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Logan County, OH Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Logan County Probate Court, the probate division of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas under the Ohio Revised Code (R.C. 2101.01). The Supreme Court of Ohio's trial-court and local-rules directory lists it as the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division. The court itself styles the office the Probate Section, or Probate Department, of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, Family Court Division, and its own local rules are captioned Family Court, Probate Division. Logan County does not run probate as a stand-alone division: two Family Court Division judges preside over the Probate Section together with the Domestic Relations and Juvenile divisions, one of them as Administrative Judge of the Family Court Division |
| Filing office | The Probate Section at the Logan County Courthouse in Bellefontaine, staffed by the court's own probate deputy clerks. In Ohio the probate judge is the clerk of the probate court (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)), so estates, wills, guardianships and name changes are filed with the probate court directly. The Logan County Clerk of Courts, (937) 599-7275, Room 218 in the same courthouse, serves the General Division and does not open estates |
| Courthouse | 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311, the Logan County Courthouse in the center of Bellefontaine. The court publishes no room or floor number for the Probate Section, so ask at the counter or call ahead |
| Mailing address | The court publishes no separate post office box, so mail filings go to 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311. Call (937) 599-7252 before mailing an original will or another original document |
| Phone | (937) 599-7252, published as the Probate Department line on the court's own Family Court Division contact page and repeated on its marriage license and genealogy pages (verified July 2026). Several other numbers reach the same building and are the wrong office for an estate: (937) 599-7249 is the Family Court main line, (937) 599-7275 is the Clerk of Courts, (937) 599-7260 is the General Division, (937) 292-4043 is Domestic Relations and (937) 599-7245 is the Juvenile Department |
| Fax | (937) 292-4121, confirmed twice: as the Probate Department fax on the court's contact page, and inside Local Rule 57.6, which makes it the court's facsimile-filing number and states the machine operates seven days a week and 24 hours a day |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as ordered by the county commissioners, per Local Rule 53.1 of the court's Probate Section local rules, updated September 20, 2021 and matching the hours the court publishes for its Domestic Relations and Juvenile divisions in the same building and in its genealogy records sheet (verified July 2026). Marriage applications are not accepted after 4:00 p.m. (Local Rule 53.1). Call (937) 599-7252 before driving in with a filing |
| Filing fee | Ohio sets most probate fee items by statute: $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025), $60.00 to relieve an estate from administration or grant a summary release, $10.00 for an inventory with appraisement, $12.00 for an account and $1.00 per page for certified copies. On top of those items each probate court may set its own advance deposit for costs by local rule, up to $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)), and may add computerization and dispute-resolution charges (R.C. 2101.162, R.C. 2101.163). Logan County publishes no consolidated dollar deposit schedule for estates: Local Rule 58.1 requires a $30.00 filing fee when an application to appoint an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian is filed, which the rule sends to the county indigent guardianship fund under R.C. 2101.16(C), and Local Rule 58.4 says only when total costs fall due (local rules updated September 20, 2021). Confirm the current total with the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252 before you file |
| Local forms | Yes, and they are not on the court's forms page. Logan County's Probate Forms page points you to the Supreme Court of Ohio forms site, but the county's own local forms are appended to the court's Probate Section local rules, updated September 20, 2021: Certificate of Reasonable Diligence, Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary, Affidavit of Service of Notice for an inventory or account, Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program, Appendix A Attorney Certificate, Appendix B Attorney Fee Statement and Appendix C Application to Enter into Fee Contract, plus adoption, name-change and guardianship forms. The local rules also refer to a local form 5.0A, Short Release from Administration, which is Logan County's own short form and not a Standard Probate Form |
| E-filing | None published for probate. The Probate Section's local rules contain no electronic-filing provision: they provide for paper filing and, in Local Rule 57.6, for facsimile filing of some later documents to (937) 292-4121. The county's eServices portal does show an eFile tab, but it opens a username and password login, the portal is branded the Logan County Common Pleas General and Family Court public access site and its support line is the Clerk of Courts, and the Probate Section publishes no e-filing rule or instructions. Ask the court at (937) 599-7252 before assuming an estate document can be filed electronically |
| Case search | Yes, through the county's shared portal. The Probate Court menu on the county site links its Record Search and Probate Court Case Search to the eServices portal at eservices.logancountycourts.com, which covers the Logan County Common Pleas General and Family Court. The portal is protected by an image test, and its own notice says the civil, criminal and domestic records on the site start with June 1988 without stating how far back estates go, so confirm coverage with the Probate Section. Copies of records that are not confidential cost 25 cents per page and certification of a document costs $1.00 (Local Rule 55.2, local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Remote appearance | Nothing is published. The court's local rules set notice, hearing and continuance requirements but say nothing about telephone or video appearances, so ask the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252 whether a given hearing can be handled remotely |
| Website | https://www.logancountyohio.gov/probate-court.html (the Probate Division page, the same URL the Supreme Court of Ohio directory gives) and https://www.logancountyohio.gov/uploads/1/4/9/5/149562150/local_20rules_20current_20as_20of_209-20-21_202109200941382478.pdf (the Probate Section local rules, hosted by the county and linked from the Supreme Court's local-rules index). The Supreme Court's own docs/Clerk/Local Rules path for a Logan probate PDF returns a not-found error, so use the county-hosted file |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Logan County, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Ohio route fits depends on whether there is a will, on who inherits, and on the value and titling of the assets, because a full administration, a release from administration and a summary release are different filings with different forms and different notice steps. Those routes and their dollar ceilings are statewide and are explained on the Ohio state page. Getting it right before your first trip matters here because Logan County publishes no e-filing for probate: a wrong or incomplete filing means another drive to Bellefontaine or another round of mail, and the court's own local rules let the clerk refuse papers that do not meet its format and signature requirements.
Identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you file. How each asset is titled decides whether it passes through the estate at all: property held jointly with right of survivorship, accounts with a named beneficiary, and land covered by a transfer on death designation affidavit recorded with the Logan County Recorder before death (R.C. 5302.22) go directly to the survivor or beneficiary and never reach the probate court. Logan County's local rules make this concrete: attorney fee guidelines here are calculated partly on non-probate property, and the court will accept the county auditor's tax valuation and description for real estate on an inventory where no appraiser is appointed (Local Rules 71.2 and 61.3). Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step, so that the application you hand across the counter in Bellefontaine lists the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Probate Section at 101 South Main Street in Bellefontaine is the single probate filing office for the whole of Logan County. There is no branch, satellite or district office. It serves every part of the county, including Bellefontaine, the county seat and the county's only city, the Indian Lake communities of Lakeview, Russells Point and Huntsville, and the villages and townships beyond them: West Liberty, West Mansfield, DeGraff, Quincy, Belle Center, Rushsylvania, Zanesfield, Valley Hi and Ridgeway, all of which appear as incorporated tax districts in the Logan County Auditor's 2025 tax rate schedule. Because papers can be mailed to the court, most of an uncontested estate can be handled without repeated trips, and the distance matters mainly for a hearing.
Venue for an Ohio estate is the county where the decedent was a resident at the time of death (R.C. 2113.01). If the person lived in Logan County, file in Logan County Probate Court, even if they died in a hospital in Bellefontaine, Springfield, Marysville, Lima or Columbus. Ohio's statute says resident, not domiciled, and the probate court in which the will is admitted is the court that grants letters. This matters more than usual around Indian Lake, where a great many homes are seasonal or second homes: if the person was a resident of another county and simply owned a cottage here, the estate is opened in the county of residence, and the Logan County real estate is dealt with through that estate, usually by a certificate of transfer recorded with the Logan County Recorder. Ohio has no probate district, circuit or regional overlay: all 88 counties have their own probate court, seated at the county seat (R.C. 2101.01(A)), and Logan County's sits in Bellefontaine.
Several offices share the Logan County Courthouse, and only one of them opens estates. The Probate Section, reached at (937) 599-7252, is where wills, estates, guardianships, name changes and marriage licenses are filed. The Logan County Clerk of Courts, (937) 599-7275 in Room 218, serves the General Division and does not open estates. The Family Court Division's main line, (937) 599-7249, and its Domestic Relations line, (937) 292-4043, and Juvenile line, (937) 599-7245, all reach the same court but not the estate counter. To record a certificate of transfer for Logan County real estate you go to a different building: the Logan County Recorder at 100 South Madriver Street, Bellefontaine, (937) 599-7201.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, the applicant's contact details and identification, the names and addresses of the surviving spouse, children, next of kin, legatees and devisees, and a list of the assets and debts with values. A person named in a will to settle the estate is an executor; a person appointed where there is no will is an administrator; Ohio's umbrella term for either, used throughout the Revised Code and the forms, is fiduciary.
- Check whether a will was deposited with the Logan County court. Local Rule 59.1 makes it the duty of both the fiduciary and the attorney to determine whether a will of the decedent was deposited with the court before death. Ask the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252 to check. If a deposited will is not being admitted but is being filed with a short release application, Local Rule 60.6 requires a separate application and judgment entry to deposit the will.
- Get the statewide forms, then the county's local forms. Ohio uses one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in every county, and Logan County's own Probate Forms page sends you to that site. For a full administration the load-bearing items are Form 1.0 (Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees, and Devisees), Form 2.0 (Application to Probate Will) where there is a will, and Form 4.0 (Application for Authority to Administer Estate). Before appointment the application must name the surviving spouse and next of kin and state in general terms what the estate consists of and its probable value (R.C. 2113.07). Logan County's local forms are appended to its local rules rather than published separately, so download the local-rules PDF too.
- Caption the papers the way Logan County requires. Local Rule 52.1 sets the caption for forms in probate proceedings, naming the Logan County Family Court, Probate Division and its judges, and a separate caption for pleadings and motions, In the Common Pleas Court of Logan County, Ohio, Family Court, Probate Division. Local Rule 57.1 requires an attorney's bar registration information only once, on the initial papers in a case. Local Rule 57.7 requires the fiduciary's own original signature on every pleading or filing that law or rule requires the fiduciary to sign, and an attorney may not sign for the fiduciary.
- File on paper in Bellefontaine or by mail. Take the completed forms to the Probate Section at 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (Local Rule 53.1), or mail them to the same address. Do not plan to fax a new estate: Local Rule 57.6 allows facsimile filing to (937) 292-4121 but excludes original wills and codicils, anything requiring service of summons or issuance of documents, surety bonds and verifications of deposits of assets, consents, anything requiring certification by the court, most filings that assess cost to a case, any transmission over 10 pages, and any filing that would require a new case number or originate a proceeding.
- Pay the deposit and the costs. Ohio fixes the fee items by statute, including $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025), and a probate court may require an advance deposit for costs by local rule that cannot exceed $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)). Logan County's Local Rule 58.1 requires a $30.00 filing fee when the application for appointment of an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian is filed, which is the share of the statutory $35.00 appointment fee that R.C. 2101.16(C) directs to the county indigent guardianship fund (local rules updated September 20, 2021). No consolidated estate deposit schedule is published, so call (937) 599-7252 and ask what to bring.
- Take the appointment and collect the letters. On an admitted will the court issues letters testamentary to the executor; with no will it issues letters of administration to the administrator (R.C. 2113.05). Either way the appointment is recorded on Form 4.5 (Entry Appointing Fiduciary; Letter of Authority), and the certified letter of authority is what banks, transfer agents and title companies rely on. The written acceptance of duties required by R.C. 2109.02 must be executed and filed before the appointment is approved (Local Rule 60.2). Certified copies cost $1.00 per page (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025), so ask for enough for every institution the estate deals with while you are at the counter.
- Send the notice of appointment within seven days and file the local certificate. Local Rule 60.3 requires notice of appointment by regular U.S. mail with proof of service filed on a local form, and Logan County's Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary states that everyone entitled to inherit, including anyone entitled to an allowance for support, who was not given notice of the appointment hearing and did not waive notice, has been notified of the appointment by regular U.S. mail within seven days after the appointment.
- Deal with Medicaid estate recovery where it applies. Ohio requires the person responsible for the estate of a decedent who was subject to the Medicaid estate recovery program, or whose spouse was, to submit a completed medicaid estate recovery notice form to the administrator of the medicaid estate recovery program not later than thirty days after letters are granted or an application for release or summary release is filed (R.C. 2117.061(B)). Logan County's Local Rule 62.1 puts the investigation on the fiduciary and then requires one of two things: file the notice form with the court and transmit a copy directly to the Medicaid estate recovery office in Columbus, or file the court's own local Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program stating that the estate is not subject to a claim. Statewide compliance is also certified on Form 7.0.
