Selling a House in Probate in Ohio: Complete Guide
Ohio law offers three probate pathways for a house — Full Administration, Release from Administration for estates under $35,000, and Summary Release — each with its own rules for who can sell.
See Your Options for Selling in ColumbusWhat Probate Means for a House in Ohio
When a homeowner in Ohio dies, the house they owned outright typically becomes part of the probate estate — the pool of assets the probate court supervises while debts are paid and title passes to heirs or beneficiaries. Probate exists to give creditors a chance to make claims, confirm who legally inherits, and create a clean paper trail before the property can be sold or transferred.
Probate is generally required whenever the decedent held the house solely in their own name at death, without a joint owner carrying survivorship rights and without a recorded transfer mechanism that moves title automatically. If the deed named a surviving co-owner, or the decedent recorded a Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit before death, the house can bypass probate entirely — a route covered later in this guide.
- House titled solely in the decedent's name, with no surviving joint owner
- No Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit recorded before death
- No survivorship deed naming a co-owner who inherits automatically
- Real property that must be sold to pay estate debts or divided among multiple heirs
Once probate opens, the appointed fiduciary — an executor named in a will, or an administrator if there is no will — holds legal authority over the house until it is sold, transferred to heirs, or distributed under the court's supervision. Which of Ohio's three probate pathways applies, and how much authority the fiduciary has to sell without further court involvement, depends largely on the estate's size and whether the will grants a power of sale.
The Three Ohio Probate Pathways
Ohio law provides three pathways for administering an estate, and the one that applies to a given house depends primarily on the estate's total value. All three are handled by the probate division of the county Court of Common Pleas — in the Columbus area, Franklin County Probate Court.
Full Administration (ORC Chapter 2113)
Full Administration is the default pathway and applies with no value limit. It is the process most estates holding a house go through, since with current Columbus-area home values, almost any estate that includes a house in fee simple exceeds the thresholds for the simplified alternatives below — the release thresholds apply to the estate's gross value, not its equity. Full Administration involves appointing a fiduciary, filing an inventory, giving creditors the statutory window to file claims, and obtaining court approval before final distribution.
Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03)
Release from Administration is available for estates valued at $35,000 or less, or up to $100,000 when the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. It can include real property: the court may appoint a commissioner to execute the instruments of conveyance under ORC 2113.03(E), and the release order itself transfers title without a separate sale procedure. For the detailed filing steps, see the release from administration process.
Summary Release from Administration (ORC 2113.031)
Summary Release is reserved for micro-estates — at or below $5,000, or limited to funeral and burial costs. A spousal variant allows up to $5,000 in funeral costs plus a $40,000 spousal support allowance (ORC 2113.031(B)(2)). Summary Release can technically cover real property, but the threshold is low enough that it is rarely relevant to a house.
| Pathway | Value Threshold | Real Estate | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Administration (ORC 2113) | No limit | Yes, court-supervised sale or transfer | Default pathway; most estates that include a house |
| Release from Administration (ORC 2113.03) | $35,000, or $100,000 if the surviving spouse inherits everything | Can be included via a court-appointed commissioner's conveyance | Small estates below the threshold |
| Summary Release from Administration (ORC 2113.031) | $5,000, or limited to funeral and burial costs | Rarely applicable to a house in practice | Micro-estates |
Who Has Authority to Sell the House
Not every fiduciary needs a judge's sign-off to list and close on a probate house. An executor whose will grants a testamentary power of sale may sell the property at public or private sale without a separate court order (ORC 2113.39) — the will's grant of a power of sale removes the court-approval step.
When the will is silent or there is no will, the fiduciary has two routes to authority:
- Written consent of the surviving spouse and all legatees, devisees, and heirs, filed with the probate court (ORC 2127.011)
- A formal Land Sale Action under ORC Chapter 2127 — an adversarial civil case in probate court naming heirs and lienholders as defendants
A land sale action is typically the route forced when the estate must liquidate real estate to pay debts, or when at least one heir refuses or is unable to consent. The court orders a sale when it is necessary, or when at least half of the interested parties consent and the sale serves the estate's best interest (ORC 2127.04).
In a court-supervised land sale, the property must be appraised and generally cannot be sold below 80% of the appraised value without further court permission (ORC 2127.22).
A house can be listed and sold while the probate case is still open, whether under a power of sale or filed consents. Sale proceeds stay in the estate account until outstanding debts are settled and the court approves final distribution.
The Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit: Bypassing Probate
Ohio's primary tool for keeping a house out of probate altogether is the Transfer-on-Death Designation Affidavit (ORC 5302.22 and 5302.222). It must be recorded with the county recorder before the owner's death and replaced Ohio's older TOD deed format.
After the owner dies, the named beneficiaries record an Affidavit of Confirmation (ORC 5302.222(B)) along with a certified death certificate. Title passes to them by operation of law — the house never enters the probate estate.
- No six-month creditor claim window applies to the transfer
- No executor commission is owed on the house's value
- Title passes directly to the named beneficiaries once the affidavit and death certificate are recorded
Because a TOD-affidavit transfer sidesteps the probate process entirely, heirs who inherit this way are generally free to list and sell the house as soon as title is confirmed, without waiting on Letters of Authority or a probate court order. Readers weighing a sale soon after inheriting can compare paths to sell an inherited Columbus house once title has been confirmed.
The Certificate of Transfer: When Heirs Take Title in Kind
When a house passes to heirs in kind — meaning it is not sold by the fiduciary but distributed directly to the people who inherit it — the probate court issues a Certificate of Transfer (ORC 2113.61). This document is a court order, not a deed, but it is what heirs record to establish clear title.
The application for a Certificate of Transfer is filed after the estate inventory and before the final account. It must state the decedent's date of death, identify the heirs, list each heir's fractional share, provide the property's legal description, and confirm that known debts are paid or secured (ORC 2113.61(A)).
By statute, the court must issue the Certificate of Transfer within five days of a compliant application (ORC 2113.61(C)). Once it is recorded with the county recorder, the heirs own the house outright and can sell it without further probate court involvement.
How Long Probate Takes in Ohio
Timelines for selling a probate house in Ohio are shaped by a mix of statutory deadlines and case-by-case variables, such as whether heirs cooperate and whether the will is contested.
General creditors have six months from the date of death to present claims against the estate (ORC 2117.06); claims filed after that window are forever barred. Distributing sale proceeds before the six-month window closes exposes the executor to personal liability if a valid claim later surfaces.
| Stage or Pathway | Typical Duration |
|---|---|
| Letters of Authority, uncontested (Franklin County) | A few weeks |
| Letters of Authority, contested or missing waivers | Months |
| Full Administration, ordinary estate | About 6 to 12 months |
| Land sale action | About 9 to 15 months |
| Simplified release, clean filing | Often within a few months |
In Franklin County, Letters of Authority typically take a few weeks to issue when the paperwork is clean and waivers are signed; a contested appointment or missing waivers can stretch this into months, and the ranges above are general patterns rather than fixed deadlines.
Medicaid estate recovery can extend the timeline further. Ohio runs an expanded recovery program (ORC 5162.21) for decedents age 55 or older who received Medicaid benefits; the executor must send the Medicaid recovery notice within 30 days of appointment (ORC 2117.061). The program then has 90 days from that notice, or one year from death, whichever is later — a window that can outlive the general six-month creditor bar. Distributions are typically frozen until the Department of Medicaid releases its claim or files a demand. Readers navigating this can review common probate timeline questions for more detail.
What It Costs to Sell a Probate House
Selling a house through probate carries costs beyond a typical real estate transaction: statutory executor commissions, court filing deposits, and attorney fees.
Executor and administrator commissions are set by statute (ORC 2113.35): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% above $400,000. The commission is calculated on personal property, income, and the gross proceeds of real estate actually sold; real estate transferred in kind rather than sold earns a flat 1% of its appraised value instead.
Worked example: a house sold by the executor for $350,000, with no other estate assets, generates a statutory commission of $11,500 — $4,000 on the first $100,000 plus $7,500 on the next $250,000.
Family members serving as executor often waive the commission, since it counts as taxable income while an inheritance does not.
- Franklin County Probate Court deposit, full administration: $125 minimum (the court recommends $250)
- Franklin County deposit, release from administration: $105 to $115
- Franklin County deposit, land sale action: $175
- Cuyahoga County deposit, full administration: $250 base
Attorney fees have no statewide percentage schedule; reasonableness controls instead, guided by Sup.R. 71 and Prof.Cond.R. 1.5. Franklin County publishes no minimum or percentage fee — the fee is a contract between the fiduciary and the attorney, subject to court approval. Cuyahoga County's Local Rule 71.1 sets a reasonableness baseline. Readers filing a small estate can check the simplified release filing requirements for the deposit amounts specific to that pathway.
Separately, the estate inventory is due within three months of the fiduciary's appointment (ORC 2115.02), and it lists the house at its date-of-death value (ORC 2115.06). The executor may use the county auditor's tax valuation instead of hiring a private appraiser — though an inflated auditor valuation can create a problem later, since it raises the 80% floor a land sale action would have to clear.
Taxes and the Homestead Exemption
Ohio abolished its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2013, and the repeal remains in effect. Ohio also levies no inheritance tax on beneficiaries, so heirs owe the state nothing simply for inheriting the house.
Property taxes keep accruing during probate. The estate is generally responsible for paying prorated property tax up to the date the house is sold or transferred.
- The Ohio homestead exemption (ORC 323.152) is available to qualifying seniors 65 and older and to disabled homeowners
- If the decedent held the exemption and the inheriting heir does not independently qualify, the exemption drops off the property
- Losing the exemption typically raises the next property tax bill on the house
Because the homestead exemption is tied to the individual owner rather than the property itself, heirs who do not meet the age or disability requirements should expect the tax bill to reflect the exemption's loss once the transfer is complete.
Franklin County and Columbus Practice Notes
Probate cases in Franklin County — home to Columbus — are handled by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, presided over by Judge Jeffrey D. Mackey, who has served on the bench since 2021. E-filing is mandatory for probate filings in Franklin County, and the court revised many of its local forms in early 2026 — filers should pull current forms from the court's own portal rather than relying on older templates.
Title companies act as a practical gatekeeper for probate sales. Before insuring title, they commonly require:
- Certified Letters of Authority
- The death certificate
- A Certificate of Transfer, or the court order or consents authorizing the sale
- Confirmation that debts and liens against the estate are handled
Closing before the six-month creditor window closes adds another layer of scrutiny — title agencies commonly ask for a surety bond, heir indemnity agreements, or an escrow holdback of proceeds until the window runs.
Inherited homes in probate often sell as-is, and investor buyers typically discount their offers for condition and clean-out costs — roughly 10% to 30% below market depending on condition, according to industry estimates rather than a fixed formula. In the Columbus market, Redfin reported a median sale price of about $304,000 and a typical 39 days on market for the city of Columbus in mid-2026. Readers ready to move forward can see selling options for an inherited house in Columbus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every house in Ohio have to go through probate?
What is the difference between Full Administration and Release from Administration?
Can an executor sell the house without going back to court?
How long does selling a probate house in Ohio typically take?
Who pays the executor's commission, and how much is it?
Does Ohio charge estate or inheritance tax on a probate house?
What happens if the decedent received Medicaid benefits?
What is a Certificate of Transfer and when is it needed?
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See Your Options for Selling in Columbus