• Maximum estate value: $35,000 ($100,000 if spouse is sole beneficiary)^[1]
• Mandatory waiting period: Not mentioned in state statutes.
• Where to file: Probate Court^[2]

To qualify as a small estate, the total value of the decedent’s assets must be under $35,000 or $100,000 if^[3]:

• The decedent left a will entitling the spouse to all of the decedent’s assets; or
• The decedent left no will, and the spouse is entitled to all of the decedent’s assets under Ohio’s intestacy laws.

The applicant must prepare an inventory of the estate using the Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved from Administration (Form 5.1) with an appraiser.^[4]

The applicant must also identify all parties entitled to the decedent’s assets using the Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees and Devisees (Form 1.0).

The applicant must submit the completed Application to Release Estate from Administration, Form 5.1, Form 1.0, and will (if any) to the probate court. The court will give an amount of time during which notices should be sent to the parties indicated in Form 1.0 (unless notices are waived in the Application) and for a notice to be published in a newspaper (if applicable).^[5]

Following the expiration of the notice and publication period, the court will hold a hearing on the date stated on the Application. If approved, the court will relieve the estate from administration, and the applicant may collect and distribute the property to the inheritors.