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Perry County, OH Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Perry County Probate Court, the probate division of the Perry County Court of Common Pleas under the Ohio Revised Code (R.C. 2101.01). Its formal name in the Supreme Court of Ohio's trial-court and local-rules directory is the Perry County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, and the court's own site and the county government both style the office the Probate and Juvenile Court. One elected probate judge presides over both the Probate Division and the Juvenile Division, which is common in Ohio's smaller counties |
| Filing office | The probate court's own office at the courthouse in New Lexington. The elected probate judge is also the clerk of the probate court (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)), so wills, estates and guardianships are filed with the probate court directly. Do not use the Perry County Clerk of Courts, (740) 342-1022, which serves the general division and does not open estates, and do not use the Juvenile Court line, (740) 342-1118, even though the same judge presides there |
| Courthouse | Perry County Courthouse, 105 North Main Street, New Lexington, OH 43764. The court publishes no room or floor number for its office; the judge's courtroom is on the first floor of the courthouse, per the 2026 legal-clinic flyer published on the county's site |
| Mailing address | Perry County Probate Court, P.O. Box 167, New Lexington, OH 43764. The court publishes this box on its own site and in its local rules, which give the ZIP as 43764-0167, so use the box rather than the street address for mail filings |
| Phone | (740) 342-1493, the Probate Court's own line, published on the court's site and on the county's Probate and Juvenile Court page (verified July 2026). The Juvenile Division answers separately at (740) 342-1118 |
| Fax | (740) 342-5524, published on the court's contact page and on the title page of its local rules. Perry County is one of the Ohio counties that actually accepts a filing by fax: Local Rule 8 permits electronic filing by facsimile transmission, with the fee paid by cash, check or money order within three days |
| [email protected], published on the court's home page and on its Phone Numbers and Email page (verified July 2026). Local Rule 8 permits filing by email submission, again with the fee paid by cash, check or money order within three days. Note that older directories and the 2016 version of the local rules still show a perrycountycourt.com address | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays and any closed paid days filed with the county commissioners, per Local Rule 6 of the court's own local rules revised July 2026, and matching the hours the court and the county both publish. There is a hard cutoff inside those hours: any filing that requires a new case number or a payment receipt must be in by 3:45 p.m. (Local Rule 6). The marriage license department runs 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. (Local Rule 6.1) |
| Filing fee | Perry County publishes its own dollar schedule, so you do not have to guess. The court's Court Fees page and Local Rule 14 both set $225.00 for a full administration with a will, $200.00 for a full administration without a will, $140.00 to relieve an estate from administration with a will, $125.00 to relieve an estate from administration without a will, and $73.00 for a summary release (Perry County Probate Filing Fees, effective January 1, 2025, and Local Rule 14, revised July 2026). Underneath those totals Ohio fixes most fee items by statute, including $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)), and each probate court sets its own advance deposit for costs by local rule, capped at $125.00 (R.C. 2101.16(E)); Perry County adds $3.00 for computerized legal research and $10.00 for computerization (R.C. 2101.162) and $25.00 for special projects (R.C. 2303.201(E)) under Local Rule 15. The court does not publish the breakdown, so treat each figure as the amount to bring and confirm it at (740) 342-1493 before you file. The court takes cash or check only and does not accept debit or credit cards at the counter (Local Rule 14) |
| Local forms | None for estates. Perry County publishes no local estate form library and no cover sheet: the court's own Court Forms menu item links straight to the Supreme Court of Ohio's probate forms, so you file the statewide Standard Probate Forms. Two local papers exist only at the counter: an unrepresented applicant must complete a self-representation form at the time of filing (Local Rule 19), and the court has its own Guardian Complaint Form for guardianship matters. Local Rule 5 allows computer-generated forms that comply with the Rules of Superintendence, and Local Rule 9 sets the printing requirements |
| E-filing | Yes, and this is unusual for a small Ohio county. Local Rule 8 states the court will accept electronic filings by facsimile transmission, by email submission, or by e-filing on the court's electronic filing system website, which the Probate Court's own eFile menu item links to at efile.henschen.com and which requires an account. Submissions can be made twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, but a document is pending, not filed, until court staff review and accept it, and a rejection is notified by email or phone. A fee owed on an e-filing must be paid through the system's online payment function; a fee owed on a fax or email filing must be paid by cash, check or money order within three days, or the filing will not be accepted. Local Rule 8 does not say whether a self-represented filer may register, so call (740) 342-1493 first |
| Case search | Yes. The Perry County Probate Court runs its own online record search, reached from the Record Search item on the court's site. Behind an acceptance screen and an image puzzle, the search covers case types Civil, Estate, Guardianship, Marriage, Miscellaneous and Trusteeship, and you can search by name, by case number or by filing date with years selectable back to 1978. The court's own notice warns that posting lags a filing by at least twenty-four hours and possibly longer, and that anyone needing verified information should request it from the court or visit during business hours. Copies of a public record cost twenty-five cents per page (Local Rule 7) |
| Remote appearance | Nothing is published. The court's local rules, revised July 2026, contain no telephone or video appearance provision, so ask the court at (740) 342-1493 whether a particular hearing can be handled remotely. Note that Local Rule 19 requires an unrepresented filer to exhibit photo identification and proof of a current address, which in practice means a trip to the counter |
| Website | https://www.perrycountycourt.com/ProbateCourt/home/ (the Probate Court's own site, with hours, location, contact details, the fee schedule, the local rules, the record search and the eFile link). https://www.perrycountycourt.com/pdf/prbRules-20260630.pdf is the current local rulebook, revised July 2026. The Supreme Court of Ohio's trial-court directory links both |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Perry 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, in Perry County, different published dollar amounts at the counter. Those routes and their statewide ceilings are explained on the Ohio state page. Getting the route right before your first filing matters here because Local Rule 9 says the court will only accept filings that are complete, and because anything that needs a new case number or a payment receipt has to be in by 3:45 p.m.
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 Perry County Recorder before death (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 that the application you hand across the counter in New Lexington lists the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
Perry County Probate Court in New Lexington is the single probate filing office for the whole county. Everything is at one address, 105 North Main Street, and there is no branch, satellite or district office. The court serves every part of the county. The county's own site counts twelve villages inside fourteen townships plus twenty-two unincorporated communities, and names the villages as Corning, Crooksville, Glenford, Hemlock, Junction City, New Lexington, New Straitsville, Rendville, Roseville, Shawnee, Somerset and Thornville. New Lexington is the county's largest community at roughly 5,000 residents; the county seat moved there from Somerset at the outbreak of the Civil War. Because the county is spread over hill country and the court sits in one place, a filer at the far edge of the county faces a real drive to New Lexington, which is why the court's mail, fax, email and e-filing channels matter more here than in a compact county.
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 Perry County, file in Perry County Probate Court, even if they died in a hospital in Columbus, Zanesville, Lancaster or Athens. 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: each of the 88 counties has its own probate court, seated at the county seat (R.C. 2101.01(A)), and Perry County's sits in New Lexington.
Several offices share the courthouse at 105 North Main Street, and only one of them handles estates. Perry County Probate Court, (740) 342-1493, is where wills, estates, guardianships, name changes, minor settlements, adoptions and marriage licenses are filed. The Juvenile Division, (740) 342-1118, is the same judge and the same building but a different counter and docket. The Perry County Clerk of Courts, (740) 342-1022, P.O. Box 67, serves the general division of the Court of Common Pleas, handling civil cases, divorces, dissolutions, felony criminal matters and judgment liens, and does not open estates; the general division itself sits on the top floor of the same courthouse. The Perry County Recorder, the office that records a certificate of transfer or a transfer on death designation affidavit, is not in the courthouse at all: it is at 212 South Main Street, New Lexington, (740) 342-2494.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a copy of the death certificate, which Local Rule 20 requires to be filed with any estate, the applicant's contact details and photo 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 who is eligible to serve, especially from out of state. Ohio requires an administrator to be a resident of Ohio and requires removal on proof that the administrator is no longer a resident (R.C. 2109.21(A)), while a nonresident executor named in a will can qualify if, among other routes, the person is related to the person who made the will by consanguinity or affinity (R.C. 2109.21(B)(1)). Perry County adds its own layer: Local Rule 18 requires a nonresident applicant to comply with R.C. 2109.21 and to use an attorney licensed in Ohio, and, to keep the assets in Perry County during administration, to meet one or more of three conditions the court may require: an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, bond in compliance with R.C. 2109.04, or deposit of a substantial amount of the assets in a financial institution in the county.
- Get the statewide forms. Ohio uses one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in every county, and the Perry County Probate Court's own Court Forms menu item links straight to them rather than to any local library. 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). Local Rule 5 allows computer-generated forms that comply with the Rules of Superintendence.
- Format the filing the way Local Rule 9 requires. Put the case number on every page. File duplicate copies with a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want them returned. Use original signatures, with blue ink preferred, and note that the attorney may not sign for the fiduciary. Filings must be legible, one sided, on eight and one-half by eleven inch paper, with no alterations, and the court will only accept filings that are complete.
- Choose a filing channel. You can file at the counter at 105 North Main Street, New Lexington, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, or mail to P.O. Box 167, New Lexington, OH 43764, or use one of the three electronic channels Local Rule 8 opens: fax to (740) 342-5524, email to [email protected], or the court's electronic filing system, which accepts submissions around the clock but treats them as pending until court staff accept them. Watch the cutoff: any filing that requires a new case number or a payment receipt must be filed by 3:45 p.m. (Local Rule 6). If you have no attorney, plan on the counter for the opening filing, because Local Rule 19 requires an unrepresented applicant to exhibit photo identification and proof of a current address and to complete a self-representation form when filing.
- Pay the published amount. Perry County publishes its estate figures in two places that agree: the court's Court Fees schedule, effective January 1, 2025, and Local Rule 14 of the rulebook revised July 2026. A full administration is $225.00 with a will and $200.00 without one; relieving an estate from administration is $140.00 with a will and $125.00 without one; a summary release is $73.00. Underneath those totals sit the statutory items, including $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)), and the court's own additional charges under Local Rule 15. Bring cash or a check: Local Rule 14 says the court does not accept debit or credit cards. A fee owed on an e-filing is paid through the system's online payment function; a fee owed on a fax or email filing must reach the court by cash, check or money order within three days or the filing will not be accepted (Local Rule 8).
- Take the appointment and collect the letters. Every executor and administrator must personally sign and file the fiduciary's acceptance before the letters of authority issue (Local Rule 18), and where bond is required it must be approved in writing by a bonding agency before letters issue, in an amount not less than twice the value of the personal estate, with no personal sureties accepted and no attorney permitted to act as a surety (Local Rules 21 and 51). 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.
- Serve notice of probate of the will and certify it within two months. Where a will was admitted, the Certificate of Service of Notice of Probate of Will must be filed not later than two months after the fiduciary's appointment, or, if no fiduciary is appointed, not later than two months after the will was admitted. Proof of service is either waivers of the probate of the will or the original certified mail receipt cards, and the attorney or fiduciary is responsible for obtaining the waivers and sending copies of the will to those who must waive by law (Local Rule 12).
- Send the Medicaid estate recovery notice within 30 days where it applies. For the estate of a decedent who was subject to the Medicaid estate recovery program, or whose spouse was, 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. This applies to a release from administration too, which surprises people.
- File the inventory within three months, and expect Perry County's extra requirements. 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). Local Rule 30 adds that all fiduciaries must sign when more than one is appointed, that an original appraisal signed by the appraiser may be filed instead of the appraiser signing Form 6.0, that the inventory must give the address, legal description and parcel or lot number of any real estate interest, that the inventory will not be accepted unless any required bond is sufficient, that a copy goes to every heir entitled to notice, and that the court will not approve any distribution, sale or expenditure of estate assets before the inventory is filed and approved.
- 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 to the Medicaid estate recovery exception that lets that program present a claim up to ninety days after it receives the recovery notice form or one year after death, whichever is later (R.C. 2117.061(D)). Ohio requires no newspaper advertisement of the grant of letters. Perry County charges $10.00 to file a claim (Local Rule 14).
- Account, then close. For every estate filed in Perry County the final distribution account is due six months after the fiduciary's appointment, and that can be extended to thirteen months by filing a motion to extend that gives the reason; accounts not filed in compliance are subject to citation (Local Rule 23). That tracks the statute, which requires a final and distributive account within six months after appointment unless an exception applies and allows a certificate of termination where the sole heir or beneficiary is also the fiduciary (R.C. 2109.301). Where an extended administration is warranted, Local Rule 31 has the fiduciary file the notice to extend the filing deadlines. The account goes in on Form 13.0 (Fiduciary's Account), must be personally signed by the fiduciary and carry the fiduciary's name, address and telephone number (Local Rule 18), and an account will not be accepted for filing unless any required bond covers twice the value of the personal property assets (Local Rule 21). Where Ohio real estate passes through the estate, apply for a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0 and record the certificate with the Perry County Recorder at 212 South Main Street.
Executor duties
Ohio's statewide fiduciary duties are on the Ohio state page. What follows is what the Perry County Probate Court adds by its own local rules, revised July 2026.
| Local duty | What the court requires |
|---|---|
| Sign the acceptance yourself, before letters issue | Every executor and administrator must personally sign and file the fiduciary's acceptance before the letters of authority are issued, and all accounts must be personally signed by the fiduciary and carry the fiduciary's name, address and telephone number (Local Rule 18). Local Rule 9 adds that the attorney may not sign for the fiduciary and that filings must carry original signatures, with blue ink preferred. Where more than one fiduciary is appointed, all must sign the inventory (Local Rule 30) |
| Meet the nonresident conditions if you live out of state | An applicant to be appointed fiduciary of a decedent's estate or trust who is not an Ohio resident must comply with R.C. 2109.21 and use an attorney licensed in Ohio, and, so that the assets remain in Perry County during administration, must meet one or more conditions the court requires: an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, bond in compliance with R.C. 2109.04, or deposit of a substantial amount of the assets in a financial institution in the county (Local Rule 18). Remember the statute behind it: an administrator must be an Ohio resident (R.C. 2109.21(A)) |
| Get bond approved in writing, at twice the personal estate | Bond required by law or court order must be at least twice the value of the personal estate, must be approved in writing by a bonding agency before letters of authority issue, and any additional bond must likewise be approved in writing before the court approves it. No personal sureties are accepted, and attorneys may not act as sureties (Local Rules 21 and 51). An account will not be accepted for filing unless the bond, where required, covers twice the value of the personal property assets (Local Rule 21) |
| Put the real estate detail in the inventory | The inventory must give the address, the legal description and the parcel or lot number of the decedent's interest in real estate. An original appraisal carrying the appraiser's name and signature may be filed instead of having the appraiser sign Form 6.0. A copy of the inventory goes to every heir entitled to notice by law, and the attorney or fiduciary is responsible for obtaining the waiver (Local Rule 30) |
| Wait for inventory approval before you move any asset | The court will not approve the distribution, sale or expenditure of any asset in an estate or guardianship before the inventory is filed and approved (Local Rule 30). Plan cash flow around that, because it runs against the three-month inventory deadline (R.C. 2115.02) |
| File the death certificate and redact account numbers | A copy of the death certificate must be filed with any estate (Local Rule 20). Social Security numbers will not be required on any document open to public inspection, and any financial asset account number filed with the court must show only four digits, with the filer responsible for redacting the rest (Local Rule 13) |
| Account on Perry County's clock | The final distribution account is due six months after appointment, extendable to thirteen months by motion stating the reason, and accounts filed late are subject to citation (Local Rule 23). Where an extended administration applies under R.C. 2109.301(B), the fiduciary files the notice to extend the filing deadlines (Local Rule 31) |
| Route an attorney-fee application through the fiduciary | An application for attorney fees in an estate must state the amount and the services rendered and must be approved and signed by the fiduciary. The attorney may be paid on preparation of the final account, with an application and entry (Local Rule 22). A fiduciary must apply in writing for authority before entering into a contingent fee agreement (Local Rule 43) |
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Perry County
Perry County publishes no local estate forms. Ohio uses one set of Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio and used in all 88 counties, and the Perry County Probate Court's own Court Forms menu item links straight to the Supreme Court's probate forms rather than to any county library. So the answer for a family settling an estate here is simple: download the statewide forms, complete them, and file them in New Lexington by counter, mail, fax, email or the court's electronic filing system.
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.
Three local papers exist only at the courthouse rather than as downloads. An applicant who is not represented by an attorney must exhibit photo identification and proof of a current address and complete a self-representation form at the time of filing (Local Rule 19), and an applicant to relieve an estate from administration who has no attorney must show proof of identification (Local Rule 24). For guardianship matters the court has its own Guardian Complaint Form, and in a private-placement adoption a preplacement application in a form prescribed by the court must be filed at least fifteen days before placement (Local Rule 48).
