Once the Ohio probate estate has been administered by the executor or administrator, the final step is filing the final account.
Accounts Of Ohio Fiduciaries
Final Account: An account showing complete administration before distribution of assets shall be designated “final account.”
Account of Distribution: An account filed subsequent to the final account and showing distribution of assets shall be designated “account of distribution.”
Final and Distributive Account: An account showing complete administration and distribution of assets shall be designated “final and distributive account.”
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2109.30.
What Is Included In a Final Account For an Ohio Estate?
The final account of an Ohio probate estate is required to include an itemized statement of all receipts of the administrator or executor during the accounting period, as well as accounting for all of the disbursements and distributions made by the executor or administrator during the accounting period. The final account must also include a statement of the assets, investments, and funds of the estate at the end of the accounting period. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2109.301(A). The administrator or executor must sign the account.
What Is the Deadline To File a Final Account?
The deadline for the Ohio administrator or executor to file the final account of the estate is within six months after appointment. The Ohio executor or administrator must render a final account within 30 days after completing the administration of the estate, or within any other period of time as the Court may order. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2109.301(A).
The deadline to file the final account is extended if:
- The will is contested
- The surviving spouse elects to take against the will
- The Ohio administrator or executor is a party in a civil action
- The estate is insolvent
- The will provides for a posthumously born child (a child born after the decedent’s death)
- For other reasons set forth by the administrator or executor, subject to court approval, it would be detrimental to the estate and its beneficiaries or heirs to file a final and distributive account
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2109.301(B)(1).
Accounts In Estates Where The Sole Legatee, Devisee, Or Heir Is Also the Administrator Or Executor Of the Ohio Estate
In estates of decedents in which the sole legatee, devisee, or heir is also the administrator or executor of the estate, no partial accountings are required. The administrator or executor of an Ohio estate of that type shall file a final account or final and distributive account or, in lieu of filing a final account, the administrator or executor may file with the court within thirty days after completing the administration of the estate a certificate of termination of an estate that states all of the following:
- All debts and claims presented to the estate have been paid in full or settled finally.
- An estate tax return, if required under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or Chapter 5731. of the Revised Code, has been filed, and any estate tax has been paid.
- All attorney’s fees have been waived by or paid to counsel of record of the estate, and all executor or administrator fees have been waived or paid.
- The amount of attorney’s fees and the amount of administrator or executor fees that have been paid.
- All assets remaining after completion of the activities described in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (d) of this section have been distributed to the sole legatee, devisee, or heir.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2109.301(B)(2).
Who Gets Notice Of the Final Account?
An Ohio administrator or executor filing an account pursuant to section 2109.301 of the Revised Code shall provide at the time of filing the account a copy of the account to each heir of an intestate estate or to each beneficiary of a testate estate.
