Probate

If you have been chosen to serve as an executor of an estate in Ohio, you will have a number of legal duties and responsibilities. Before beginning your responsibilities, you must be appointed by the court to serve as executor of the estate. If the decedent chose you...

If a person passes away with a will, they most likely have named an executor in their will to manage their estate following their death. However, if the person died without a will, you and others may petition the court to serve as administrator of the estate. The...

You and your family member knew each other for years. Perhaps, this family member was a parent, or maybe the family member was just a close friend. Either way, this person trusted you to be their executor after they died, and that unfortunate even has occurred. Now...

In probate law, the role of the executor is of paramount importance. They hold a lot of responsibility for ensuring a will is probated properly and in a timely manner. But there are times when a beneficiary may believe the executor is not properly doing their job. In...

Generally speaking, it is a good idea for an Ohio resident to use a power of an attorney to appoint what is called an attorney-in-fact. Basically, the attorney-in-fact, or agent, has broad power to handle the person’s, called a principal’s, finances and business...

One of the most basic and at the same time most important documents of an estate plan in Ohio is a will. This document states people’s wishes for who will receive their property when they pass away, but the will still needs to go through the probate process to...

There is a lot of talk about the importance of avoiding probate by creating a trust. Whether to prepare a will, which involve probating an estate in Ohio’s courts, or a trust, which would get administered outside of court, is a choice that will depend on an...

Ohio allows several estate planning devices so that people can prepare for a possible disability. Residents of the Dayton area may, for instance, use a durable power of attorney to appoint a loved one or other trusted person to make important financial decisions...

Being an estate executor can be complicated and time consuming. But having a plan can help make these duties go smoothly. Executors An executor is the estate’s personal representative and is legally responsible for protecting the deceased person’s home, savings and...

Like other states, Ohio has what are called intestate succession laws which spell out what will happen to a resident’s property should she die without leaving a will. These laws only apply to a Dayton resident’s probate property. In other words, even if someone leaves...