.C. 2101.16(A)(59), and counties may add deposits or certificate costs.

Can I transfer a house without full probate in Ohio?

Possibly. An order under R.C. 2113.03 directs the transfer of real property to the persons entitled to it, and summary release under R.C. 2113.031 transfers real property when an application for a certificate of transfer under R.C. 2113.61 is filed with it. The estate must still fit the applicable dollar limit.

How does a surviving spouse transfer a car in Ohio?

Under R.C. 2106.18 and 4505.10(B), the surviving spouse presents an affidavit and the title to the county clerk of courts. The combined value of the automobiles selected this way cannot exceed $65,000, and the rule covers vehicles that do not pass by survivorship, transfer-on-death designation or will.

How do I get a deceased family member's final paycheck in Ohio?

R.C. 2113.04 lets the employer pay all wages due to the surviving spouse, then adult children, then a parent, without letters of administration. No Ohio estate tax release is required if the wages are $5,000 or less, and the person paid must account for the money if an executor or administrator is later appointed.

Who can apply for summary release from administration in Ohio?

A person who is not the surviving spouse and who paid or is obligated in writing to pay the funeral and burial expenses, or the surviving spouse. The application is made on Supreme Court of Ohio Form 5.10 and signed before a notary or a deputy clerk of the probate court.