Ohio Revised Code Search

...(A) A complaint to determine the validity of a will or a trust shall be filed with the probate court. The probate judge, upon the motion of a party or the judge's own motion, may transfer the proceeding to the general division of the court of common pleas. (B) The venue for a complaint under section 5817.02 of the Revised Code is either of the following: (1) The probate court of the county in this state where the...

...(A) A complaint under section 5817.02 of the Revised Code shall name as party defendants all of the following, as applicable: (1) The testator's spouse; (2) The testator's children; (3) The testator's heirs who would take property pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code had the testator died intestate at the time the complaint is filed; (4) The testator's beneficiaries under the will; (5) Any benef...

...(A) A complaint under section 5817.03 of the Revised Code shall name as party defendants the following, as applicable: (1) The settlor's spouse; (2) The settlor's children; (3) The settlor's heirs who would take property pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code had the settlor died intestate at the time the complaint is filed; (4) The trustee or trustees under the trust; (5) The beneficiaries under t...

...(A) Service of process, with a copy of the complaint and the will, and a copy of the related trust, if applicable, shall be made on every party defendant named in the complaint filed under section 5817.02 of the Revised Code, as provided in the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. (B) Service of process, with a copy of the complaint and the trust, and a copy of the related will, if applicable, shall be made on ever...

...(A) After a complaint is filed under section 5817.02 or 5817.03 of the Revised Code, the court shall fix a time and place for a hearing. (B) Notice of the hearing shall be given to the testator or settlor, as applicable, and to all party defendants, as provided in the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. (C) The hearing shall be adversarial in nature and shall be conducted pursuant to sections 2101.31 and 2721.10...

...(A) The testator or settlor has the burden of establishing prima facie proof of the execution of the will or trust, as applicable. A person who opposes the complaint has the burden of establishing one or more of the following: (1) The lack of testamentary intent or the intent to create a trust, as the case may be; (2) The lack of the testator's testamentary capacity, or the settlor's legal capacity to enter into...

...(A)(1) The court shall declare the will valid if it finds all of the following: (a) The will was properly executed pursuant to section 2107.03 of the Revised Code or under any prior law of this state that was in effect at the time of execution. (b) The testator had the requisite testamentary capacity, was free from undue influence, and was not under restraint or duress. (c) The execution of the will was not th...

...ave been named a party defendant in the action in which the will was declared valid and if the person was not named a defendant and properly served in that action, that person, after the testator's death, may contest the validity of a will declared valid. (C) The failure to name a necessary defendant under division (A) of section 5817.06 of the Revised Code is not jurisdictional. A declaration of a trust's validity...

...(A) After a declaration of a will's validity under division (A)(1) of section 5817.10 of the Revised Code, the will may be modified by a later will or codicil executed according to the laws of this state or another state, and the will may be revoked under section 2107.33 of the Revised Code or other applicable law. (B) The revocation by a later will, or other document under section 2107.33 of the Revised Code, of a...

...(A) After a declaration of a trust's validity under division (B)(1) of section 5817.10 of the Revised Code, the trust may be modified, terminated, revoked, or reformed under sections 5804.10 to 5804.16 of the Revised Code, or other applicable law. (B) The modification, termination, revocation, or reformation by a new trust or other document of a trust that has been declared valid under division (B)(1) of section 58...

...(A) The finding of facts by a court in a proceeding brought under this chapter is not admissible as evidence in any proceeding other than a proceeding brought to determine the validity of a will or trust. (B) The determination or judgment rendered in a proceeding under this chapter is not binding upon the parties to that proceeding in any action that is not brought to determine the validity of a will or trust. (C...