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Madison County, OH Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Madison County Probate Court, the probate division of the Madison County Court of Common Pleas under the Ohio Revised Code (R.C. 2101.01). Its formal name in the Supreme Court of Ohio's court and local-rules listings is the Madison County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division. One elected judge presides over both the Probate Division and the Juvenile Division, which is common in Ohio's smaller counties, and each division has its own separate set of local rules |
| Filing office | The probate court's own clerk's office at the courthouse in London, run by a chief deputy clerk. The elected probate judge is also the clerk of the probate court (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)), so estates, wills, trusts and guardianships are filed with the probate court directly. The Madison County Clerk of Courts, (740) 852-9776, serves the general and domestic relations divisions and does not open estates |
| Courthouse | Madison County Courthouse, 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140. That is the address the court prints on its own filing packets and on its preprinted notice of hearing forms (verified July 2026). The court's marriage-application page describes the probate office as being on the first floor of the courthouse, so ask at the counter if the room number and the floor do not match |
| Mailing address | The court publishes no separate post office box, so mail filings go to 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope: under Local Rule 57.2 the court will not return file-stamped copies by mail unless one is supplied |
| Phone | (740) 852-0756, the number the Madison County Probate Court prints on its own letterhead on the filing packets it publishes (verified July 2026). This is the probate line. Do not use (740) 852-0760, which is the Juvenile Court, or (740) 852-9776, which is the Clerk of Courts |
| Fax | (740) 852-7353, and it is a filing fax, not just a message line. Local Rule 57.1 lets pleadings and other papers be filed with the Probate Court Clerk's Office by facsimile transmission to that number, with conditions. The juvenile fax, (740) 852-7134, is a different number for a different division |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except legal holidays, per Local Rule 53.1 of the court's own local rules effective April 23, 2026. Marriage license applications close earlier: the court takes them in person Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This is a small combined probate and juvenile court, so call (740) 852-0756 before driving to London with a complicated 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)), $60.00 to relieve an estate from administration or grant a summary release, and $1.00 per page for certified copies. On top of those items each probate court sets its own advance deposit for costs by local rule, up to $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)). Madison County publishes its schedule as Appendix A to its local rules, effective April 23, 2026: an Application for Authority to Administer Estate takes a required initial deposit of $125.00 with a suggested deposit of $200.00, an Application to Relieve Estate from Administration is the same $125.00 with a suggested $200.00, and an Application for Summary Release from Administration is $86.00 without a will or $116.00 with a will. The clerk may demand an additional security deposit of up to $150.00 if the initial deposit does not cover the costs incurred, and no final or distributive account is approved until all court costs are paid. See the fees section for the full schedule |
| Local forms | Yes. Madison County publishes a Full Administration of Estate Packet and a Full Administration of Estate Checklist in its Document Center, alongside packets for guardianships, minor settlements, wrongful death, adoptions, birth records and name changes. The estate packet is the statewide Standard Probate Forms preprinted with the court's own caption, and it carries at least one local numbered form, MCPC Form 1-DF, the Fiduciary's Acceptance for an executor or administrator. Local Rule 51.1 confirms approved forms are available at the Probate Clerk's Office or on the court's website, forbids stapled filings, and requires multi-page filings to be paperclipped or otherwise bound |
| E-filing | None for probate. The Madison County Probate Court's local rules provide for paper filing at the counter or by mail and for fax filing to (740) 852-7353 under Local Rule 57.1, and they contain no electronic-filing provision. The e-Filing link on the county's court pages belongs to the Madison County Clerk of Courts and serves the general and domestic relations divisions, not the Probate Division |
| Case search | Yes, and it is unusually complete for a small county. The court's Record Search page runs a free public index search covering estates, guardianships, trusts, civil cases, miscellaneous cases and marriages, in two databases, 1996 to current and pre-1996. An estate result opens a case-information screen showing the decedent, the date of death, the fiduciary and attorney, and the dates letters were issued and the inventory and accounts were filed and approved, plus a docket-entry screen where the imaged entries link the PDF of the filed document (verified July 2026) |
| Remote appearance | Nothing is published. The probate local rules cover recording of proceedings, stenographers and courtroom conduct but say nothing about telephone or video appearances, so ask the court at (740) 852-0756 whether a given hearing can be handled remotely |
| Website | https://www.co.madison.oh.us/departments/court_system/juvenile_probate/probate_court.php (the Madison County Probate Court's own page; the Supreme Court of Ohio's directory links the county's Juvenile/Probate section) and https://www.co.madison.oh.us/document_center/Juvenile%20Probate/Probate/Madison%20County%20Probate%20Court%20Local%20Rules.pdf (the court's own probate local rules, effective April 23, 2026). The same county site also answers at madison.oh.gov, with identical paths |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Madison 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, different notice steps and different deposits at this court's counter. Those routes and their dollar ceilings are statewide and are explained on the Ohio state page. Getting the numbers right first matters here because Madison County's own local rules put the valuation work on you: the court will accept the Madison County Auditor's property records as the value of real property and a nationally recognized used-vehicle guide as the value of vehicles, but only if you attach the supporting page to the schedule you file.
