Ohio Probate Lawyer Blog

Inheriting a family home may be bittersweet: you have the opportunity to carry on family traditions in the family homestead, but the fact that the home is in your hands means that some of the family is no longer there with you. For some people who inherit a home, though, it is more bitter than sweet. The logistical issues of dealing with the property outweigh any happy memories or hopes for future good times there. This is especially true for heirs who left home and moved across the country, only have to deal with their late loved ones' house back in Ohio.

What do you need to do if you inherit your parents' home, or that of another relative? Here are five things to put on your to-do list.

Secure the House and Plan for Maintenance

When you live in a home, you take care of it: mow the lawn, clean the house, repair things that are broken. When a house is unoccupied, the home's exterior and yard can quickly become unkempt, and issues like a leak or a burst pipe that would quickly be dealt with in an occupied home can go unnoticed, leading to significant damage. If possible, try to enlist the help of a trusted neighbor or nearby relative to regularly check on t… Read More

If you've recently been appointed executor of a loved one's estate, you've been hit with something of a double whammy: grief at the loss of someone close to you, and the responsibility of making sure their estate is appropriately managed and distributed. Particularly if you've never served as an executor before, you may find the documentation and dissemination of information to the court, heirs and creditors overwhelming. If you make errors, you could delay the administration of the estate, cost the estate money, or even be subject to personal liability.

If you're wise, you've already retained an experienced probate attorney to help you navigate the legal landscape of the probate process. But there are still tasks that you will be handling yourself. The good news is that increasingly, there is software and online tools for executors that can help make your part of the work easier and more organized.

Best Software and Online Tools for Executors

One such tool is EstateExec.com, which was developed by Daniel Stickel after he experienced challenges and frustration while serving as executo… Read More

You've been appointed executor of the estate of a loved one. Taking your responsibilities seriously, you undertake to locate and identify all of the deceased's assets for an inventory. It is not always easy to locate assets of a late family member. Especially if the deceased was a parent, you may have a pretty good idea of where to start; after all, you took dad to the bank every other week, so you know where his account was. But beyond checking and savings accounts, do you really know what assets he had? And how do you begin to find out?

Locating a loved one's assets is often challenging because we rarely have direct conversations with each other about exactly what we own and where it is. As an adult child, asking an aging parent about these matters can feel (to your parent or to you) as if you're just waiting for them to die so you can collect their wealth. While of course this is not the case, the discomfort of broaching the topic prevents most people from doing so. Then, one day, it's too late.

Here's a helpful guide on how to locate assets of a late family member so they can go through the Read More

Providing financially for children and grandchildren is one of the most satisfying ways to use the assets you've spent a lifetime accumulating. Of course, you have made an estate plan to dispose of your assets after you're gone, but you want to be able to have the joy of giving while you're still alive. Not only does giving during your lifetime allow you to experience the gratitude of your beneficiaries, but making lifetime gifts can be an excellent way to reduce your taxable estate.

As of 2017, you can make a gift of up to $14,000 as an individual (or $28,000 for a married couple) to a child or grandchild each year without incurring gift tax liability on that amount. This gift can be used for their education, travel, even a down-payment on a house when the time comes. But how you give the gift has a significant impact on the benefit you and the beneficiary will get out of it.

Limitations of Custodial Accounts and Regular Trusts

You don't want to give a large financial gift directly to a minor chil… Read More

Having a power of attorney in place is an essential part of your estate plan. A power of attorney can seamlessly transfer to a person you trust the authority to make decisions or transact business on your behalf as needed. You can have a power of attorney for financial matters or for health care. It can be effective immediately if you choose, or not take effect until you are incapacitated. Essentially, this document gives you control over who will manage your interests if you can't, and spare your family the cumbersome process of seeking guardianship over you if you are legally incapable of making your own decisions. But when should you revoke a power of attorney?

While it's good to have a power of attorney, the person you've chosen to hold that power, known as your agent, may need to change. Perhaps the person you intended to act on your behalf has moved away or is too ill or busy to accept this responsibility. Or, for whatever reason, you may decide that you don't trust the person as you once thought you did, or don't feel like they're the best fit for your needs.

It's important to be honest with yourself about this issue. When you choose an agent, you are entrus… Read More

In Ohio, a guardianship of the estate is terminated whenever the need for the guardianship no longer exists; this may be because the ward has regained the legal capacity to manage their own finances, because the ward has passed away, or because the assets in the ward's estate are so minimal that it is no longer necessary to have a guardian administer them. While marriage of a ward would terminate guardianship over the ward's person, it does not terminate guardianship over the estate.

If a ward's estate contains less than $25,000 in value, the Probate Court may determine that termination is appropriate. At that point, the court may direct that cash be deposited in a bank or other depository that is authorized to accept fiduciary funds in the name of an appropriate person the court has designated. If the assets in question do not consist of funds, the Probate Court may order that they be delivered to a suitable person that the court designates. That person must then follow the court's order as to disposition of the assets.

For whatever reason the court deems the guardianship no longer necessary, the guardian must file a final account before the guardianship will be t… Read More

Assuming guardianship of an adult's finances can require significant work on the part of a guardian, and guardians are entitled to be compensated for their work on behalf of their ward's estate. The Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, specifically Sup.R. 73(A), dictate that fees in an Ohio Guardianship, including compensation for Ohio guardians, is to be set by local rule.

Fees Payable to an Ohio Guardian

In Montgomery County, Local Rule 73.1 establishes provisions for guardian compensation. This rule permits guardians to take fees without application or a court order provided that those fees are equal to, or less than, the sum of:

• Five percent of income from the ward's intangible investment and deposits and installment receipts;
• 10% of gross rentals from real estate actually managed by the guardian;
• 0.25% of intangible personal property investments and deposits for each year of the accounting period; and
• 1% of distribution of personal property corpus at the conclusion of the gu… Read More

You've been appointed guardian of a loved one's estate due to their legal incapacity. Your primary obligation to your ward is to manage their estate for their best interests, but what exactly does that mean? Are there any actions you're specifically required to take? How much discretion do you have, and under what circumstances are you required to ask for probate court permission to take an action on behalf of your ward?

These are questions many Ohio residents have when they suddenly find themselves responsible for another person's finances. Whether you are taking charge of the estate of an elderly parent with dementia or a sibling or adult child with a traumatic brain injury, here are some things you must understand about managing the estate of a ward in Ohio.

Managing Funds and Real Property as Guardian of the Estate

If your ward has cash assets, you are required to deposit those funds into an interest-bearing account in a bank or savings and loan association located within the state of Ohio. If your ward is fortunate enough to have money in excess of what is needed to pay current obligations, you must invest those funds on their behalf. There is a varie… Read More