Ohio Small Estates: Release from Administration Under R.C. 2113.03 and Summary Release

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

This guide explains what Ohio offers in place of a small estate affidavit, who may use it, how the application is made and what the order does, and then lists the assets that pass by affidavit or designation without any estate proceeding. Every rule is cited to its section of the Ohio Revised Code as read on codes.ohio.gov, to the Supreme Court of Ohio's standard probate forms, or to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division's pages. It explains the statute in general terms and is not advice about a particular family's estate.

What the Revised Code provides instead

Chapter 2113 of the Revised Code, Executors and Administrators, lists every section with its title on codes.ohio.gov, and none of them is an affidavit for collecting the personal property of a decedent; the chapter's small estate sections are 2113.03, under which the court may order an estate released from administration, 2113.031, the summary release from administration, and 2113.04, payment of a deceased employee's wages without administration. The probate court's jurisdiction section lists, among the matters within its exclusive jurisdiction, applications for an order relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 and applications for a summary release under section 2113.031 (section 2101.24(A)(1)(aa) and (bb)). The Supreme Court of Ohio's list of standard probate forms for a decedent's estate runs from form 1.0 to form 13.12 and contains no small estate affidavit; its small estate forms are form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate From Administration, through form 5.6, Entry Relieving Estate from Administration, and form 5.10, Summary Release From Administration, with form 5.11, Entry Granting Summary Release From Administration. Both procedures therefore end in a court order, not in an affidavit presented to a bank. The enacted acts of the 136th General Assembly were searched for probate, estate, trust and will; the only probate act is House Bill 55 on fees for the administration of an estate, and neither 2113.03 nor 2113.031 shows any amendment since its only listed version.

Release from administration: the two limits

An estate may be released from administration if the value of the assets of the estate is thirty-five thousand dollars or less (section 2113.03(A)(1)). The limit rises to one hundred thousand dollars or less in two situations: the decedent left a valid will that devised and bequeathed all of the assets of the estate to a person named in the will as the decedent's spouse, and that person survived (section 2113.03(A)(2)(a)); or the decedent died without a valid will, is survived by a spouse whose marriage was solemnized consistently with chapter 3101 or a similar law of another state or nation, and the spouse is entitled to receive all of the assets under the intestacy statute, section 2105.06, alone or together with the allowance for support under section 2106.13(B)(1) or (2) (section 2113.03(A)(2)(b)). Under section 2105.06 the whole intestate estate goes to the spouse when there are no children or descendants, or when every surviving child of the decedent is also a child of the surviving spouse (section 2105.06(B) and (E)); where the decedent left a child who is not the spouse's child, the spouse takes a fixed sum and a fraction and the one hundred thousand dollar limit does not apply (section 2105.06(C) and (D)). The Franklin County court's small estates page puts the two tests in its own words: an estate is small when the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate and the gross estate is less than $100,000, or when someone other than a surviving spouse inherits and the entire gross estate is less than $35,000.

Who applies, and the notice

Any interested party may apply (section 2113.03(B)). Notice of the filing is given to the surviving spouse and heirs at law in the manner and for the length of time the probate court directs, and to all interested parties by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, unless the notices are waived or the court finds them unnecessary (section 2113.03(B)). When the court is satisfied that one of the two limits is met, it may enter an order relieving the estate from administration and directing delivery of personal property and transfer of real property to the persons entitled to it (section 2113.03(B)). If the decedent left a will, the will is presented for probate, and if admitted the court may relieve the estate and order distribution under the will (section 2113.03(F)). The standard forms are form 5.0, the application; form 5.1, Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved from Administration; form 5.2, Waiver of Notice; form 5.3, Notice of Application; forms 5.4 and 5.5 for publication and proof of publication; and form 5.6, the entry; form 1.0 lists the surviving spouse, children, next of kin, legatees and devisees. The Supreme Court's forms page says the forms are filed in the local county court and that the local court may have additional forms that must be filed.

Valuing the estate

When the estate is not composed entirely of money, stocks, bonds or other property of readily ascertainable value, its value is determined by an appraiser selected by the applicant, subject to the court's approval, and the appraiser's valuation is reported in the application (section 2113.03(C)). The amount delivered or transferred to the surviving spouse or minor children as the allowance for support is fixed under section 2106.13 (section 2113.03(D)), which sets the allowance at forty thousand dollars, payable entirely to the spouse when there are no minor children or when all the minor children are the spouse's (section 2106.13(A) and (B)(1) and (2)). The court may appoint a commissioner to sign the instruments of conveyance, receipt for the property, distribute proceeds on court order and report back (section 2113.03(E)).

