Frequently Asked Questions

Not necessarily. A house avoids probate when it passes automatically outside the estate — for example through a recorded Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit or a survivorship deed naming a co-owner. A house titled solely in the decedent's name, with no such arrangement in place, generally must go through one of Ohio's three probate pathways.

Full Administration (ORC Chapter 2113) is the default process with no value limit and applies to most estates that include a house. Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03) is a simplified alternative for estates valued at $35,000 or less, or up to $100,000 when the surviving spouse inherits everything, and it can still transfer real estate through a court-appointed commissioner.

Yes, if the will grants a testamentary power of sale, which lets the executor sell at public or private sale without a separate court order. Without that power, the fiduciary needs either the written consent of the surviving spouse and all heirs, or a court-approved Land Sale Action.

Ordinary Full Administration estates typically run about 6 to 12 months from opening the case to closing the sale. Land sale actions — needed when the heirs cannot all consent or the estate must sell to pay debts — tend to run longer, roughly 9 to 15 months. A clean, uncontested Release from Administration can often resolve within a few months.

The commission comes out of the estate, calculated under ORC 2113.35 at 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000 of personal property, income, and real estate sale proceeds. Family members serving as executor often waive it, since it is taxable income rather than tax-free inheritance.

No. Ohio repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2013, and the repeal is still in effect. Ohio also does not levy an inheritance tax on beneficiaries who receive the house.

Ohio runs an expanded Medicaid estate recovery program (ORC 5162.21) for decedents age 55 or older who received benefits. The executor must send a recovery notice within 30 days of appointment (ORC 2117.061), and the program then has 90 days from that notice, or one year from death, whichever is later, to respond — a window that can outlast the general six-month creditor deadline. Distributions are typically held until the Department of Medicaid responds.

A Certificate of Transfer (ORC 2113.61) is a court order, not a deed, issued when a house passes to heirs in kind rather than being sold by the fiduciary. The court must issue it within five days of a compliant application, and once it is recorded, the heirs own the house outright and can sell it without further probate involvement.

Under ORC 2113.03, the standard threshold is $35,000 in gross estate value. That threshold rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.

Gross value, not equity. A mortgaged house still counts toward the threshold at its full value, so an outstanding loan balance does not lower an estate's gross value for eligibility purposes.

Yes, as a matter of statute. ORC 2113.03(E) lets the probate court appoint a commissioner to execute the conveyance that moves real property to the heirs. In practice, though, current Columbus-area home values mean most estates that hold a house exceed the $35,000 or $100,000 ceiling and end up in Full Administration instead.

A Summary Release, under ORC 2113.031, is reserved for much smaller estates — at or below $5,000, or limited to funeral and burial costs (with a spousal variant of funeral costs up to $5,000 plus a $40,000 spousal support allowance under ORC 2113.031(B)(2)). That ceiling is generally too low to cover a house.

A Certificate of Transfer, issued under ORC 2113.61, is a court order rather than a deed. The court must issue it within five days of a compliant application. Once it is recorded with the county recorder, the heirs hold clear title and can sell the property as ordinary owners.

A clean release often resolves within a few months, faster than the roughly 6 to 12 months typical of Full Administration. Timelines stretch when paperwork is incomplete or an heir contests the filing.

Yes. Ohio's general creditor window under ORC 2117.06 runs six months from the date of death regardless of which probate pathway an estate uses, and late claims are barred after that. Distributing assets before the window closes can expose an executor or administrator to personal liability.

Often, yes. A house can be listed and sold while the probate case is still open, as long as the executor holds a valid power of sale, filed consents, or land sale authority. Sale proceeds go into the estate account and stay there until debts are settled and the court approves distribution — the sale itself does not have to wait for the case to close.

Without unanimous consent, the executor generally cannot complete a simple consent sale. The usual next step is a Land Sale Action under ORC Chapter 2127, an adversarial case inside the probate court that names heirs and lienholders as defendants. Ohio law allows the court to order a sale when it is necessary, or when at least half of the interested parties consent and the sale serves the estate's best interest (ORC 2127.04).

Generally no. A testamentary power of sale in the will lets the executor sell the house at public or private sale without a separate court order for that transaction. Title companies will still want to see certified Letters of Authority and confirmation that the will's language grants that power.

Ohio uses a tiered statutory scale (ORC 2113.35): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000, applied to personal property, income, and the gross proceeds of real estate actually sold. A $350,000 house sale with no other assets produces roughly $11,500 in commission. Family executors often waive it, since the commission counts as taxable income.

It can, if the deceased was 55 or older and received Medicaid. Ohio's expanded recovery program (ORC 5162.21) gives the Department of Medicaid 90 days from the recovery notice, or one year from the date of death, whichever is later, to act — a window that can outlast the general six-month creditor period. Distributions commonly stay frozen until that claim is released or resolved.

With clean paperwork and signed waivers, Franklin County typically issues Letters of Authority within a few weeks. A contested appointment or missing waivers can stretch the process into months. E-filing is mandatory, and using current forms from the court portal — the court revised many local forms in early 2026 — helps avoid delays.

If the deceased recorded a Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit (ORC 5302.22) before death, the house generally passes directly to the named beneficiaries once they record an Affidavit of Confirmation (ORC 5302.222(B)) along with the death certificate. Title passes by operation of law and never enters the probate estate, so there is no six-month creditor wait and no executor commission on the house — most of the steps described above for full administration simply do not apply in that situation.