How to Avoid Probate in Ohio

TL;DR:

Probate, the court process of settling and administrating an estate, can consume 3 to 7% of your estate’s value and delay inheritance for months or even years. In Ohio, thoughtful planning using trusts, proper titling, and beneficiary designations can help you avoid probate entirely, saving your family time, money, and stress.

How to Avoid Probate in Ohio

You’ve worked hard to build your assets and provide for your family. The last thing you want is for them to spend months in probate court, paying thousands in fees, just to access what you left them. Fortunately, there’s a better way.

What Is Probate?

Probate is the legal process of verifying a will, paying debts, and distributing assets after death. It’s handled through your county probate court in Ohio, which supervises every step. If you have no will, the court applies Ohio’s intestate succession laws, deciding who inherits based on statutory order, not personal wishes. Even with a simple will, your executor must still file documents, obtain court approval, and wait for creditor deadlines to expire before distributing funds.

What Does Probate Actually Cost?

Probate costs aren’t just emotional. They’re financial. The financial costs associated with the probate process can total between 3% and 7% of the estate’s value, once you factor in attorney fees, executor compensation, appraisal costs, and court filing fees.  On a $750,000 estate, that’s $22,500 to $52,500 gone before your family receives anything.

The average probate timeline in Ohio ranges from 6 months to 2 years, depending on asset complexity and family dynamics. During that time, your heirs may not be able to access property or investment accounts, and any disputes can stretch the process further.

What Are Common Ohio Probate Pitfalls?

Unclear asset titling happens when property is listed only in one name, with no joint ownership or TOD (transfer on death) designation. Outdated wills that don’t match current assets or beneficiaries create confusion. Business interests held personally mean companies owned in an individual’s name must go through probate. And accounts without named beneficiaries, like retirement or insurance accounts without designations, default into probate.

How Can You Avoid Probate?

A proactive plan can make probate unnecessary or at least minimize it dramatically. At SS+D Law in Dayton, we guide families and business owners through proven strategies that keep control in their hands, not the court’s.

Use a Revocable Living Trust

A trust holds your assets while you’re alive and passes them directly to beneficiaries at death, without court involvement. It provides privacy by avoiding public court records, efficiency because assets transfer immediately, and control since you can still change or dissolve it anytime.

Title Assets Properly

Ensure real estate, vehicles, and accounts are titled to your trust or designated as transfer on death (TOD) or payable on death (POD). This small step can save months of delay.

Update Beneficiaries

Review your life insurance, IRA, and 401(k) beneficiary designations every few years, especially after major life events like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child.

Simplify Business Ownership

Place company shares or interests into a trust or holding company to prevent operational interruptions at death.

Maintain an Organized Estate Binder

SS+D provides each client with a single, comprehensive binder that contains all trust documents, powers of attorney, directives, and asset records so families can locate everything instantly when the time comes.

When Can’t Probate Be Avoided?

Some assets, such as property inherited unexpectedly or discovered later, may still pass through probate. In these cases, having clear legal documents and a named executor helps streamline proceedings and reduce costs.

What Makes SS+D Different?

Most law firms see probate as a transaction. We see it as an opportunity to create clarity, compassion, and order for families. By working directly with partners Josh Schierloh and Heather Duffey Welbaum, you receive sophisticated planning that’s practical, personal, and built for your family’s future.

Keep your estate out of court and in your family’s control.

Schedule a free consultation with SS+D Law in Dayton to design your probate-proof estate plan.