Ohio estate administration

Ohio small-estate limit: $35,000

Ohio calls its simplified procedure release from administration and provides a higher limit when a surviving spouse receives the entire estate.

Sources reviewed August 7, 2026

Answer first

Release from administration

The ordinary ceiling is $35,000. It rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is entitled to all estate assets.

Read the eligibility details

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$35,000

The ordinary ceiling is $35,000. It rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is entitled to all estate assets.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

Varies locally

Use the selected county probate court schedule for an exact filing total.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Statutory schedule

Ohio applies a percentage schedule to personal property and sale proceeds, with separate treatment for real property.

Compensation detail

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Actual filing totals vary by probate court.
  • The simplified procedure requires a court application.
  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

What Ohio courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Ohio adopts statewide standard probate forms, but each county probate court sets its own filing charges and local rules.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.