Ohio Revised Code Search

...Except oral wills, every will shall be in writing, but may be handwritten or typewritten. The will shall be signed at the end by the testator or by some other person in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's express direction. The will shall be attested and subscribed in the conscious presence of the testator, by two or more competent witnesses, who saw the testator subscribe, or heard the test...

...No agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will shall be enforceable unless it is in writing. The agreement shall be signed by the maker or by some other person at the maker's express direction. If signed by a person other than the maker, the instrument shall be subscribed by two or more competent witnesses who heard the maker acknowledge that it was signed at the maker's direction.

...(A) An existing document, book, record, or memorandum may be incorporated in a will by reference, if referred to as being in existence at the time the will is executed. That document, book, record, or memorandum shall be deposited in the probate court when the will is probated or within thirty days after the will is probated, unless the court grants an extension of time for good cause shown. A copy may be substituted...

... No person under eighteen years of age shall witness a will executed pursuant to section 2107.03 of the Revised Code or an agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will pursuant to section 2107.04 of the Revised Code.

... A will may be deposited by the testator, or by some person for the testator, in the office of the judge of the probate court in the county in which the testator lives, before or after the death of the testator, and if deposited after the death of the testator, with or without applying for its probate. Upon the payment of the fee of twenty-five dollars to the court, the judge shall receive, keep, and give a certifica...

... During the lifetime of a testator, the testator's will, deposited according to section 2107.07 of the Revised Code, shall be delivered only to the testator, to some person authorized by the testator by a written order, or to a probate court for a determination of its validity when the testator so requests. After the testator's death, the will shall be delivered to the person named in the indorsement on the envelope ...

... (A) If real property is devised or personal property is bequeathed by a will, the executor or any interested person may cause the will to be brought before the probate court of the county in which the decedent was domiciled. By judicial order, the court may compel the person having the custody or control of the will to produce it before the court for the purpose of being proved. If the person having the custody or ...

... (A) No property or right, testate or intestate, shall pass to a beneficiary named in a will who knows of the existence of the will for one year after the death of the testator and has the power to control it and, without reasonable cause, intentionally conceals or withholds it or neglects or refuses within that one year to cause it to be offered for or admitted to probate. The property devised or bequeathed to that ...

... (A) A will shall be admitted to probate: (1) In the county in this state in which the testator was domiciled at the time of the testator's death; (2) In any county of this state where any real property or personal property of the testator is located if, at the time of the testator's death, the testator was not domiciled in this state, and provided that the will has not previously been admitted to probate in this s...

... When a will is presented for probate or for a declaratory judgment of its validity pursuant to Chapter 5817. of the Revised Code, persons interested in its outcome may contest the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the application. Preceding a hearing of a contest as to jurisdiction, all parties named in such will as legatees, devisees, trustees, or executors shall have notice of the hearing in such manner as ma...

...If a devise or bequest is made to a person who is one of only two witnesses to a will, the devise or bequest is void. The witness shall then be competent to testify to the execution of the will, as if the devise or bequest had not been made. If the witness would have been entitled to a share of the testator's estate in case the will was not established, the witness takes so much of that share that does not exce...

... (A) When offered for probate, a will may be admitted to probate and allowed upon such proof as would be satisfactory, and in like manner as if an absent or incompetent witness were dead: (1) If it appears to the probate court that a witness to such will has gone to parts unknown; (2) If the witness was competent at the time of attesting its execution and afterward became incompetent; (3) If testimony of a witness...

...When a witness to a will, or other witness competent to testify at a probate or declaratory judgment proceeding, resides out of its jurisdiction, or resides within it but is infirm and unable to attend court, the probate court may issue a commission with the will annexed directed to any suitable person. In lieu of the original will, the probate court, in its discretion, may annex to the commission a photocopy o...

... The probate court shall admit a will to probate if it appears from the face of the will, or if the probate court requires, in its discretion, the testimony of the witnesses to a will and it appears from that testimony, that the execution of the will complies with the law in force at the time of the execution of the will in the jurisdiction in which the testator was physically present when it was executed, with the l...

...If it appears that the instrument purporting to be a will is not entitled to admission to probate, the court shall enter an interlocutory order denying probate of the instrument, and shall continue the matter for further hearing. The court shall order that not less than ten days' notice of the further hearing be given by the applicant, the executor named in the instrument, the persons holding a power to nominate an e...

...(A)(1) Subject to divisions (A)(2) and (B) of this section, when a will has been admitted to probate, the fiduciary for the estate or another person specified in division (A)(4) of this section shall, within two weeks of the admission of the will to probate, give a notice as described in this division and in the manner provided by Civil Rule 73(E) to the surviving spouse of the testator, to all persons who would be ...

... When admitted to probate every will shall be filed in the office of the probate judge and recorded, together with any testimony or prior judgment of a court declaring the will valid pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 5817.10 of the Revised Code, by the judge or the clerk of the probate court in a book to be kept for that purpose. A copy of the recorded will, with a copy of the order of probate annexed to the c...

...If real property devised by will is situated in any county other than that in which the will is proved, declared valid, or admitted to probate, an authenticated copy of the will and the order of probate or the judgment declaring validity shall be admitted to the record in the office of the probate judge of each county in which the real property is situated upon the order of that judge. The authenticated copy s...

... (A)(1)(a) When a will has been admitted to probate by a probate court and another will of later date is presented to the same court for probate, notice of the will of later date shall be given to those persons required to be notified under section 2107.19 of the Revised Code, and to the fiduciaries and beneficiaries under the will of earlier date. The probate court may admit the will of later date to probate the sam...

... (A) If a document that is executed that purports to be a will is not executed in compliance with the requirements of section 2107.03 of the Revised Code, that document shall be treated as if it had been executed as a will in compliance with the requirements of that section if a probate court, after holding a hearing, finds that the proponent of the document as a purported will has established, by clear and co...

...When an original will is lost, spoliated, or destroyed before or after the death of a testator, the probate court shall admit the lost, spoliated, or destroyed will to probate if both of the following apply: (A) The proponent of the will establishes by clear and convincing evidence both of the following: (1) The will was executed with the formalities required at the time of execution by the jurisdiction in which it...

...(A) When application is made to the probate court to admit to probate a will that has been lost, spoliated, or destroyed as provided in section 2107.26 of the Revised Code or a document that is treated as a will as provided in section 2107.24 of the Revised Code, the party seeking to prove the will shall give a written notice by certified mail to the surviving spouse of the testator, to all persons who would be ent...

...If a will is lost, spoliated, destroyed, mislaid, or stolen, after it has been admitted to probate but before it has been recorded, upon notice being given to the persons as provided by section 2107.27 of the Revised Code, the probate court may hear testimony. If the court is satisfied that the contents of the will have been substantially proved, the court may record the will as thus proven. The record shall have a...

...When the record of a will is destroyed, a copy of the will or a copy of the will and its probate may be recorded by the probate court if it appears to the court's satisfaction that the record has been destroyed and if it appears, by reason of a certificate signed and sealed by the probate judge, that the copy is a true copy of the original will or a true copy of the original will and its probate.

...When the record of a will has been destroyed, the original will may again be admitted to probate and record.