- File the inventory within three months, and expect a hearing on it. The fiduciary must file an inventory of the decedent's real and personal property within three months after appointment unless the court grants an extension for good cause (R.C. 2115.02), on Form 6.0 (Inventory and Appraisal). Logan County then sets the inventory for hearing no later than one month after it is filed unless notice is waived, with notice served by the fiduciary by regular mail on the surviving spouse and next of kin or beneficiaries, verified by the local Affidavit of Service of Notice, and published within 15 days of filing (Local Rule 61.2, as modified by the court's administrative entry order of December 22, 2025). An inventory listing real estate must include the real estate description, and the court will accept the county auditor's tax valuation and description where no appraiser is appointed (Local Rule 61.3). Appraiser fees are capped at $450.00 per appraiser without prior court approval (Local Rule 61.1, local rules updated September 20, 2021).
- Handle creditor claims. In Ohio all claims against the estate must be presented within six months after the date of death, whether or not an executor or administrator was appointed in that period, and a claim presented later is forever barred, subject to the Medicaid estate recovery exception (R.C. 2117.06, R.C. 2117.061). Ohio requires no newspaper advertisement of the grant of letters. Where a claim is filed with the Logan County court, the claimant pays a $10.00 filing cost under Local Rule 62.2 (local rules updated September 20, 2021), Medicaid estate recovery claims are exempt from it, the deputy clerk sends a copy to the attorney of record, and a statement or affidavit on the status of every claim filed with the court must be on file before a final account or a report of distribution is approved (Local Rule 62.2).
- Account, then close. The fiduciary must render a final and distributive account within six months after appointment unless one of the statutory exceptions applies, and where the sole heir or beneficiary is also the fiduciary a certificate of termination may be filed instead (R.C. 2109.301). The account goes in on Form 13.0 (Fiduciary's Account). Logan County will not approve an account until all court costs to date are paid, the Appendix A attorney certification is filed, the Appendix B attorney fee statement or written consents are filed, written receipts signed by beneficiaries for what they received are filed, and, where real estate was sold in the accounting period, the closing statement is attached (Local Rule 64.1). Where Ohio real estate passes through the estate, apply for a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0, which the court will not approve until the inventory and appraisal is filed (Local Rule 61.4), and record the certificate with the Logan County Recorder.
Executor duties
The statewide duties of an Ohio executor or administrator are on the Ohio state page: the inventory within three months (R.C. 2115.02), the final and distributive account within six months unless an exception applies (R.C. 2109.301), the six-month claims period measured from the date of death (R.C. 2117.06) and the Medicaid estate recovery notice where the program is in scope (R.C. 2117.061). Logan County adds a short list of its own requirements on top, and they are the ones that cause filings to be returned here.
| Local duty | What the court requires |
|---|---|
| Sign everything yourself | Local Rule 57.7 requires the fiduciary's own original signature on every pleading or filing that law or rule requires a fiduciary to sign, and provides that the attorney may not sign for the fiduciary. Where there are co-fiduciaries, each must sign the original filing or the filing must explain why a signature is absent and what was done to obtain it |
| Prove the seven-day notice of appointment | Local Rule 60.3 requires notice of appointment by regular U.S. mail with proof of service filed as a certificate of service on the court's local form, which certifies that everyone entitled to inherit, including anyone entitled to an allowance for support, who did not receive notice of the appointment hearing or waive notice, was notified within seven days after the appointment |
| Serve and verify notice on the inventory and on every account | The fiduciary, not the court, serves notice of the filing and of the hearing date by ordinary mail and verifies it by the court's local Affidavit of Service of Notice, which certifies notice at least 10 days before the hearing. For an intestate estate that means the surviving spouse and the next of kin listed on Form 1.0; for a testate estate the surviving spouse and the beneficiaries, plus any next of kin who did not receive or waive notice of the admission of the will (Local Rules 61.2 and 64.4) |
| Investigate Medicaid estate recovery and certify the result | Local Rule 62.1 requires the fiduciary or other representative to investigate whether the estate is subject to a claim of the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program and then either file the program's notice form with the court and transmit a copy directly to the program office in Columbus, or file the court's local Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program stating that, after investigation, the estate is not subject to a claim through the decedent or a predeceased spouse |
| Account annually, and exhibit the assets | Local Rule 64.2 requires fiduciary accounts to be filed annually for estates, guardianships and trusts unless the court waives or modifies that, and requires a fiduciary filing a partial account to exhibit all intangible property to the court, with every account or cash balance verified by a current letter from the financial institution holding the funds |
| Clear the file before the account is approved | Local Rule 64.1 will not let the court approve an account until all court costs to date are paid, the Appendix A attorney certification is filed, the Appendix B attorney fee statement or the written consents of all beneficiaries are filed, written receipts signed by beneficiaries for distributions they received are filed, and, where real estate was sold in the accounting period, the closing statement is attached. Local Rule 62.2 adds that the status of every claim filed with the court must be stated by statement or affidavit, or shown on the final account, first |
| Take a commission only within the published guideline | Local Rule 72.1 lets an executor or administrator take compensation as a credit in the accounting without first obtaining an order only up to 4 percent of the first $100,000.00 of property administered, 3 percent of the next $300,000.00 and 2 percent of the balance over $400,000.00 (local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Logan County
Logan County uses the statewide forms and adds its own. Ohio has one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio and used in all 88 counties, and the Logan County Probate Forms page publishes no library of its own: it simply directs you to the Supreme Court of Ohio forms site. But the court does have local forms, and they are easy to miss because they are appended to the back of the 48-page local-rules PDF rather than posted as separate downloads. If you file an estate here you will need both sets.
The load-bearing statewide items for a decedent's estate are Form 1.0 (Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees, and Devisees), Form 2.0 (Application to Probate Will), Form 4.0 (Application for Authority to Administer Estate), Form 4.5 (Entry Appointing Fiduciary; Letter of Authority), Form 5.0 (Application to Relieve Estate From Administration) with Form 5.1 (Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved from Administration), Form 5.10 (Summary Release From Administration), Form 6.0 (Inventory and Appraisal), Form 7.0 (Certification of Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program), Form 12.0 (Application for Certificate of Transfer) and Form 13.0 (Fiduciary's Account). Confirm the current version on the Supreme Court of Ohio forms page before you file, because form numbering and titles are revised from time to time.
The Logan County local forms that matter in an estate are the Certificate of Reasonable Diligence, used where an heir's name or address cannot be found with reasonable diligence and required in the affidavit form the court keeps for that purpose (Local Rule 57.5); the Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary, which proves the seven-day notice of appointment (Local Rule 60.3); the Affidavit of Service of Notice, which certifies that everyone interested in an inventory or account was notified at least 10 days before the hearing or waived notice (Local Rules 61.2 and 64.4); the Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program, used where the fiduciary's investigation shows the estate is not subject to a Medicaid estate recovery claim (Local Rule 62.1); and, on the attorney-fee side, Appendix A Attorney Certificate, Appendix B Attorney Fee Statement and Appendix C Application to Enter into Fee Contract, all three of which Local Rule 64.1 ties to approval of an account. The rules also refer to a local form 5.0A, Short Release from Administration, which is Logan County's own short form for the smallest estates and is not a Standard Probate Form.
Two format rules decide whether the counter accepts your paper. Local Rule 52.1 fixes the caption for probate forms and a different caption for pleadings and motions. Local Rule 57.7 requires the fiduciary's own original signature wherever law or rule requires a fiduciary signature, and provides that an attorney may not sign for the fiduciary, with each co-fiduciary signing or the filing explaining why a signature is missing and what was done to obtain it.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms you file in Logan County, including Forms 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.1, 5.10, 6.0, 7.0, 12.0 and 13.0, with the numbered variants and waivers |
| Logan County Probate Forms page (logancountyohio.gov) | The court's own forms page, which publishes no county form library and points to the Supreme Court of Ohio forms site |
| Logan County Probate Section local rules and local forms (logancountyohio.gov) | The 48-page local-rules PDF, updated September 20, 2021, with the county's local forms appended: Certificate of Reasonable Diligence, Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary, Affidavit of Service of Notice, Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program, and Appendices A, B and C on attorney fees |
| Logan County Probate Division (logancountyohio.gov) | The court's own page, with the case types the Probate Section handles and links to its record search, local rules, marriage license and genealogy pages |
Fees
Ohio splits probate costs in two. Most fee items are set statewide by statute in R.C. 2101.16(A), but the number a family actually pays at the counter is the advance deposit for costs that each probate court may set by its own local rule, which the statute caps at $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)), plus the optional computerization and dispute-resolution charges a court may add (R.C. 2101.162, R.C. 2101.163). Logan County publishes no consolidated dollar deposit schedule for estates. What it does publish is a set of individual cost figures inside the court's Probate Section local rules, updated September 20, 2021, and a rule that says when totals fall due rather than what they are: Local Rule 58.4 requires total costs to be paid on the filing of the accounting or certificate of termination in an estate with a fiduciary, on the report of distribution in a release from administration, and on the certificate transferring real estate where the only asset is real estate, unless waived for good cause by motion and entry. Every figure below carries its source and date, and none of them is a total, so call the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252 and ask what to bring before you file.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Filing fee on an application to appoint a fiduciary | $30.00 | Required by Local Rule 58.1 at the time an application is filed to appoint an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, and directed by the rule to the county indigent guardianship fund under R.C. 2101.16(C). This is not an extra local surcharge: R.C. 2101.16(C), effective September 30, 2025, provides that thirty dollars of the thirty-five-dollar appointment fee and twenty dollars of the sixty-dollar release fee go to that fund (local rules updated September 20, 2021; statute read July 2026) |
| Appointment of a fiduciary, probating a will | $35.00 appointment, $15.00 will | Statutory items, the same in every Ohio county (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025) |
| Release from administration or summary release | $60.00 | The statutory item, effective September 30, 2025, for relieving an estate from administration (R.C. 2113.03) or granting a summary release (R.C. 2113.031), of which $20.00 goes to the county indigent guardianship fund (R.C. 2101.16(A) and (C)) |
| Inventory and account | $10.00 inventory with appraisement, $12.00 account | Statutory items (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025); an inventory without appraisement is $7.00 |
| Copies and certification | 25 cents per page, $1.00 to certify a document | Local Rule 55.2 sets copies of records that are not confidential at 25 cents per page and certification of any document at $1.00 (local rules updated September 20, 2021). The statutory certified-copy item is $1.00 per page with a $1.00 minimum (R.C. 2101.16(A)) |
| Filing a creditor's claim with the court | $10.00 | Paid by the claimant under Local Rule 62.2; Medicaid estate recovery claims are exempt from the $10.00 fee (local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Court reporter fee for a hearing | $25.00 | Local Rule 54.2 sets the court reporter fee for each hearing at $25.00. A party who wants a stenographic record rather than the court's audio recording must tell the court reporter at least 24 hours before the hearing, and a party asking for a transcript of an audio recording pays for the transcription (Local Rule 11.1, local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Appraiser's fee | Up to $450.00 per appraiser | Local Rule 61.1 provides that an appraiser's fee may not be based on the amount of the appraisal or the sale and shall be a maximum of $450.00 per appraiser as agreed between the fiduciary and the appraiser, with anything above that requiring prior court approval on the fiduciary's written application (local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Guardianship investigator fee | $50.00 | Local Rule 58.3 requires a $50.00 guardianship investigator fee, $25.00 for the initial contact with the ward and $25.00 for the report to the court, when an application is filed to appoint a guardian for an incompetent person, adjusted where amendments or extra visits are needed. This is a guardianship cost rather than an estate cost, but families often need both (local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Publication of a notice | Set by the publisher, not the court | Publication is required on an application to relieve an estate from administration unless waived or dispensed with (R.C. 2113.03) and on an inventory under Local Rule 61.2. Since the court's administrative entry order of December 22, 2025, notices in Logan County cases publish in the Daily Court Reporter, and the filer arranges publication directly with the publisher, pays the cost, and asks the publisher to file proof of publication with an invoice or receipt so the cost can be assessed in the case |
| Attorney fee guideline, full administration | 5 percent on the first $100,000.00, 3 percent above that, 2 percent of non-probate property | Local Rule 71.2 publishes this as a guide only for an ordinary estate, states expressly that it is neither a minimum nor a maximum, and reserves the court's right to review any fee. Non-probate property for this purpose includes joint and survivorship assets, transfer on death and payable on death assets, individual retirement accounts and annuities. No application for attorney fees is needed where the fiduciary is also the sole beneficiary of a solvent estate, or where all beneficiaries consent in writing or the guidelines are followed and the Appendix B fee statement is filed (Local Rules 71.1 and 71.2, local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
| Executor's or administrator's commission guideline | 4 percent of the first $100,000.00, 3 percent of the next $300,000.00, 2 percent of the balance over $400,000.00 | Local Rule 72.1 sets this as the ceiling on compensation an executor or administrator may take as a credit in the accounting without first applying for an order (local rules updated September 20, 2021) |
Timeline
- Notice on an application to relieve an estate from administration: seven days written notice to the heirs at law, unless waived by all parties or dispensed with by the court (Local Rule 60.5).
- Notice of the appointment of the fiduciary: by regular U.S. mail within seven days after the appointment, proved by filing the court's local Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary (Local Rule 60.3).
- Inventory: filed within three months after appointment unless the court extends the time for good cause (R.C. 2115.02), then set for hearing no later than one month after it is filed unless notice is waived, with publication within 15 days of filing (Local Rule 61.2).
- Notice of an inventory or an account: mailed by ordinary mail and verified by the court's local Affidavit of Service of Notice, which certifies notice at least 10 days before the date set for hearing (Local Rules 61.2 and 64.4).
- Accounts: a final and distributive account within six months after appointment unless a statutory exception applies (R.C. 2109.301), and under Local Rule 64.2 fiduciary accounts are filed annually for estates, guardianships and trusts unless the court waives or modifies that.
- Report of distribution in a release from administration: filed within 60 days of the appointment of a commissioner unless waived for good cause (Local Rule 64.6).
- Extensions on a late inventory or account: the court will accept three extensions in 30 day increments, or in 90 day increments where the only asset is real estate, and will not accept an application for an extension after a citation notice has issued (Local Rule 56.2).
- Citations for delinquent filings: issued to fiduciaries by certified mail, with no extensions granted after issuance and the appearance of both the fiduciary and the attorney required at the hearing, which is waived only after the proper filings are made (Local Rule 78.1). No expenditure, sale, distribution or fee is approved while a fiduciary is delinquent in filing an accounting (Local Rule 64.5).
- Continuances: absent good cause shown by affidavit, a motion to continue a hearing goes in writing, with the adverse parties' approval, three days before the scheduled hearing (Local Rule 56.1).
- Certificate of transfer for real estate: not approved by the court until after the inventory and appraisal has been filed (Local Rule 61.4).
- Motions: responses within 14 days, with the court setting a hearing within 30 days of the request or, where none is requested, within 30 days if the court considers a hearing necessary before ruling. A land sale not concluded within one year of filing is set for pre-trial, and a hearing on a wrongful death settlement is held within 30 days after the application to settle is filed (Local Rules 78.1 and 70.1).
Local nuance
Logan County-specific considerations
Probate here is not a stand-alone division. This is the structural fact that trips up guidance written for Ohio generally. In most Ohio counties an elected probate judge presides over the probate division alone, or over probate and juvenile together. In Logan County probate is the Probate Section of a three-part FAMILY COURT DIVISION of the Court of Common Pleas, which also carries domestic relations and juvenile cases, under two judges, one of them the Administrative Judge of the division. The Supreme Court of Ohio directory still names the court the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, and the court's own local rules are captioned Family Court, Probate Division, so all three names describe the same office. What it means in practice is that the phone may be answered for the Family Court rather than for probate, that the estate counter is one of several in the building, and that you should use the direct Probate Section line, (937) 599-7252, rather than the Family Court main line.
The court's own local forms are hidden inside the local-rules PDF. Logan County's Probate Forms page publishes no county forms at all and sends you to the Supreme Court of Ohio site, which makes it easy to conclude there are no local forms. There are: the Certificate of Reasonable Diligence, the Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary, the Affidavit of Service of Notice for an inventory or account, the Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program and the three attorney-fee appendices are all appended to the back of the 48-page local-rules PDF. Local Rule 64.1 makes two of the appendices a condition of approving an account, so a filer who never opened the local rules will be sent back.
Facsimile filing is allowed, but not for opening an estate. Local Rule 57.6, adopted under Civ.R. 5(E) and Civ.R. 73(J), lets pleadings and other papers be filed with the probate clerk's office by fax to (937) 292-4121, and says the machine runs seven days a week and 24 hours a day. The exclusions matter more than the permission: no original wills or codicils, nothing requiring service of summons or issuance of documents, no surety bonds or verifications of receipt or deposit of assets, no consents, nothing requiring certification by the court, no filing that assesses cost to a case other than an extension for an inventory or account, no transmission over 10 pages, and no filing that would require a new case number or originate a proceeding. The rule also does not apply to adoption or mental illness proceedings or to appeals. A faxed document is stricken from the record by judgment entry if the original is not filed within three business days, and the risk of transmitting by fax is on the sender. So the first estate filing goes in on paper, at the counter or by mail.
The court publishes cost figures but no estate deposit total. Some Ohio counties post a one-page court-cost schedule with a line for a full administration and a line for a release from administration. Logan County does not. Its Local Rule 58.1 publishes a single $30.00 filing fee on an application to appoint a fiduciary, and Local Rule 58.4 tells you when total costs fall due rather than what they are. The individual figures that do exist, 25 cents a page for copies, $1.00 to certify, $10.00 to file a claim, $25.00 for a court reporter at a hearing, $450.00 as the appraiser ceiling, are scattered through local rules last updated September 20, 2021. Treat any single dollar figure you find online for a Logan County estate with suspicion and ring the Probate Section instead.
One location rule in the local rules is out of date. Local Rule 53.2, in rules last updated September 20, 2021, says court sessions are held in Family Courtrooms A through D at the Carnegie Building on North Main Street or in Courtroom 4 of the county annex. The Carnegie building served as the temporary courthouse while the 1870 courthouse was restored after storm damage to its tower, and the county no longer occupies it; every current county page, including the Family Court page, the Family Court contact page and the court's genealogy records sheet, gives 101 South Main Street for the court and its offices. Read the hearing notice you are sent, and if it names a building you do not recognize, call (937) 599-7252 before driving anywhere.
This is a small counter handling a steady estate docket. The Family Court Division's own 2025 annual report shows the Probate Section staffed by three probate deputy clerks and handling roughly 250 estate cases in the year alongside marriage licenses, guardianships, adoptions, name changes, minor settlements, adult protective services and birth registrations. The court's published probate filing statistics show estate filings running between about 230 and 325 a year over the previous decade. That is a real docket for three clerks, which is the practical reason to call before you drive in and to bring a complete filing the first time.
Small-estate Alternatives
Logan County runs its own short form for the smallest estates, and it is worth knowing about before you assume you have to file a full release. Local Rule 60.6 provides that where the court is satisfied that all creditors are paid in full and the decedent's assets are less than $5,000, it will allow a local form 5.0A, Short Release from Administration, to be filed. Local Rule 60.7 carries the same short form for a sole heir or surviving spouse where assets are less than $10,000.00. Both rules are in local rules last updated September 20, 2021. Unless waived, notice of the application goes to all next of kin, a receipt for the distribution of estate assets and payment of total costs is due within 30 days of the order, and the court will waive notice where the applicant is receiving assets in lieu of reimbursement for expenses or where reimbursement is being made to the Medicaid estate recovery program. Where an original will is not being admitted but is being filed with the short release application, the court requires a separate application and judgment entry to deposit the will.
Read those two figures for what they are: the court's own local practice for allowing its own short form, not statutory ceilings, and not the same numbers as Ohio's statutory small-estate routes. Form 5.0A is a Logan County local form, not a Standard Probate Form, and it is not the same thing as the statewide Form 5.0 or Form 5.10. Ohio's statutory release from administration reaches considerably further, up to $35,000 in assets generally and up to $100,000 where a surviving spouse inherits everything (R.C. 2113.03), and the separate summary release route has its own figures and conditions (R.C. 2113.031). Those statewide paths are explained on the Ohio state page. The practical step in Logan County is to call the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252, describe the estate, and ask which application the court wants: the local short release, a release from administration on Forms 5.0 and 5.1, a summary release on Form 5.10, or a full administration. A release of any kind still does not shorten the six-month creditor period measured from the date of death (R.C. 2117.06).
Recent updates
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| December 22, 2025 | Legal-notice publication in Logan County court cases moved to the Daily Court Reporter. An administrative entry order of the Logan County Common Pleas Court, General Division and Family Court Division, dated December 22, 2025 and filed December 23, 2025, records that the Bellefontaine Examiner ceased operations on December 13, 2025 with no advance notice to the court or litigants, finds that no other newspaper of general circulation is printed within Logan County, and orders that all publications of legal notices in pending and new cases before both divisions be printed in the Daily Court Reporter, which will also post notices online. Parties may supplement with the County Classifieds or WPKO Radio and PeakofOhio.com and be reimbursed as allowable court costs. The order supersedes General Division Local Rule 11 and expressly modifies Probate Local Rule 61.2, so it changes how notice is published on an application to relieve an estate from administration and on an inventory (source: the court's own administrative entry order, published on the Family Court pages at logancountyohio.gov, verified July 2026). |
| September 20, 2021 | The current Probate Section local rules took their present form, captioned Probate Section Local Rules updated September 20, 2021. They carry the court's hours, captions, facsimile-filing rule, court-cost figures, release-from-administration practice including the local form 5.0A short release, inventory and account notice requirements, attorney-fee and commission guidelines, and the county's local forms. One provision is out of date: Local Rule 53.2 still names courtrooms in the Carnegie Building on North Main Street, which the county no longer occupies, while every current county page gives 101 South Main Street (source: the local-rules PDF hosted by the county and linked from the Supreme Court of Ohio local-rules index, verified July 2026). |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Logan County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Bellefontaine or Indian Lake home was held jointly with right of survivorship, or was covered by a transfer on death designation affidavit recorded with the Logan County Recorder before death (R.C. 5302.22), it passes to the survivor outside probate and the court is not involved in the house itself. If other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse files with the Probate Section at 101 South Main Street: Form 2.0 and Form 4.0 with a will, leading to letters testamentary, or Form 4.0 alone with no will, leading to letters of administration, plus Form 1.0 either way. Where the spouse inherits everything the estate may qualify to be released from administration rather than fully administered (R.C. 2113.03), which is a shorter filing on Forms 5.0 and 5.1, and Logan County's own Local Rule 60.7 short release may fit a very small estate. Notice of appointment goes out within seven days on the court's local certificate. | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Logan County filing, whether a full administration or a release. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be contested. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Where the whole estate is worth $35,000 or less, or $100,000 or less where a surviving spouse inherits everything, an interested party can apply to relieve the estate from administration on Forms 5.0 and 5.1 instead of running a full administration (R.C. 2113.03). Publication is required on that application unless waived or dispensed with, and since the court's December 22, 2025 administrative entry order that publication goes in the Daily Court Reporter and is arranged and paid for by the filer. A release still requires attention to Medicaid estate recovery where the program is in scope (R.C. 2117.061) and does not shorten the six-month creditor window (R.C. 2117.06). Because Logan County publishes no probate e-filing, an out-of-state child files by mail to 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311 and calls (937) 599-7252 to confirm what the office needs, rather than flying in to file. | Asset discovery to establish the estate's value from out of state and confirm which route it qualifies for. Packet generation for the release or the full administration, assembled so it can be mailed to Bellefontaine and accepted the first time. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because real property has to be sold, this goes through a full administration: with no will the parent files Form 4.0 with the Probate Section, is appointed administrator and receives letters of administration; with a will the parent probates it on Form 2.0 and receives letters testamentary. The inventory follows within three months (R.C. 2115.02) on Form 6.0, must include the real estate description, and the court will accept the county auditor's tax valuation and description where no appraiser is appointed (Local Rule 61.3); an appraiser's fee is capped at $450.00 without prior court approval (Local Rule 61.1, local rules updated September 20, 2021). The inventory is set for hearing within a month of filing unless notice is waived (Local Rule 61.2). Where the property is transferred to heirs rather than sold, the route is a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0, which the court will not approve until the inventory is filed (Local Rule 61.4), recorded with the Logan County Recorder at 100 South Madriver Street. A land sale not concluded within a year of filing is set for pre-trial (Local Rule 78.1). Any hearing is at the courthouse in Bellefontaine. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, insurance and real property. Packet generation for the administration and the inventory. Attorney referral where the sale, a mortgage payoff or a dispute among heirs makes counsel worthwhile. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Logan County Probate Division (logancountyohio.gov), (937) 599-7252 | The filing office for estates: the case types the Probate Section handles and links to its record search, local rules, marriage license, genealogy and forms pages. Court staff can explain procedure and check whether a will was deposited, but cannot give legal advice |
| Logan County Family Court Division contact page (logancountyohio.gov) | Every line in the building set out by department, including the Probate Department at (937) 599-7252 and its fax at (937) 292-4121, so you can avoid dialling the Clerk of Courts, the General Division, Domestic Relations or the Juvenile Department by mistake |
| Logan County Probate Section local rules and local forms (logancountyohio.gov) | The court's own rules, updated September 20, 2021: hours in Rule 53.1, copy costs in Rule 55.2, captions in Rule 52.1, facsimile filing in Rule 57.6, court costs in Rule 58, release from administration in Rules 60.5 to 60.7, appraisers and inventory notice in Rule 61, claims and Medicaid estate recovery in Rule 62, accounts in Rule 64, attorney fees in Rule 71 and fiduciary commissions in Rule 72, with the county's local forms appended |
| Logan County administrative entry order on notice by publication, December 22, 2025 (logancountyohio.gov) | The order that moved all legal-notice publication in Logan County cases to the Daily Court Reporter after the county's newspaper closed, modified Probate Local Rule 61.2, and set out how a filer arranges and pays for publication and proves it |
| Logan County eServices record search (eservices.logancountycourts.com) | The search the Probate Court's own menu links as its Record Search and Probate Court Case Search, covering the county's Common Pleas General and Family Court. Protected by an image test, and its notice states only that civil, criminal and domestic records start with June 1988, so confirm estate coverage with the court |
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms used in every Ohio county, including Logan, with the numbered variants and waivers |
| Supreme Court of Ohio Ohio trial courts and local rules directory (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The official listing for Logan County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, which links the court's page and its local-rules PDF, useful for confirming you have the right court and the current rules |
| Logan County genealogy records sheet (logancountyohio.gov) | The court's own guide to which office holds which old record, with addresses, phone numbers and hours for the Probate Department, the Clerk of Courts, the county recorder and the Logan County Genealogical Society. Useful when you need an older will, estate or marriage record |
| Ohio Legal Help (ohiolegalhelp.org) | Plain-language Ohio probate guides, including release from administration and summary release, from a statewide non-profit. Not a government site, so confirm court contact details with the court itself |
| Legal Aid of Western Ohio (lawolaw.org) and Legal Aid Line (legalaidline.org), (888) 534-1432 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Legal Aid of Western Ohio serves 32 northwest and west central Ohio counties and lists Logan among them, with intake by the Legal Aid Line or online. Confirm it can take a probate matter before relying on it |
| Ohio Legal Help: find your legal aid (ohiolegalhelp.org) | Confirms which legal-aid program covers a given Ohio county and how to apply |
| Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral (ohiobar.org) | Referrals to Ohio probate attorneys, useful in a county with a small local bar |
| Supreme Court of Ohio certified lawyer referral services (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The list of referral services registered with the Supreme Court of Ohio, which is where to check whether a county or regional bar association near you runs one |
When to hire an attorney
Many Logan County estates are uncontested and can be handled without an attorney, particularly where a surviving spouse inherits everything and the estate qualifies to be relieved from administration rather than fully administered. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when farm ground, an Indian Lake property or other real estate has to be sold or divided through a land sale proceeding, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing a claim inside the six-month window (R.C. 2117.06), when a wrongful-death or injury claim is part of the estate, when the estate includes a business or out-of-state property, or when a guardianship for a minor or an incompetent adult has to run alongside the estate. The practical local factor is that this court's rules do real work: the filer prepares and verifies the notices, the fiduciary must sign personally, an account is not approved until the attorney certification, the fee statement, the beneficiary receipts and any closing statement are all on file, and a delinquent filing draws a citation by certified mail with the fiduciary's appearance required. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Logan County and the surrounding west central counties.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Logan County real estate and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Ohio estate settlement route fits before you drive to Bellefontaine.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, whether a full administration or an application to relieve the estate from administration, on the statewide Standard Probate Forms, ready to file on paper with the Logan County Probate Court at the counter or by mail.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Logan County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Logan County?
With the Logan County Probate Court at the Logan County Courthouse, 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311. It is the probate division of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas (R.C. 2101.01), and the court itself calls the estate counter the Probate Section of its Family Court Division. Because the probate judge is also the clerk of the probate court (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)), estates are filed with the probate court itself, not with the Logan County Clerk of Courts, which sits in Room 218 of the same courthouse and serves the General Division. File in Logan County if the person was a resident of the county at the time of death (R.C. 2113.01).
What is the phone number for the Logan County Probate Court, and what are its hours?
The Probate Section's own line is (937) 599-7252, published as the Probate Department number on the court's Family Court Division contact page and repeated on its marriage license and genealogy pages. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is closed Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as ordered by the county commissioners, under Local Rule 53.1 of the court's own local rules (verified July 2026), which matches the hours the court publishes for its other divisions in the same building. Marriage applications are not accepted after 4:00 p.m. Be careful with directories: (937) 599-7249 is the Family Court main line, (937) 599-7275 is the Clerk of Courts, and (937) 599-7245 is the Juvenile Department, none of which opens estates.
Is there e-filing for probate in Logan County?
None is published. The Probate Section's local rules contain no electronic-filing provision at all: they provide for paper filing and, in Local Rule 57.6, for facsimile filing of some later documents. The county's eServices portal does show an eFile tab, but it opens a username and password login, the portal is the Common Pleas General and Family Court public access site and its support line is the Clerk of Courts, and the court publishes no probate e-filing rule, vendor or instructions. Ohio has no statewide probate e-filing system: the large metro counties run their own and most rural counties, including Logan, are paper. Ask at (937) 599-7252 before assuming a document can be filed electronically.
Can I fax a probate filing to the Logan County Probate Court?
Some documents, but not a new estate. Local Rule 57.6 allows filing by facsimile to (937) 292-4121 and states the machine operates seven days a week and 24 hours a day, but it excludes original wills and codicils, anything requiring service of summons or the issuance of documents, surety bonds and verifications of receipt or deposit of assets, consents, anything requiring certification by the court, most filings that assess cost to a case, any transmission over 10 pages, and any filing that would require a new case number or originate a proceeding. A faxed document is stricken by judgment entry if the original is not filed within three business days, and a fax must carry a cover sheet naming the court, the case, the documents, the date, the transmitting fax number, the page count and the sending party.
Can I file probate papers by mail in Logan County?
Yes. The court publishes no separate post office box, so mail filings go to 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311. Call (937) 599-7252 first if you are sending an original will or another original document, and ask what the office needs on intake. Check the caption requirements in Local Rule 52.1 and remember that Local Rule 57.7 requires your own original signature wherever a fiduciary signature is required, so a mailed packet has to include the signed originals rather than copies.
How do I look up a Logan County probate case online?
Through the county's shared eServices portal at eservices.logancountycourts.com, which the Probate Court's own menu links as its Record Search and Probate Court Case Search. It covers the Logan County Common Pleas General and Family Court, is protected by an image test so it will not open in an automated tool, and its notice says only that the civil, criminal and domestic records on the site start with June 1988, without saying how far back estates go. For anything the portal does not show, ask the Probate Section at (937) 599-7252 or visit the counter; copies of records that are not confidential cost 25 cents per page and certifying a document costs $1.00 (Local Rule 55.2, local rules updated September 20, 2021). Older records are split between the court and the Logan County Genealogical Society, and the court publishes a sheet showing which holds what.
What forms do I need for probate in Logan County?
Both the statewide forms and the county's own. Logan County's Probate Forms page publishes no county forms and points to the Supreme Court of Ohio site, so start there: for a full administration the core items are Form 1.0 (Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees, and Devisees), Form 2.0 (Application to Probate Will) if there is a will, Form 4.0 (Application for Authority to Administer Estate), Form 6.0 (Inventory and Appraisal) and Form 13.0 (Fiduciary's Account); for a smaller estate, Forms 5.0 and 5.1 to be relieved from administration, or Form 5.10 for a summary release. Then open the court's local-rules PDF, because Logan County's local forms are appended to the back of it: the Certificate of Reasonable Diligence, the Certificate of Service of Appointment of Fiduciary, the Affidavit of Service of Notice for an inventory or account, the Certificate Regarding Estate Recovery Program, and the Appendix A, B and C attorney-fee papers that Local Rule 64.1 ties to approval of an account.
How much does it cost to file probate in Logan County?
Ohio fixes most fee items by statute, including $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary, $15.00 to probate a will and $60.00 to relieve an estate from administration or grant a summary release (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025), and each probate court may set its own advance deposit for costs by local rule, which cannot exceed $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)). Logan County publishes no consolidated estate deposit schedule. Its Local Rule 58.1 requires a $30.00 filing fee when an application to appoint an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian is filed, which the rule sends to the county indigent guardianship fund under R.C. 2101.16(C), and its Local Rule 58.4 says when total costs fall due rather than what they are. Other published figures include 25 cents per page for copies and $1.00 to certify a document (Local Rule 55.2), $10.00 to file a creditor's claim (Local Rule 62.2) and $25.00 for the court reporter at a hearing (Local Rule 54.2), all in local rules last updated September 20, 2021. Call (937) 599-7252 and ask what to bring.
Where do notices in a Logan County estate get published now that the local newspaper has closed?
In the Daily Court Reporter. The court's administrative entry order dated December 22, 2025 records that the Bellefontaine Examiner ceased operations on December 13, 2025 with no advance notice to the court or litigants, finds that no other newspaper of general circulation is printed within Logan County, and orders that all publications of legal notices in pending and new cases before the General Division and the Family Court Division be printed in the Daily Court Reporter, which also posts notices online. Parties may choose to supplement that publication in two Bellefontaine-based outlets, the County Classifieds or WPKO Radio and PeakofOhio.com, and the court will allow reimbursement of the supplemental cost as court costs. The order expressly modifies Probate Local Rule 61.2. This matters in an estate because publication is required on an application to relieve an estate from administration unless waived or dispensed with (R.C. 2113.03) and on an inventory under Local Rule 61.2, and the filer arranges publication directly with the publisher, pays the cost, and asks the publisher to file proof of publication with an invoice or receipt for the cost.
Do I have to travel to Bellefontaine to settle an estate in Logan County?
Not usually just to file. Papers can be mailed to the Probate Section at 101 South Main Street, Bellefontaine, OH 43311, so someone at the edge of the county or living out of state can open and run an uncontested estate largely by mail and phone. Plan on Bellefontaine for a hearing, including the hearing the court sets on an inventory within a month of filing unless notice is waived (Local Rule 61.2), and for picking up certified copies of the letter of authority, which cost $1.00 per page (R.C. 2101.16(A), effective September 30, 2025) and are what banks and title companies ask for. Nothing is published about telephone or video appearances, so ask the court at (937) 599-7252 whether a particular hearing can be handled remotely.
Is the Logan County Probate Court the same as the Family Court?
It is one part of it. Logan County does not run probate as a stand-alone division: probate is the Probate Section of the Family Court Division of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, and the same division also carries domestic relations and juvenile cases under two judges, one of them the Administrative Judge of the division. The Supreme Court of Ohio directory lists the court as the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, and the court's own local rules are captioned Family Court, Probate Division, so all of those names describe the same office. It does not change the law that applies to your estate, but it does mean you should dial the Probate Section directly at (937) 599-7252 rather than the Family Court main line, and that wills, estates, guardianships, name changes and marriage licenses all go to the same counter.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.