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 recorded transfer on death designation affidavit (R.C. 5302.22) go directly to the survivor or beneficiary and never reach the probate court. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step, so the application you hand across the counter in London lists the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
Madison County Probate Court in London is the single probate filing office for the whole county. Everything is at one address, 1 North Main Street, Room 205, and there is no branch, satellite or district office. The court serves every part of the county, including the City of London, the county seat, and the Villages of Mt. Sterling, Plain City and West Jefferson, along with the townships of Canaan, Darby, Deercreek, Fairfield, Jefferson, Monroe, Oak Run, Paint, Pike, Pleasant, Range, Somerford, Stokes and Union. The county sits directly west of Franklin County and Columbus, so many Madison County families work, bank and see doctors in the Columbus metro even though their estate is filed in London. Papers can be mailed to the court, and Local Rule 57.1 also allows fax filing, so most of an uncontested estate can be handled without repeated trips to London.
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 Madison County, file in Madison County Probate Court, even if they died in a hospital in Columbus, Springfield or Dayton. Ohio's statute says resident, not domiciled, and the probate court in which the will is admitted is the court that grants letters. 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 Madison County's sits in London. Where a will has already been admitted in another Ohio county, an estate transcript filed here carries its own cost line in the court's schedule.
Two different court offices share the courthouse at 1 North Main Street, and only one of them handles estates. Madison County Probate Court, reached at (740) 852-0756, is the probate division of the Court of Common Pleas and is where wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, name changes and marriage licenses are handled; the same elected judge also runs the Juvenile Division, which publishes its own separate local rules and its own phone, (740) 852-0760. The Madison County Clerk of Courts, (740) 852-9776, serves the general and domestic relations divisions and does not open estates. Use the number the probate court prints on its own filing packets.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a 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. Madison County gives you thirty days from the initial filing to get a copy of the death certificate on file, and the copy does not have to be certified (Local Rule 51.1).
- Download the county's Full Administration of Estate Packet. Ohio uses one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in every county, and Madison County publishes them preprinted with its own caption as a single 34-page packet in the Document Center on its Forms page, together with a Full Administration of Estate Checklist. 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, Form 4.0 (Application for Authority to Administer Estate) and the county's own MCPC Form 1-DF Fiduciary's Acceptance. 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).
- Decide how the assets will be valued before you file the inventory. Madison County's Local Rule 61.1 lets you skip a formal appraisal for much of a typical estate: the market value in the Madison County Auditor's property records is accepted as the readily ascertainable value of real property, including mobile, modular and manufactured homes, and the median of trade-in and retail value from a current nationally recognized used-vehicle guide is accepted for vehicles, boats, trailers and similar property. In each case you attach a copy of the auditor's valuation or the guide page to Form 6.1, Form 5.1 or Form 5.10, whichever applies. Household goods do not have to be listed and valued item by item unless they are specifically bequeathed. Where an appraiser is needed, one suitable and disinterested appraiser is appointed by the fiduciary with court approval, and real estate appraisals may be done by licensed agents, brokers, auctioneers, credentialed appraisers or real estate loan officers of local financial institutions.
- File at the counter in London, by mail, or by fax. Take or send the completed packet to Madison County Probate Court, 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. Do not staple anything: Local Rule 51.1 says the court will not accept stapled filings and requires multi-page filings to be paperclipped or otherwise bound. If you mail a filing, include a self-addressed stamped envelope or you will not get file-stamped copies back (Local Rule 57.2). Fax filing to (740) 852-7353 is allowed under Local Rule 57.1, but not for an original will or codicil, not for a document that has to be certified before filing, not for adoption or mental illness cases, not for more than twenty pages, and not until the costs are paid.
- Pay the deposit. Under Local Rule 58.1 the advance deposit is the one set in Appendix A to the court's local rules, effective April 23, 2026: $125.00 required with a suggested deposit of $200.00 for an Application for Authority to Administer Estate, the same for an Application to Relieve Estate from Administration, and $86.00 without a will or $116.00 with a will for an Application for Summary Release from Administration. Those deposits cover the statutory items drawn against them, including the $35.00 fiduciary appointment fee and the $15.00 fee to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)), and R.C. 2101.16(E) caps the advance-deposit component at $125.00. The clerk may demand up to $150.00 more later if the deposit runs short. Cash, check and money order are accepted for a fax filing under Local Rule 57.1; marriage licenses are cash or money order only.
- 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. Certified copies cost $1.00 per page (R.C. 2101.16(A)), so ask for enough copies for every institution the estate deals with while you are at the counter. If you are not an Ohio resident, Local Rule 60.1 applies before you can be appointed: you must comply with R.C. 2109.21, use an Ohio-licensed attorney as attorney of record, and satisfy the court by placing a substantial amount of the personal assets in a custodial depository in Madison County (R.C. 2109.13), having an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, or posting a bond (R.C. 2109.04).
- Send the Medicaid estate recovery notice within 30 days if it applies. Where the decedent, or the decedent's spouse, was subject to the Medicaid estate recovery program, the person responsible for the estate must 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)). Compliance is certified to the court on Form 7.0, and the Madison County estate checklist looks for it before a final account. This applies to a release from administration too, which surprises people.
- File the inventory within three months and get it set for hearing. 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) with Form 6.1 where a schedule of assets is used. Madison County's Local Rule 61.1(J) puts the notice on the fiduciary: send Notice of Hearing on Inventory to the surviving spouse, next of kin, legatees and devisees by regular mail or collect waivers, then file an Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing with the notices or waivers and the orders on filing and approving the inventory, no later than the hearing date. If all the waivers and the affidavit go in at the same time as the inventory and no exceptions have been filed, the hearing is held forthwith and the inventory is allowed and confirmed. Exceptions to the inventory must be filed in writing at least five days before the hearing date (R.C. 2115.16), and cost $20.00 (Appendix A).
- 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 (R.C. 2117.06), subject only to the Medicaid estate recovery exception in R.C. 2117.061(D). Ohio requires no newspaper advertisement of the grant of letters. Filing a claim against a Madison County estate costs $20.00 (Appendix A). If the estate is insolvent, Local Rule 62.1 has the court set a hearing on the Representation of Insolvency, and the executor or administrator must serve written notice of that hearing and file proof of service and any waivers; the fiduciary also serves any order disapproving a claim on the claimant.
- 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). Local Rule 64.1 adds Madison County's own requirements: the fiduciary signs the account personally, serves a copy on the surviving spouse and all next of kin in an intestate estate or on the surviving spouse and all beneficiaries in a testate estate and files a certificate saying so, sends Notice of Hearing on Account to interested parties by certified mail and to unpaid creditors by ordinary mail or collects waivers, and files an Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing with the signed certified mail cards no later than the hearing date. All court costs must be paid before a final or distributive account is approved (Appendix A). Where Ohio real estate passes through the estate, apply for a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0 and record the certificate with the Madison County Recorder.
Executor duties
A Madison County executor or administrator carries the statewide Ohio duties, which are covered on the Ohio state page: qualify and take the letters, inventory the estate within three months (R.C. 2115.02), deal with claims presented within six months of death (R.C. 2117.06), and account within six months of appointment unless an exception applies (R.C. 2109.301). What follows are the additional things the Madison County Probate Court's own local rules require of a fiduciary, all from the Madison County Probate Court local rules effective April 23, 2026.
| Duty | What Madison County requires |
|---|---|
| Accept the appointment on the county's own form | File MCPC Form 1-DF, the Fiduciary's Acceptance for an executor or administrator, from the court's Full Administration of Estate Packet. Check the box stating you are also the sole legatee, devisee or heir if that is true, because that is what switches off partial accountings under Local Rule 78.1(C)(4) |
| Get the death certificate on file within thirty days | A copy of the decedent's death certificate must be filed within thirty days of the initial filing, and it does not have to be certified (Local Rule 51.1) |
| Keep your contact details on the account | Every account must be personally signed by the fiduciary and carry the fiduciary's full name, current address and telephone number if they differ from those on the application to administer. Where more than one fiduciary has been appointed, all of them must sign (Local Rule 64.1(A) and (B)) |
| Send the inventory notice and prove it | Serve Notice of Hearing on Inventory on the surviving spouse, next of kin, legatees and devisees by regular mail, or collect waivers, then file an Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing with the notices or waivers and the orders on filing and approving the inventory, no later than the hearing date. The same requirements apply to an amended inventory or amended schedule of assets (Local Rule 61.1(J) and (K)) |
| Serve the account, and certify that you did | No account is approved without a certificate from the fiduciary that a copy of the account as filed was personally served or mailed by ordinary mail: to the surviving spouse and all next of kin in an intestate estate, or to the surviving spouse and all beneficiaries at the addresses in the file, except corporate and charitable beneficiaries, in a testate estate (Local Rule 64.1(E)) |
| Use certified mail for the account hearing notice | Notice of Hearing on Account goes to interested parties by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by waiver, and to unpaid creditors who timely presented claims by ordinary mail or waiver. File the Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing with the signed certified mail cards and any waivers no later than the hearing date (Local Rule 64.1(F)) |
| Back the account with vouchers or a consent | Where you are represented by counsel, vouchers are not required unless the court says otherwise. Otherwise the court requires vouchers, or a financial-institution statement showing check amount, payment, date and payee, with an affidavit as to the payee where the payee is not displayed. In a solvent estate you may instead file a statement from all beneficiaries acknowledging receipt of the account and consenting to its filing (Local Rule 64.3) |
| Have the assets documented at a partial account | All assets must be documented at the time a partial account is filed and available to be exhibited to a deputy clerk (Local Rule 64.5). Where a bond is required, an account will not be accepted for filing unless the bond covers twice the personal property on hand plus one year's projected income (Local Rule 64.4) |
| Do not go delinquent | No expenditure, sale, distribution or fee is approved while the fiduciary is delinquent in filing an account (Local Rule 64.2), and the statutory citation procedure is used to gain compliance (Local Rule 78.1(C)(1)) |
| Label reimbursements the way the court requires | Any disbursement listed on an account as reimbursement for costs and expenses advanced must include the words "as defined and permitted by Local Rule of Court" (Local Rules 8.1(D) and 64.1(H)) |
| Qualify first if you live out of state | A non-resident applicant must comply with R.C. 2109.21, use an Ohio-licensed attorney as attorney of record, and meet one or more of the court's conditions for keeping the assets in Madison County: a substantial amount of the personal assets in a custodial depository in the county (R.C. 2109.13), an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, or a bond (R.C. 2109.04) (Local Rule 60.1) |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Madison County
Madison County publishes local estate forms, which many small Ohio counties do not. Ohio has one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio and used in all 88 counties, and the Madison County Probate Court publishes those forms preprinted with its own caption as a single Full Administration of Estate Packet, 34 pages, in the Document Center on its Forms page, together with a Full Administration of Estate Checklist that the court marks for attorney use. The same page carries packets and checklists for guardianships of minors and adults, minor settlements, wrongful death, adult and minor adoptions, disinterments, birth registration and correction, and legal name changes. Local Rule 51.1 states that approved forms for use in the Madison County Probate Court are available at the Probate Clerk's Office or on the court's website.
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) with Form 6.1 (Schedule of Assets), 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. Ancillary administration for an out-of-state decedent with Ohio property runs under R.C. Chapter 2129 on Form 4.1, and Madison County's schedule prices a Supplemental Application for Ancillary Administration separately.
One genuinely local form sits inside the estate packet: MCPC Form 1-DF, the Fiduciary's Acceptance for an executor or administrator, dated 08/30/2022. The box on it stating that the fiduciary is also the sole legatee, devisee or heir is what switches off partial accountings under Local Rule 78.1(C)(4), so check it if it applies. Two more local rules shape how any form is presented here: Local Rule 51.1 forbids stapled filings and requires multi-page filings to be paperclipped or otherwise bound, and Local Rule 52.1 requires computer-generated forms to carry the exact wording and blank lines of the uniform forms, with the signature of the applicant or attorney serving as the certificate that they do.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Madison County Probate Court forms, Document Center (co.madison.oh.us) | The court's own packets and checklists, including the Full Administration of Estate Packet and Checklist, guardianship, minor settlement, wrongful death, adoption, birth record and name change packets |
| Full Administration of Estate Packet (co.madison.oh.us) | The 34-page estate packet: Form 4.0 and its reverse, Form 1.0, waiver of right to administer, appointment of appraiser, fiduciary's bond, MCPC Form 1-DF fiduciary's acceptance, Form 4.5, spousal elections, Forms 6.0 and 6.1, inventory notices and waivers, Form 12.0, Forms 13.0 to 13.2, account notices, applications to extend administration and the certificate of termination |
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms behind the county packet, with the numbered variants and waivers, in their current versions |
| Madison County Probate Court local rules, effective April 23, 2026 (co.madison.oh.us) | The court's own rules: hours (53.1), form availability and no staples (51.1), computerized forms (52.1), copies (55.2), fax filing (57.1), return of file-stamped copies (57.2), deposits (58.1), non-resident fiduciaries (60.1), appraisers and inventory (61.1), claims and insolvency (62.1), accounts (64.1 to 64.5), release from administration (75.3), additional fees (75.5), case management (78.1) and the Appendix A cost schedule |
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 sets by its own local rule, which the statute caps at $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)), plus the optional computerization charges a court may add (R.C. 2101.162). Madison County Probate Court publishes its schedule as Appendix A to its local rules, headed "REQUIRED INITIAL DEPOSIT and OTHER FEES FOR FILINGS IN MADISON COUNTY PROBATE COURT", and Local Rule 58.1 is the rule that requires deposits in accordance with it. The county's website publishes no separate probate fee table (the Court Costs and Filing Fees page on the county site sits in the Juvenile Court section), so Appendix A itself is the schedule. Every figure below is the court's published figure, from the version effective April 23, 2026, verified July 2026.
Two things about this schedule are worth reading twice. First, the estate lines print a required initial deposit AND a higher suggested deposit, so the $125.00 you must bring is not what the court expects the case to cost; it suggests $200.00. Second, the clerk can come back for more: Appendix A lets the clerk demand an additional security deposit of up to $150.00 where the initial deposit does not cover the costs already incurred, and no final or distributive account is approved until all court costs are paid. If costs still exceed the deposit when a matter ends, the court orders the obligating party to pay in full within thirty days and may file a certificate of judgment to collect. Deposit balances under $5.00 are not refunded.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application for Authority to Administer Estate | $125.00 required, $200.00 suggested | The deposit to open a full administration, with or without a will (Appendix A, effective April 23, 2026). It covers the statutory items drawn against it, including the $35.00 fiduciary appointment fee and the $15.00 fee to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)). R.C. 2101.16(E) caps the advance-deposit component at $125.00, and the required figure sits at the cap |
| Application to Relieve Estate from Administration | $125.00 required, $200.00 suggested | The deposit to apply to relieve an estate from administration under R.C. 2113.03 (Appendix A). The statutory item for a release or a summary release is $60.00 (R.C. 2101.16(A)), of which $20.00 goes to the county's indigent guardianship fund. The eligibility ceilings for this route are statewide and are on the Ohio state page |
| Application for Summary Release from Administration | $86.00 without a will, $116.00 with a will | The court's cost to apply for a summary release under R.C. 2113.031 (Appendix A). This is the only estate line in the schedule with no suggested higher deposit |
| Supplemental Application for Ancillary Administration | $125.00 | For an out-of-state decedent with Ohio property, filed with the ancillary application under R.C. Chapter 2129 (Appendix A) |
| Will for record only | $62.50 | Admitting a will to record without opening an administration (Appendix A) |
| Transcript of estate filed here from another county | $50.00 | Charged separately from the estate lines above (Appendix A, paragraph B) |
| Certificate of deposit of will for safekeeping | $5.00 | Depositing a will with the court during the maker's lifetime (Appendix A) |
| Filing a claim against an estate | $20.00 | Paid by the creditor presenting a claim to the court (Appendix A). It does not extend the six-month claims period, which runs from the date of death (R.C. 2117.06) |
| Exceptions to inventory and appraisal | $20.00 | Per Appendix A. Exceptions must be filed in writing at least five days before the inventory hearing (R.C. 2115.16) |
| Exceptions to account | $20.00 | Per Appendix A |
| Pleadings filed by a party | $50.00 | Per Appendix A, for a pleading filed in an existing case |
| Complaint in a civil action | $300.00 | Will contest, land sale, determination of heirs and similar civil actions in the Probate Division (Appendix A) |
| Demand for jury trial | $500.00 | Per Appendix A |
| Reopen a case | $100.00 | Per Appendix A. A reopened estate still open a year after the reopening entry needs an annual status report (Local Rule 78.1(C)(5)) |
| Trust | $150.00 | Filing a trust in the Probate Division (Appendix A). A petition or application for an inter vivos trust is $100.00 |
| Guardianship of a minor, or of an alleged incompetent adult | $200.00 | Per Appendix A, for each of the emergency, post-emergency and non-emergency adult guardianship applications, unless a financial disclosure or affidavit of indigency is filed and approved. A conservatorship is $175.00 and a minor's settlement is $125.00 |
| Application for name change | $96.00 | Per Appendix A, for an adult or a minor name change |
| Marriage license | $38.00 | Per Appendix A, cash or money order only, no personal checks and no cards. Applications are taken in person Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
| Certification of a document | $2.00 | Per Appendix A, for any document except letters of authority |
| Certified copies | $1.00 per page | The statutory rate, minimum $1.00 (R.C. 2101.16(A)). Certified copies of the letter of authority are what banks and title companies ask for, so order several |
| Copies of public records | $0.25 per page | Set by Local Rule 55.2 for any public record kept in the Probate Court clerk's office. Appendix A adds that a record over 1,500 words, treated as five pages, costs $0.25 per page beyond the first five |
| Copy of the recording of a hearing | $10.00 per hearing | Local Rule 11.1. The court's audio or video recording is its record of proceedings; discs are kept two years |
| Additional security deposit | up to $150.00 | Appendix A lets the clerk demand it where the initial deposit is insufficient to cover costs already incurred |
| Computerization charges | $3.00, plus marriage license charges | Local Rule 75.5 sets the computerized legal-research fee authorized by R.C. 2101.162(A) at $3.00, which is the statutory maximum, plus $3.00 per marriage license application, and sets the R.C. 2101.162(B) computerization fee at $5.00 per marriage license application. Madison County's probate local rules set no dispute-resolution fee under R.C. 2101.163 |
Timeline
Madison County Probate Court publishes no general estate hearing day, no filing-to-hearing wait and no counter wait, so the sequence below uses only the intervals its own local rules and forms set, alongside the statutory ones. The rules cited are the Madison County Probate Court local rules effective April 23, 2026.
- Death certificate: within thirty days of the initial filing. A copy of the decedent's death certificate must be filed within thirty days of the initial filing, and it does not need to be certified (Local Rule 51.1).
- Inventory: within three months after appointment (R.C. 2115.02), and every inventory is set for hearing. Where the waivers of notice from all interested parties and the Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing are filed at the same time as the inventory and no exceptions have been filed, the hearing is held before the court forthwith and the inventory is allowed and confirmed (Local Rule 61.1(J)).
- Exceptions to the inventory: at least five days before the hearing date. That is the deadline printed on the court's own Notice of Hearing on Inventory form, under R.C. 2115.16. A request that property valued by readily ascertainable value be appraised by a disinterested appraiser instead must be filed in writing no later than the date set for the inventory hearing (Local Rule 61.1(H)).
- Final account or certificate of termination: six months from the date of appointment for a death on or after January 1, 2002. If neither can be filed in six months, the fiduciary must file either an application to extend administration or a notice to extend administration, and a status report must accompany any partial account later filed. Subsequent accounts are annual unless the court orders otherwise, and accounts out of compliance are subject to citation (Local Rule 64.1(C), and Local Rule 78.1(C)(1) on the citation procedure).
- Sole heir who is also the fiduciary: within thirty days after completing the administration. Where the box on the Fiduciary's Acceptance is checked stating that the executor or administrator is also the sole legatee, devisee or heir, no partial accountings are required, but a Final Account, a Final and Distributive Account or a Certificate of Termination must be filed within thirty days after the administration is complete (Local Rule 78.1(C)(4)).
- Report of Distribution in a released estate: sixty days from the date the Entry Relieving Estate from Administration is filed (Local Rule 75.3(C)). A copy of the paid funeral bill has to be attached to the Application to Relieve Estate from Administration in the first place (Local Rule 75.3(B)).
- Objections to an inventory or an account: a pre-trial conference within thirty days after the objection is filed, and an evidentiary hearing within thirty days after that (Local Rule 78.1(C)(2)).
- Estates open past thirteen months: a status conference. Any decedent's estate that is current on its accounts but still open after thirteen months is subject to a status conference unless a written status report is filed annually with each partial account. A reopened estate that stays open more than a year from the reopening entry needs an annual status report too (Local Rule 78.1(C)(3) and (5)).
- Motions: responses within fourteen days, and the court sets a hearing within thirty days after a request for one, or decides the motion as soon as possible after the response or after the fourteenth day (Local Rule 78.1(G)).
- Wrongful death settlement: a hearing within thirty days of filing Form 14.0, or within thirty days of filing and fifteen days after any guardian or guardian ad litem is appointed, whichever is later (Local Rule 78.1(D)).
- Recordings of hearings: kept two years. The court makes an audio or video recording as its record of the proceedings, copies cost $10.00 per hearing, and discs are kept for two years from the hearing date, so anyone who needs the record preserved beyond that must arrange a transcript. A party who wants a stenographic record must arrange a court reporter at least twenty-four hours before the hearing, at that party's expense (Local Rule 11.1).
Local nuance
Madison County-specific considerations
| Local practice | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Fax filing is allowed, and it is a real filing method | Local Rule 57.1 lets pleadings and other papers be filed with the Probate Court Clerk's Office by fax to (740) 852-7353, adopted under Civ.R. 5(E) and Civ.R. 73(J). A faxed document is the effective original filing, so you keep the signed source document rather than sending it in, and the machine takes transmissions twenty-four hours a day. The limits matter: no original wills or codicils, nothing that must be certified before filing, nothing in an adoption or a mental illness case except an out-of-county affidavit of mental illness, twenty pages maximum, no service copies by fax, a cover page in the form of the rules' Appendix B, and costs and fees paid before the clerk will accept it. No extra fee is charged for filing by fax, and the filing time is when the clerk time-stamps the document, not when you send it |
| The online record search shows the documents, not just the docket | The court's Record Search runs two free public databases, 1996 to current and pre-1996, covering estates, guardianships, trusts, civil cases, miscellaneous cases and marriages. An estate record opens a case screen with the decedent, the date of death, the fiduciary and attorney, and the dates letters issued and the inventory and accounts were filed and approved, and a docket screen where each imaged entry links the PDF of the filed document. That is more than Ohio's largest probate court publishes, and it means you can often check what is on file in a Madison County estate without calling |
| The county auditor's value is the appraisal, if you attach it | Local Rule 61.1(D) accepts the market value in the Madison County Auditor's property records as the readily ascertainable value of real property, including mobile, modular and manufactured homes, with no further appraisal, and 61.1(E) does the same for vehicles, ATVs, motorcycles, boats, trailers, campers and similar property using the median of trade-in and retail value in a current nationally recognized used-vehicle guide, or the retail value where no median is available. In both cases you must attach a copy of the auditor's valuation or the guide page to Form 6.1, Form 5.1 or Form 5.10. Any fiduciary, beneficiary or creditor can defeat this by filing a written request for a real appraisal before the inventory hearing (Local Rule 61.1(H)) |
| No staples, and bring a stamped envelope if you file by mail | Local Rule 51.1 says the court will not accept stapled filings and requires multi-page filings to be paperclipped or otherwise bound. Local Rule 57.2 says the court will not return file-stamped copies by mail unless you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. Both are small things that get a mailed filing sent back or leave you without proof of filing |
| A released estate still owes the court a Report of Distribution | Local Rule 75.3 governs releases from administration: the court appoints commissioners where required, a copy of the paid funeral bill must be attached to the application, and a Report of Distribution is due sixty days from the date the Entry Relieving Estate from Administration is filed. The court may waive a noticed hearing where no beneficiary or creditor will be prejudiced, and where the surviving spouse is the applicant no further notice to the people listed on Form 1.0 is required unless the spouse is not the natural parent of one or all of the decedent's children. A court-appointed appraiser is not necessary in a released estate absent a dispute (Local Rule 61.1(I)) |
| Publication notices run in the Marysville Journal-Tribune | The court's Legal Notices page states that all legal notices are published with the Marysville Journal-Tribune, "as it is a paper in general circulation in Madison County". That is the paper to budget for where a release from administration requires notice by publication (R.C. 2113.03), and the page also posts current legal postings |
| Household goods and closely held stock are treated differently | Local Rule 61.1(G) says items of household goods do not have to be listed and valued individually, though anything specifically bequeathed or devised must be. Publicly traded stock is listed at an exchange or over-the-counter quotation, but stock in a closed corporation must be valued by a duly appointed and qualified appraiser (Local Rule 61.1(F)) |
| An original will cannot leave the clerk's office in the file | Local Rule 55.1 forbids removing a file containing an original will or codicil from the clerk's office; the clerk takes the will out before the file goes anywhere. Plan on the original will staying with the court once it is deposited or admitted |
| Phones are banned in the courtroom and the offices | Local Rule 82 states that no member of the public shall have a cell phone or any recording device on in the courtroom or the offices of the Probate Court, that a violation may result in immediate and permanent forfeiture of the device, and that it may also be treated as contempt. The court can grant permission case by case for evidentiary or administrative reasons. Leave the phone in the car or turned off before you reach the counter |
| Court records and public access follow the statewide rules | The court has adopted Rules 26, 26.01 and 26.04 of the Rules of Superintendence as its records management and retention rules (Local Rule 26.1) and Rules 44 through 47 as its public access rules (Local Rule 44.0). The court's security plan is maintained as confidential and is not a public record (Local Rule 9.1) |
| The statewide local-rules index links the wrong file for this court | The Supreme Court of Ohio's directory lists the Madison County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division and links a local rules PDF, but the file it links is the Madison County Juvenile Court's rules, the same file it links under the Juvenile Division entry (checked July 2026). The probate local rules are published by the county itself, in the Document Center under Juvenile Probate, Probate. Use the county copy |
Recent updates
| Change | What happened |
|---|---|
| New probate local rules and cost schedule, effective April 23, 2026 | The Madison County Probate Court's current local rules carry an effective date of April 23, 2026, stated on the cover page and again in Local Rule 5.2, and they are the version that contains the Appendix A deposit and cost schedule used on this page, the Local Rule 53.1 hours, the Local Rule 57.1 fax-filing procedure and the Local Rule 78.1 case management deadlines. The Madison County Juvenile Court's separate rules were revised as of the same date. The county's website publishes no separate probate fee table, so Appendix A is the current schedule |
| Probate local rules are published by the county, not by the Supreme Court | The Supreme Court of Ohio's statewide local-rules index lists the Madison County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division and offers a local rules link, but that link resolves to the Madison County Juvenile Court's rules (the same file it serves under the Juvenile Division entry), and the older supremecourt.ohio.gov local-rules file pattern for Madison probate returns a 404. The probate rules are in the county's own Document Center under Juvenile Probate, Probate, verified July 2026 |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Madison County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the London-area home was held jointly with right of survivorship, or was covered by a transfer on death designation affidavit recorded with the Madison 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 in Madison County Probate Court using the county's Full Administration of Estate Packet: 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, with a $125.00 required deposit and a $200.00 suggested deposit (Appendix A). Where the spouse inherits everything, the estate may instead qualify to be released from administration (R.C. 2113.03) on Forms 5.0 and 5.1, and Local Rule 75.3(E) then drops the further notice to the people listed on Form 1.0 unless the spouse is not the natural parent of all of the decedent's children. The auditor's value covers the house on the schedule of assets if you attach it (Local Rule 61.1(D)). | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Madison County filing, whether a full administration or a release. A vetted attorney referral if the title or a claim turns out to be contested. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Read Local Rule 60.1 first: a non-resident who wants to be appointed fiduciary of a Madison County estate must comply with R.C. 2109.21, use an Ohio-licensed attorney as attorney of record, and satisfy the court by placing a substantial amount of the personal assets in a custodial depository in the county (R.C. 2109.13), having an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, or posting a bond (R.C. 2109.04). That is a real hurdle here, and it is one reason a smaller estate is often better handled by asking the court to relieve it from administration on Forms 5.0 and 5.1 (R.C. 2113.03) than by opening a full administration. A release still requires the Medicaid estate recovery notice within thirty days where it applies (R.C. 2117.061) and does not shorten the six-month creditor window (R.C. 2117.06). Filings can be mailed to 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140, or faxed to (740) 852-7353 within the limits of Local Rule 57.1, and the court's online record search lets you watch the docket from out of state. | 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 London and accepted the first time. Attorney referral where Local Rule 60.1 means Ohio counsel of record is required. |
| 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 in Madison County Probate Court, 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 with Form 6.1, and the Madison County Auditor's market value can stand in for an appraisal of the house if a copy is attached (Local Rule 61.1(D)); where a real appraisal is needed, licensed agents, brokers, auctioneers, credentialed appraisers and real estate loan officers of local financial institutions all qualify, and the listing broker is not disqualified (Local Rule 61.1(B)). A land sale that has not closed within a year of filing is set for a pre-trial conference, with a written status report due seven days beforehand and the attorney and fiduciary both required to attend (Local Rule 78.1(B)). Where the property goes to heirs instead of being sold, the route is a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0, recorded with the Madison County Recorder. | 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 |
|---|---|
| Madison County Probate Court (co.madison.oh.us), (740) 852-0756 | The filing office for estates, at 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140. The court's page names its chief deputy clerk and states that the Clerk's Office may answer procedural questions but by law may not give legal advice |
| Madison County Probate Court forms (co.madison.oh.us) | The Document Center with the county's Full Administration of Estate Packet and Checklist and its guardianship, minor settlement, wrongful death, adoption, birth record and name change packets |
| Madison County Probate Court record search (co.madison.oh.us) | Free public index search of estates, guardianships, trusts, civil, miscellaneous and marriage cases, in two databases covering 1996 to current and pre-1996, with case detail, docket entries and imaged documents |
| Madison County Probate Court local rules, effective April 23, 2026 (co.madison.oh.us) | The rules that actually govern a filing here, including the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours in Rule 53.1, fax filing in Rule 57.1, deposits in Rule 58.1, appraisal shortcuts in Rule 61.1, accounts in Rule 64.1, releases in Rule 75.3, case management deadlines in Rule 78.1 and the Appendix A deposit and cost schedule, the only published probate fee schedule for this court |
| Madison County Probate Court legal notices (co.madison.oh.us) | Names the Marysville Journal-Tribune as the paper of general circulation used for the court's legal notices, and posts current legal postings |
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms used in every Ohio county, including Madison, in their current versions |
| Supreme Court of Ohio local rules of court (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide index of trial-court local rules, useful if an estate touches more than one county. Note that its Madison County probate entry links the juvenile court's rules, so take the probate rules from the county's own site |
| Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio trial courts directory (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The official court name, Madison County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, and the link to the court's page |
| 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 Southeast and Central Ohio, Columbus office (lasco.org), 888-246-4420 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Its Columbus office, at 1108 City Park Ave., handles cases in Franklin and Madison counties, so this is the legal-aid program for Madison County; intake runs 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. 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. The Supreme Court of Ohio keeps the list of registered referral services at https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attorneys/referral-services/ |
When to hire an attorney
Many Madison 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, and the court's own packets and checklists make a self-represented full administration more workable here than in counties that publish nothing. Consider counsel when a will is contested or a dispute among heirs is likely, when farm ground, development land on the I-70 corridor or other real property has to be sold or divided, 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 has to run alongside the estate. Two local factors push toward counsel: a non-resident fiduciary must use an Ohio-licensed attorney as attorney of record under Local Rule 60.1, and the court's Full Administration of Estate Checklist is marked for attorney use, so a self-represented filer is working without the court's own quality-control list. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Madison County and the Columbus area.
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, Madison County real estate and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Ohio route fits the estate settlement before you file in London.
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 Standard Probate Forms the Madison County Probate Court uses, ready to file at the counter, by mail or by fax.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, or when Local Rule 60.1 requires Ohio counsel of record because the fiduciary lives out of state, Sunset connects families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Madison 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 Madison County, Ohio?
With the Madison County Probate Court at the Madison County Courthouse, 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140. It is the probate division of the Madison County Court of Common Pleas (R.C. 2101.01), and because the elected probate judge is also the court's clerk (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)), estates are filed with the probate court itself, not with the Madison County Clerk of Courts. File in Madison County if the person was a resident of the county at the time of death (R.C. 2113.01). The court's own phone is (740) 852-0756.
What are the hours of the Madison County Probate Court?
