A Small Estate
ORC 2113.03 — the ceilings that keep an estate out of full probate
Full administration of an estate means an executor or administrator appointed, an inventory, accounts and a file that stays open for months. Two sections let a small estate skip most of that, and they are not the same section with two numbers. They have different ceilings and different applicants.
Section 2113.03 is release from administration. The probate court may order an estate released where the value of the assets of the estate is thirty five thousand dollars or less. The ceiling rises to one hundred thousand dollars or less where the decedent devised and bequeathed all of the assets of the estate, in a valid will, to a person named in the will as the decedent's spouse, and the decedent is survived by that person.
Section 2113.031 is summary release from administration, which is smaller and aimed at a different problem: somebody has paid for a funeral out of an estate that has almost nothing in it. A person who is not the surviving spouse, and who has paid or is obligated in writing to pay the funeral and burial expenses, may apply where the value of the assets does not exceed the lesser of five thousand dollars or the amount of those expenses.
A surviving spouse has their own version of the same application. Where the funeral and burial expenses have been prepaid, the spouse may apply where the value of the assets does not exceed the allowance for support made to the surviving spouse and minor children, plus an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars for funeral and burial expenses.
| Section | Who applies | The ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| ORC 2113.03 | Any interested person | Thirty five thousand dollars in assets |
| ORC 2113.03 | Where a will left everything to the surviving spouse | One hundred thousand dollars in assets |
| ORC 2113.031 | Someone other than the spouse who paid the funeral | The lesser of five thousand dollars or the funeral bill |
| ORC 2113.031 | The surviving spouse, funeral prepaid | The support allowance plus up to five thousand for funeral and burial |
Funeral and burial expenses, for the purposes of the summary release section, means either the expenses included in a funeral director's bill or funeral expenses not included in that bill which the probate court has approved. An applicant brings a receipt, contract, written declaration or other document confirming the payment or the obligation to pay, an application for a certificate of transfer where real property is involved, and the fee.
The figure for the allowance for support, how assets are valued, which assets are counted at all, the forms each probate court uses and its filing fee are set elsewhere in the Revised Code and by each county's probate court, and are not reproduced here. Property that passes outside an estate, such as a survivorship interest or an account with a named beneficiary, is a separate question this page does not answer. Every county probate court publishes its own release from administration packet, and whether a particular estate qualifies is a question for that court and for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- ORC 2113.03 — Court may order an estate released from administration
- ORC 2113.031 — Summary release from administration, and the funeral bill it is measured against
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.