Ohio route screening
The ordinary ceiling is $35,000.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
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.
Threshold evidence and currency
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:
| Procedure | Release from administration |
|---|---|
| What counts | The probate estate within the statute’s scope, so solely owned real property can count |
| Value basis | Gross value; liens are not subtracted |
| Waiting period | None stated in the cited section |
| Surviving-spouse ceiling | $100,000 |
The Ohio caveats that can change this answer are listed once, on the Ohio overview.
What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.
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:
Ohio record: 5/5 verified, 16 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction