Ohio probate code · checked October 2026

Ohio Small Estate: The Limit, the Tracks, and the Form

Ohio has no general affidavit for estates. Its shortcut is a court track — Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03) — with its own ceiling of $35,000. Release from Administration can direct delivery of personal property AND transfer of real property — the house rides inside Ohio's summary tracks rather than closing the door. Ohio sets no waiting period for its affidavit.

Run the free Ohio check

The Ohio line, in facts

The paper: Ohio Probate Form 5.0 - Application to Relieve Estate from Administration.

How it moves: filed with the court — a court paper, not an envelope.

The wait: no statutory waiting period.

For a surviving spouse: Higher tier is spousal: $100,000 if the surviving spouse takes everything, either devised/bequeathed all assets in a valid will naming the spouse, or intestate and entitled to all assets under ORC 2105.06 / 2106.13 (ORC 2113.03(A)(2)). General tier is $35,000.

The tracks in Ohio

Track	Limit	How it works
Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03)	$35,000 (spouse: $100,000)	Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03) is a probate-court application (Form 5.0): estates of $35,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the sole heir or beneficiary and takes everything. Below it sits Summary Release (ORC 2113.031) — up to $5,000 toward funeral and burial for the person who paid or is obligated.

What catches families in Ohio

Ohio has NO out-of-court small-estate affidavit for personal property — charts giving Ohio an 'affidavit cap' are conflating it with Release from Administration, which is court-filed.
Ohio's transfer-on-death for real estate is a TOD Designation Affidavit recorded with the county — not a deed, despite what form sites call it.

Vehicles in Ohio

Vehicles are transferred through the probate court's release/summary-release order (county courts require title/value documentation per vehicle); Ohio also has separate TOD vehicle registration under ORC 4503.071, outside the estate cap.

Debts, and the signer's duty

Release is a court order after notice to spouse, heirs and interested parties (publication unless waived); applicant must satisfy the court the statutory tier is met - no out-of-court affiant debt-priority undertaking as in Illinois.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: ORC 2113.03(A)(1)-(2); ORC 2113.03(B); ORC 2113.031 (Summary Release from Administration); ORC 5302.22 (TOD Designation Affidavit); ORC 2106.13. This page reads the published law; it is not legal advice, and the court is the final word.

← All 50 state pages · Guides