What the order does, and what it does not do

An order relieving an estate from administration has the same effect as administration proceedings in freeing real property in the hands of an innocent purchaser for value from possible claims of unsecured creditors (section 2113.03(G)). Every delivery of personal property or transfer of real property under the order is made subject to the creditor claim limits in section 2117.06(B) and (C) (section 2113.03(H)), and that section requires all claims to be presented within six months after the death whether or not the estate is released from administration, after which they are forever barred (section 2117.06(B) and (C)). Where the estate includes real property, the order directing its transfer may be substituted for the certificate of transfer the court otherwise issues (section 2113.61(A)(1)). The release does not prevent a qualified person from applying instead for a summary release or for letters testamentary or of administration (section 2113.03(J)).

Summary release from administration

Section 2113.031 is narrower and faster. A person who is not the surviving spouse and who has paid, or is obligated in writing to pay, the decedent's funeral and burial expenses may apply when the value of the assets of the estate does not exceed the lesser of five thousand dollars or those expenses (section 2113.031(B)(1)). A surviving spouse may apply when the funeral and burial expenses have been prepaid, or the spouse has paid or is obligated in writing to pay them, and the value of the assets does not exceed the allowance for support under section 2106.13(A) that is distributable to the spouse under section 2106.13(B)(1) or (2) plus up to five thousand dollars of funeral and burial expenses (section 2113.031(B)(2)). For this section the surviving spouse means a spouse who survives with no minor children, or with minor children all of whom are children of both spouses (section 2113.031(A)(3)). Funeral and burial expenses means those in the bill of a funeral director, or other funeral expenses approved by the probate court (section 2113.031(A)(2)).

The application describes all assets known to the applicant, is in the form the Supreme Court prescribes, and is signed and acknowledged before a notary public or a deputy clerk of the probate court (section 2113.031(C)(2)(a) to (c)). For a motor vehicle it states the year, make, model, body type, vehicle identification number, title number and date of death value; for a financial institution account, the institution's name, the account number and the date of death balance; for stock or bonds, the number, serial numbers, issuer, values and transfer agent (section 2113.031(C)(2)(d)). It is accompanied by the receipt, contract or other document confirming payment or prepayment of the funeral and burial expenses, by an application for a certificate of transfer under section 2113.61 if real property is included, and by the fee under section 2101.16(A)(59) (section 2113.031(C)(3)). The court grants the release only if no administration or release proceeding is pending and no assets are known other than those described (section 2113.031(C)(4) and (5)). The order relieves the estate from administration, directs delivery of the personal property and its title to the applicant, and directs the transfer of title to any real property to the applicant (section 2113.031(D)); a certified copy of the order with a certified copy of the application is sufficient authority for a financial institution, corporation or clerk of a court of common pleas to transfer title to the applicant (section 2113.031(E)). The standard forms are form 5.10 and form 5.11.

The court fee

The fee for relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 or granting a summary release under section 2113.031 is $60.00, and twenty dollars of it is deposited in the county's indigent guardianship fund (section 2101.16(A)(59) and (C)). Section 2101.16 is as amended by House Bill 96 of the 136th General Assembly, the state operating budget, whose provisions are generally effective September 30, 2025. Counties add their own costs: the Franklin County court's small estates page lists court costs of $105.00 to $115.00 for its no administration process and $105.00 for a summary release.

How the Franklin County probate court handles small estates

The Supreme Court of Ohio's list of trial courts and the court's own site both name the Columbus court the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division; it has an Estates (Small) department at 373 South High Street, 22nd Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, telephone (614) 525-3894, open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with the cashier closing at 4:30 p.m. The department describes three processes: no administration, available when the estate meets the $100,000 or $35,000 limit; summary release from administration, for a non-spouse who paid the funeral and burial costs when the assets do not exceed $5,000 or those costs, whichever is less, and for a surviving spouse when the assets are under $40,000; and real estate only, for a decedent who owned real property, with the transfer based on the will or the statute of descent, provided six months have passed since the death and no creditor claims are pending. Applicants bring government issued identification, the original will, completed forms, a certified death certificate, proof of the funeral payment, verification of each asset such as bank statements, deeds and titles, marriage documentation where it applies, and the filing fee. The court's small estate forms page uses its own numbering built on the state forms, for example ePC-E-5.0 for the application to relieve the estate, PC-E-5.1 for the assets and liabilities, and PC-E-5.10A for the summary release application, and it requires proof of value of each asset listed on form PC-E-5.1 and a copy of the applicant's photo identification and paid funeral bill with the initial filing. It also lists a very small estates form, PC-5.1C, Application for Release of Asset(s) not to exceed $500.00, which is a Franklin County form and not a Revised Code procedure. Other counties publish their own forms and costs; the Columbus page describes the Franklin County office, and the Supreme Court's courts by county page links each county's probate division and local rules.