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except legal holidays, under Local Rule 53.1 of the court's local rules effective April 23, 2026. Marriage license applications are taken in person only until 3:30 p.m. Leave your phone off or in the car: Local Rule 82 bans cell phones and recording devices in the courtroom and in the Probate Court's offices, and a violation can mean forfeiture of the device.
Is there e-filing for probate in Madison County?
No. The Madison County Probate Court's local rules provide for filing on paper at the counter or by mail and for fax filing, and they contain no electronic-filing provision. The e-Filing link on the county's court pages belongs to the Madison County Clerk of Courts and serves the general and domestic relations divisions, not the Probate Division. Ohio has no statewide probate e-filing system, so this is set county by county.
Can I fax a probate filing to the Madison County Probate Court?
Yes, within limits. Local Rule 57.1 allows pleadings and other papers to be filed with the Probate Court Clerk's Office by fax to (740) 852-7353, and a faxed document is the effective original filing, so you keep the signed source document instead of mailing it. The limits: no original wills or codicils, nothing that has to be certified before filing, nothing in an adoption or mental illness case except an out-of-county affidavit of mental illness, twenty pages maximum, no service copies by fax, a cover page in the form of Appendix B to the rules, and court costs paid before the clerk accepts it. There is no extra charge for faxing, and the filing time is when the clerk time-stamps the document.
How do I look up a Madison County probate case online?
Use the court's Record Search page, which runs two free public databases, 1996 to current and pre-1996, covering estates, guardianships, trusts, civil cases, miscellaneous cases and marriages. Search by last name and first name. An estate result opens a case screen with the decedent, the date of death, the fiduciary and the attorney, and the dates letters issued and the inventory and accounts were filed and approved, and a docket screen where each imaged entry links a PDF of the document filed. For anything not online, contact the court at (740) 852-0756; copies of public records cost $0.25 per page under Local Rule 55.2.
What forms do I need for probate in Madison County?
Start with the county's own Full Administration of Estate Packet on the court's forms page, which is the statewide Standard Probate Forms preprinted with the Madison County caption. 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), the county's MCPC Form 1-DF Fiduciary's Acceptance, Form 6.0 with Form 6.1 for the inventory and Form 13.0 for the account; for a smaller estate, Forms 5.0 and 5.1 to be relieved from administration. Do not staple anything, and use a paperclip instead (Local Rule 51.1).
How much does it cost to file probate in Madison 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 (R.C. 2101.16(A)), and each probate court sets its own advance deposit by local rule, capped at $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)). Madison County publishes its schedule as Appendix A to its local rules, effective April 23, 2026: $125.00 required with a $200.00 suggested deposit for an Application for Authority to Administer Estate, the same for an Application to Relieve Estate from Administration, and $86.00 without a will or $116.00 with a will for a summary release. The clerk can demand up to $150.00 more if the deposit runs short, and no final or distributive account is approved until all costs are paid.
When is the inventory hearing in a Madison County estate?
The inventory itself is due within three months of appointment (R.C. 2115.02), and every inventory is set for hearing. Under Local Rule 61.1(J) you send Notice of Hearing on Inventory to the surviving spouse, next of kin, legatees and devisees by regular mail or collect waivers, then file an Affidavit of Service of Notice of Hearing with the notices or waivers and the orders on the inventory no later than the hearing date. If all the waivers and the affidavit are filed at the same time as the inventory and nobody has filed exceptions, the hearing is held forthwith and the inventory is allowed and confirmed, which is the fastest path. Exceptions must be filed in writing at least five days before the hearing (R.C. 2115.16).
Can I be the executor of a Madison County estate if I live out of state?
Yes, but Local Rule 60.1 adds conditions. A non-resident applicant must comply with R.C. 2109.21, use an attorney licensed in Ohio as attorney of record, and satisfy the court that the assets stay in Madison County during the administration by meeting one or more of: placing a substantial amount of the decedent's personal assets in a custodial depository in the county (R.C. 2109.13), having a co-fiduciary who is an Ohio resident, or posting a bond (R.C. 2109.04). Where the estate is small enough to be relieved from administration instead, that route avoids an appointment altogether.
Do I have to travel to London to settle an estate in Madison County?
Not usually just to file. Papers can be mailed to 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140, or faxed to (740) 852-7353 within the limits of Local Rule 57.1, and the court's online record search lets you follow the docket and read the filed documents from anywhere. If you file by mail, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope, because Local Rule 57.2 says the court will not return file-stamped copies without one. Plan on London for a hearing and for picking up certified copies of the letter of authority, which cost $1.00 per page (R.C. 2101.16(A)). Nothing is published about telephone or video appearances, so ask the court at (740) 852-0756.
Is the probate court the same as the juvenile court in Madison County?
It is the same court and the same elected judge, in two divisions. One judge presides over both the Probate Division and the Juvenile Division of the Madison County Court of Common Pleas, the county groups them as Juvenile/Probate, and each division publishes its own separate set of local rules, both effective April 23, 2026. Estates, wills, trusts, guardianships, name changes and marriage licenses are probate matters. Use the probate contacts, (740) 852-0756 and fax (740) 852-7353, not the juvenile ones, (740) 852-0760 and fax (740) 852-7134.
Where do publication notices for a Madison County estate run?
In the Marysville Journal-Tribune. The court's Legal Notices page states that all its legal notices are published there, as it is a paper in general circulation in Madison County. That matters mainly for an application to relieve an estate from administration, where notice by publication in a county newspaper is required unless waived or found unnecessary (R.C. 2113.03). The same page posts the court's current legal postings.
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.