Ohio Small Estates Affidavit | Form 5.10

The Ohio Small Estates Affidavit, officially known as the Form 5.10, is a two (2) page document used for collecting the estate of an individual (the “decedent”) that passed away. The form is used for going around the more standard probate process, which would require the family of a deceased person to go to court to have the possessions of the deceased distributed. With an affidavit, a single heir can complete the form and use it to collect all belongings of the decedent. Banks, for example, would not transfer the balance of a bank account unless presented with the form.

Requirements

Maximum Estate Value: For spouses: $100,000; For non-spouses: $35,000

Required Conditions: The following steps must be followed in order to execute an affidavit in Ohio:

1. The applicant must file the application with the probate court (if the decedent died with a will, it must also be presented to the court).
2. A notice must be given of the filing to the surviving spouse and any heirs according to the probate court’s instructions.
3. A notice of the filing must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county (the court can decide to not order this).
4. The applicant must wait for the court’s ruling on whether or not the estate may be relieved from administration (the probate process).