Wages paid without administration

Any employer, including the state or a political subdivision, may at any time after an employee's death pay all wages or personal earnings due, without letters testamentary or of administration and without an Ohio estate tax release if they do not exceed five thousand dollars, to the surviving spouse first, then to any one or more children eighteen or older, then to the father or mother (section 2113.04(A)). The payment fully discharges the employer, and if letters are later issued the recipient is liable to the executor or administrator for the sum received (section 2113.04(B)).

The spouse's automobiles: an affidavit to the clerk of courts

On the death of a married Ohio resident who owned at least one automobile, the surviving spouse may select one or more of the decedent's automobiles that are not already passing by survivorship title, by a transfer on death designation on the title, or by a specific gift in the will, up to a total value of sixty-five thousand dollars; the interest passes to the spouse on transfer of the title under section 4505.10, and the automobiles are not estate assets and are not inventoried (section 2106.18(A)). Automobile here includes a motorcycle and a truck the family used as a conveyance (section 2106.18(D)). The clerk of the court of common pleas transfers the titles on receipt of the titles and an affidavit by the spouse giving the date of death, stating that each automobile is not disposed of by will, and giving an approximate value and a description of each (section 4505.10(B)); the transfer does not affect liens (section 4505.10(B)). If the spouse selects more than one automobile, the $40,000 allowance for support is reduced by the value of the lowest valued one (section 2106.13(A)).

Accounts and vehicles that pass by designation

An owner may contract with a bank, building and loan or savings and loan association, credit union or society for savings to make a deposit, share account or certificate payable on death to a named beneficiary; during life the owner may withdraw as though no beneficiary were named and may change the beneficiary, and the beneficiary's interest does not vest until the owner's death (section 2131.10). Two persons may establish joint ownership with right of survivorship in a motor vehicle, all purpose vehicle, off highway motorcycle, watercraft or outboard motor, which then passes to the survivor on transfer of title and is not an estate asset (section 2131.12(B) and (C)). A sole owner may designate such a vehicle in beneficiary form on the certificate of title; the designation has no effect until death, may be cancelled or changed without the beneficiary's consent, and if no beneficiary survives the vehicle falls into the probate estate (section 2131.13(B), (E) and (F)). In each case the clerk transfers the title on presentation of the title and the death certificate (section 4505.10(C) and (D)).

Real property: the transfer on death designation affidavit

Ohio's affidavit for real property works before death, not after it. An owner, joining with his or her spouse if married, may designate real property as transferable on death by executing a transfer on death designation affidavit, verified before a person authorized to administer oaths, and recording it with the county recorder of the county where the land lies; to be effective it must be recorded before the owner's death (section 5302.22(B), (D) and (F)). On the death of a sole owner, title vests in the named beneficiary (section 5302.22(C)(1)); the recorder charges the same fee as for a deed (section 5302.22(E)). The designation does not affect present ownership, may be revoked by recording a new affidavit, and leaves mortgages and other liens in place; if no named or contingent beneficiary survives, the land becomes part of the probate estate (section 5302.23(B)(1), (4), (5) and (8)). The transfer on death guide covers the affidavit, and the probate process guide covers the full administration when none of these tools was used.

What a living trust changes

Assets titled in a revocable living trust are owned by the trustee, so they are not counted toward the $35,000 or $100,000 limit and are not delivered under a release order; the successor trustee distributes them under the trust's terms. The settlor may revoke or amend the trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable, and on revocation the trustee returns the property as the settlor directs (section 5806.02(A) and (D)). A house deeded to the trustee during life needs neither a release order nor a certificate of transfer. The Ohio living trust page lists the documents in the package and explains how each is signed.