Bond, Notices and Fiduciary Duties for an Ohio Estate

Being appointed executor or administrator is an honor and a responsibility. The probate court is trusting you to act for everyone with an interest in the estate, and in a wrongful death case that usually means your whole family. This chapter explains the bond, the notices you must give, your core duties, and the inventory that comes due three months after appointment.

None of this is meant to frighten you. Most of it is simple record-keeping. The people who get into trouble as fiduciaries usually do so by mixing money, missing deadlines, or not telling the court where they live.

What a "fiduciary" is

A fiduciary is someone appointed by the probate court and accountable to it for property or interests held for others. Before letters issue, you sign a written acceptance acknowledging that you can be removed for failing to perform your duties and that you face possible penalties for converting property you hold as a fiduciary (R.C. 2109.02). The statewide application includes that acceptance (Form 4.0), and Montgomery County also requires its own Form 4.8, Fiduciary's Acceptance (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 60.1(B)).

The bond

What it is

A fiduciary's bond is a kind of insurance for the estate. If the fiduciary mishandles estate money, the bond company (the "surety") answers for the loss. Ohio's general rule is that a fiduciary files a bond before letters issue, in an amount the court sets, but "in no event less than double the probable value" of the personal property and annual real estate rents that will come into the fiduciary's hands (R.C. 2109.04(A)(1)). The bond is signed by two or more individual sureties or by one or more corporate sureties approved by the court. The statewide form is Form 4.2, Fiduciary's Bond.

When bond is not required

• If the will says the executor may serve without bond, the court appoints without bond unless it decides the estate's interests demand one (R.C. 2109.04(A)(2)).
• An administrator does not need a bond if they are the surviving spouse entitled to the entire net estate, or if there is no will and they are the next of kin entitled to the entire net estate (R.C. 2109.07(A)).

Montgomery County's rule

Montgomery County requires a minimum bond of $20,000 for an estate fiduciary unless the will waives bond or the law excuses it. Unless the court orders otherwise, the bond is double the personal property and annual real estate rent. If the estate has no personal property or rents, the court sets the amount (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 78.1.1(A)). The court's checklist also says a copy of the bonding company's power of attorney must be filed with the bond, and the local rule says the premium must be paid when due or the court may act, including removing the fiduciary.

Bond and wrongful death money

This is the part families often miss. By statute, an administrator's bond is conditioned on administering and distributing "the proceeds of any action for wrongful death or of any settlement" of a wrongful death claim (R.C. 2109.07(B)(2)). Montgomery County's local rule says bond can be adjusted upward or downward as circumstances change (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 78.1.1(A)(3)), and Ohio law lets the court require a bond, or a larger one, at any later point (R.C. 2109.04(C)). So even if your bond is small or waived when you open the estate, expect the court to look at the question again if a settlement is coming. Settlement money is usually handled under the court's settlement order, discussed in Approving a Wrongful Death Settlement.

Getting a bond

A corporate surety is a bonding company, and it charges a premium for the bond. If you have a lawyer, ask how bond is usually handled in your court. If you are opening the estate on your own, the court's staff can tell you what form of bond it accepts. For the steps that come before this, see Opening an Estate.

The notices you must give

Notice keeps the family informed and protects the estate. The main ones:

• Notice of the appointment hearing to relatives with priority who did not waive, at least seven days before the hearing (Civ.R. 73.11(A)).
• Notice of your appointment to everyone entitled to inherit, within seven days after appointment, unless they already received notice of the hearing or waived it (Civ.R. 73.11(B)).
• The spousal citation. The court serves the surviving spouse with a citation and a summary of the spouse's rights (Civ.R. 73.11(C); R.C. 2106.02). Montgomery County's rule sets 14 days after appointment (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 60.1(A)(5)).
• Notice of probate of the will, if there is a will, with Form 2.4, Certificate of Service of Notice of Probate of Will, filed within two months of appointment (Civ.R. 73.10(B)).
• Notice of the inventory to the surviving spouse (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 78.2(G)). Montgomery County's checklist says the spouse can sign the inventory form instead, or the fiduciary serves notice by certified mail.

When a rule requires notice and does not say how, Ohio's probate rule allows personal delivery, leaving a copy at the person's home, or certified or express mail (or a signature-required commercial carrier), with fallback methods if mail is refused or unclaimed (Civ.R. 73(E)). Keep every green card and receipt.

Your core duties

Montgomery County's Fiduciary's Acceptance spells out what the court expects. In plain terms, you agree to:

• File the inventory within three months of appointment, or within any extension the court grants.
• Deposit estate money in an Ohio financial institution and keep it separate from your own money, in an estate account, at all times.
• Invest estate funds only as the law allows.
• File a final account within six months of appointment unless the time is extended (in wrongful death estates it usually is; see Closing the Estate).
• File required tax documents.
• Keep reasonable insurance on property you hold.
• Get court approval before spending estate money, transferring property or making other dealings, unless the will expressly permits it.
• Get court approval for attorney fees.

The same form warns that you can be removed if you fail to notify the court of a change in your permanent address, fail to perform these duties, or fail to obey court orders. Statewide, failure to keep a current address on file is grounds for removal (Civ.R. 73.8(C)).

Creditor claims

Creditors generally must present claims within six months after the death, whether or not an estate has been opened (R.C. 2117.06(B)). A claim not presented in time is barred, with limited exceptions (R.C. 2117.06(C)). When a claim is presented, the executor or administrator should allow or reject it within 30 days, though a late decision is still allowed (R.C. 2117.06(D)). Do not pay a creditor from your own pocket or from settlement proceeds without advice. How medical bills and reimbursement claims are paid from a wrongful death settlement is decided at the settlement hearing.

The inventory

Within three months after appointment, unless the court extends the time, you file an inventory of the property you are administering, valued as of the date of death (R.C. 2115.02). The statewide forms are Form 6.0, Inventory and Appraisal, and Form 6.1, Schedule of Assets.

Montgomery County allows some shortcuts: the county auditor's valuation for real estate, average trade-in value for vehicles, and a reasonable estimate for household goods worth $5,000 or less in total (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 78.2(E)). After the inventory is filed, the court sets a "paper decision date," without an in-person appearance, no more than a month later (Mont. Co. P.C.R. 78.2(G)). If your loved one owned very little, the inventory may be short.

A word about the lawsuit itself

None of these duties requires you to manage the wrongful death case on your own. The lawyer handles investigation, filing, negotiation and trial, as described in our guide chapter on how cases are resolved. Your job is to stay reachable, make decisions with good advice, and keep the probate file current. The self-help checklist puts the probate deadlines on one page.

Common questions