Dayton Living Trust: Montgomery County Probate Court and Deed Recording

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published October 4, 2026. Last reviewed October 4, 2026.

Which county this page covers

This page covers Montgomery County. The county's Probate Court and its Recorder and Auditor all give Dayton addresses, 41 N. Perry Street and the County Administration Building at 451 West Third Street, and the Probate Court's About page says it serves "the citizens of Montgomery County". Under Ohio Rev. Code 2107.11 a will is admitted to probate "In the county in this state in which the testator was domiciled at the time of the testator's death", and a transfer on death designation affidavit or memorandum of trust is recorded in the county where the real property is located (5302.22 and 5301.255). A Dayton address in another county is served by that county's probate court, auditor and recorder.

The Montgomery County Probate Court

The court's About page says "The probate judge is also the Clerk of the Probate Court", that "The Probate Court possesses exclusive jurisdiction over the administration of estates and trusts, appointment of guardians for incompetents and estates of minors, adoptions, the issuance of marriage licenses, name changes, commitment of the mentally ill and various other actions", and that "we have implemented e-filing". Its Case Type page defines the case: "An estate is a type of case that is opened when an individual dies leaving assets that have not been transferred by contract, such as joint and survivorship property or property with beneficiary designations, which are called probate assets." The statute, Ohio Rev. Code 2101.24(A)(1), lists the court's exclusive jurisdiction "To take the proof of wills", "To grant and revoke letters testamentary and of administration", and to hear applications for relief from administration under 2113.03 and summary release under 2113.031; its jurisdiction over "Any action that involves an inter vivos trust" is concurrent with the general division (2101.24(B)(1)(b)).

E-filing and fees

The E-Filing page says "The Montgomery County Probate Court is E-Filing all Civil, Miscellaneous, Estate, Trust, Adoption and Guardianship cases", and the court's pro se information sheet for relief from administration says "Attorneys are required to e-file", while a person without an attorney may either bring "the necessary paperwork, supporting documents and your payment to the Probate Court" or "e-file remotely". If you need the court's help e-filing, "you will need to arrive no later than 3:30 pm". The Estate page adds: "A filing fee is required when you open an estate. The amount of the fee is based upon the type of estate you are opening. There may be additional court cost required during the administration of the estate. We do not accept personal checks. We accept filings by mail."

The Fees page also links the court's deposits chart, which this page does not quote; ask the court for the current deposit for your type of estate.

The statute behind those costs is Ohio Rev. Code 2101.16, amended by House Bill 96 of the 136th General Assembly (the operating budget, effective September 30, 2025). Its items include $15.00 for "Probating will", $60.00 for "Relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code or granting an order for a summary release from administration under section 2113.031", $7.00 for the "Transfer of real property, application, entry, and certificate for", $5.00 for "Deposit of will" and $12.00 for an account, and division (E) allows a court to require "an advance deposit for costs, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars" when an executor or administrator applies or a will is presented.

The three estate procedures

The Estate page says "The three main types of probate procedures are: Summary Release From Administration, Release of Estate From Administration, Full Administration", and that "Personnel of this court are not allowed to give you information on the different methods of probate and/or to advise you which forms to use." For the release of estate from administration it says the forms "can be used in cases in which the decedent died on or after November 9, 1994 and the estate has assets of $35,000 or less. If there is a surviving spouse, and he or she is entitled to receive all of the assets of the estate, these forms can be used in cases in which the decedent died on or after March 18, 1999 and the estate has assets of $100,000 or less." Those are the limits in Ohio Rev. Code 2113.03(A): "thirty-five thousand dollars or less", or "one hundred thousand dollars or less" where everything passes to the surviving spouse by will or under 2105.06. The court's pro se sheet adds that the spouse must be married "by a statutory marriage and not by a common law marriage", and that "Generally, any asset held solely in the name of the person who has died must pass through the probate process. Assets held in a joint survivorship form, payable on death form or in a transfer on death form are generally not subject to the probate process."

For the summary release the page gives $5,000 "for deaths on or after October 12, 2006" where the applicant paid or is responsible for the funeral bill, or $45,000 for a surviving spouse who "must be entitled to the entire support allowance provided for under Section 2106.13 of the Revised Code" with the funeral expenses prepaid or owed by the spouse, which tracks 2113.031. Real estate in either procedure may be valued at "The 100% tax value" from the county's real estate tax information site, with a copy attached to the application; other assets without "a readily ascertainable value" need a court appointed appraiser. The Estate page describes a full administration as "more involved" and says the court "would encourage any person interested in pursuing a full administration to retain experienced probate counsel"; its steps include an inventory "within three 3 months" of appointment and a final account that "may be due within six 6 months". The Ohio release from administration guide covers the standard forms.

The allowance for support

Ohio Rev. Code 2106.13 (effective August 17, 2021, House Bill 7 of the 134th General Assembly) entitles the surviving spouse, minor children or both to "the sum of forty thousand dollars as an allowance for support", distributed "one hundred per cent to the surviving spouse" if there are no minor children or all of them are the spouse's, and otherwise in equitable shares fixed by the court. It "shall be considered estate assets". The $45,000 summary release limit for a spouse on the court's page is this allowance plus up to $5,000 of funeral and burial expenses under 2113.031(B)(2).

Recording a deed with the Montgomery County Recorder

Section 317.32 (effective October 24, 2024, Senate Bill 94 of the 135th General Assembly) sets "A base fee of seventeen dollars for the first two pages and a housing trust fund fee of seventeen dollars, and a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars for each subsequent page" plus "A document preservation surcharge of up to five dollars", which together make the $39.00 and $8.00.

The Document Preparation Checklist lists what a deed needs: "Exact recording fees", with checks "payable to the Montgomery County Recorder"; a clear 3 inch "margin at the top of the first page or a $20 fee will be added"; "Original signatures that have been signed and acknowledged in front of a valid notary"; "On Deeds the Marital Status of the Grantor must be set out. The Grantor's spouse must release dower rights by signing the document in front of a valid notary even if he or she was not on the original deed"; "A full legal description of the property including the 'situated in' clause"; "A preparation statement" naming "the person who prepared the document"; and "A self-addressed stamped envelope", because "Documents are held overnight to secure imaging and returned the next business day". The FAQ adds that a deed needs the "Transfer or No Transfer stamp from the Auditor's Deed Transfer Department and the Engineer's approval" where the property requires it. The checklist closes by saying that its staff cannot "give legal advice or assist in the completion of documents."

E-recording does not cover deeds. The eRecording page says "The Recorder's Office is now accepting all non-transfer documents through eRecording. Deeds and/or documents requiring a 'No Transfer' stamp such as Transfer on Death Designations, Easements, Affidavits referencing a Deed, etc. will still need to be mailed or walked through the Auditor's Deed Transfer Department before recording." Paper documents "are recorded the same day they are received in the mail, in person, or once transferred by the Auditor's Deed Transfer Department".

Step one: the Auditor's Deed Transfer Department

The Auditor's Deed Transfer page says the Auditor "is responsible for maintaining the accuracy of these records by means of a 'deed transfer' for every parcel of real estate in Montgomery County. This procedure is required for the transfer to be considered a legal transaction." It states: "There is a mandatory conveyance/transfer fee of $3 per $1,000 of the actual sale price and $.50 for each parcel of property that is transferred", and links the "Real Property Conveyance Fee Statement of Value and Receipt" and the "Statement of Reason for Exemption from Real Property Conveyance Fee". The statute behind the forms is Ohio Rev. Code 319.202 (effective September 30, 2025, House Bill 96): before the auditor indorses a deed the grantee submits a statement "declaring the value of real property", or "when the transfer is exempt under division (G)(3) of section 319.54 of the Revised Code only a statement of the reason for the exemption". Section 319.54(G)(3) exempts, among others, a transfer "To a trustee of a trust, when the grantor of the trust has reserved an unlimited power to revoke the trust", and a transfer back "To the grantor of a trust by a trustee of the trust" under the power to revoke; 319.54(G)(2) still charges "fifty cents for each transfer or entry". The county's Standards Governing Conveyance of Real Property, adopted August 2, 2021, put the burden on the grantee: "the burden to prove that a parcel(s) is exempt must be presented to the Auditor. If a question exists as to whether a conveyance is exempt or not, the fee will be charged or the parcel(s) will not be conveyed."

Those standards also speak to trusts after a trustee dies or resigns. Section 8 says the successor trustee "must present an affidavit to the County Auditor and file an affidavit with the County Recorder, in accordance with O.R.C. 5302.171", naming the trustee who ceased serving, any other trustee, the deed that vested title in the trustee and the legal description, unless "a memorandum of trust, in compliance with O.R.C. 5301.255, that contains relevant facts pertaining to the succession of trustees, is recorded in the Office of the County Recorder."

The memorandum of trust after Senate Bill 101

Senate Bill 101 of the 136th General Assembly, effective June 16, 2026, amended Ohio Rev. Code 317.08 and 5301.255 "to require a memorandum of trust or other qualifying instrument concerning real property to be recorded". Section 5301.255(A) now provides that a memorandum of trust, executed and acknowledged by the trustee and stating the trustee's name and address, "The date of execution of the trust" and the trustee's powers over real property, "shall be of record when any interest in real property is conveyed by the trustee of a disclosed trust, and in circumstances other than the conveyance of real property may be presented" to the recorder of any county where the trust's real property lies. It "shall constitute notice only of the information contained in it", and the recorder files it under 317.08(A)(17) if it describes specific real property or (A)(23) if it does not, for the fee in 317.32.

What a living trust changes for a Dayton homeowner

The Montgomery County Probate Court opens an estate for "assets that have not been transferred by contract", and the court's own sheet says that "any asset held solely in the name of the person who has died must pass through the probate process". A home deeded during the owner's life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is not held solely in the owner's name at death, so it passes under the trust rather than through a release from administration or a full administration with its inventory, creditor claims and accounts. The cost of that is one trip to 451 W. Third Street: the Deed Transfer Department with the exemption statement and $0.50 per parcel, then the Recorder with $39.00 for the first two pages and a self-addressed stamped envelope. A transfer on death designation affidavit under Ohio Rev. Code 5302.22, which the recorder records "in the same manner as deeds are recorded" for the deed fee, is the other route the county's pages mention, and it too must go through the Deed Transfer Department for a "No Transfer" stamp. What stays in the owner's own name follows the Ohio probate process guide.