Local Rules 5 and 9 govern how any form is presented. Computer-generated forms are accepted if they comply with the Rules of Superintendence, and the applicant's or attorney's signature certifies that they do (Local Rule 5). Every filing must carry the case number on each page, be legible and one sided on eight and one-half by eleven inch paper with no alterations, and carry original signatures, with blue ink preferred; the attorney may not sign for the fiduciary; duplicate copies for return must come with a self-addressed stamped envelope; and the court will only accept filings that are complete (Local Rule 9).
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms you file in Perry 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. The Perry County Probate Court's own Court Forms link points to the Supreme Court's probate forms index, which includes this decedent's estate set |
| Perry County Probate Division local rules, revised July 2026 (perrycountycourt.com) | The court's own rulebook: hours and the 3:45 p.m. cutoff (Rule 6), photocopy charges (Rule 7), electronic, fax and email filing (Rule 8), printing and signature requirements (Rule 9), notice of probate of will (Rule 12), the filing-fee list (Rule 14), the additional charges (Rule 15), fiduciary and nonresident-fiduciary requirements (Rule 18), identification for unrepresented filers (Rule 19), bond (Rules 21 and 51), account deadlines (Rule 23), release from administration (Rule 24) and the inventory requirements (Rule 30) |
| Perry County Probate Court filing fees, effective January 1, 2025 (perrycountycourt.com) | The court's one-page dollar schedule, linked from its Court Fees menu item, covering full administrations, releases, summary releases, guardianships, name changes, minor settlements, adoptions and marriage licenses |
| Perry County Probate Court (perrycountycourt.com) | The court's own site, with hours, location, mailing address, phone, fax and email, plus the Record Search and eFile links |
Fees
Ohio splits probate costs in two. Most fee items are fixed statewide by statute in R.C. 2101.16(A), but the number a family actually hands over when it opens an estate is what the local probate court sets by its own rule, plus any computerization, legal-research and special-projects charges the court adds (R.C. 2101.162, R.C. 2303.201(E)). R.C. 2101.16(E) caps an advance deposit for costs, taken when application is made for appointment as executor or administrator or when a will is presented for probate, at $125.00.
Perry County publishes its own dollar figures in two places whose estate lines agree item for item: the Court Fees schedule linked from the Probate Court's own site, headed Perry County Probate Filing Fees and dated effective January 1, 2025, and Local Rule 14 of the court's local rules, revised July 2026, which introduces the same list with the sentence that there are minimum deposits required on all filings. The court does not break its totals down into statutory items, local charges and the advance deposit, so treat each figure below as the amount the court says to bring rather than as a statutory fee, and confirm it at (740) 342-1493 before you file. Both sources add that filing fees are subject to change. Local Rule 14 also states the plain practical point: the court conducts business on a cash or check basis and does not accept debit or credit cards.
| Item | Amount | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Full administration with a will | $225.00 | The court's published figure to open a full administration where a will is admitted, on Forms 2.0 and 4.0. The statutory items underneath include $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)) |
| Full administration without a will | $200.00 | The court's published figure to open a full administration with no will, on Form 4.0, leading to letters of administration (R.C. 2113.05) |
| Release from administration with a will | $140.00 | The court's published figure to apply to relieve an estate from administration where a will is admitted, on Forms 5.0 and 5.1 (R.C. 2113.03). The statutory component is the $60.00 fee for relieving an estate from administration or granting a summary release (R.C. 2101.16(A)), of which $20.00 goes to the county's indigent guardianship fund (R.C. 2101.16(C)) |
| Release from administration without a will | $125.00 | The court's published figure for the same application where there is no will (R.C. 2113.03). Note that this figure happens to equal the statutory ceiling on an advance deposit for costs (R.C. 2101.16(E)); the court publishes it as a filing fee, not as a deposit breakdown |
| Summary release from administration | $73.00 | The court's published figure for a summary release (R.C. 2113.031), filed on Form 5.10. Both sources add $8.00 for a filing marked CT and $6.00 for one marked MV; the court does not expand the abbreviations, so ask what applies to your filing |
| Will to sleep | $73.00 | The court's own item name for filing a will where no administration follows |
| Claim filed against an estate | $10.00 | Local Rule 14 only; the Court Fees schedule omits this line. Claims themselves must still be presented within six months after death (R.C. 2117.06) |
| Foreign record | $63.00 | Plus $1.00 per page for certified copies. Certified copies generally run $1.00 per page under R.C. 2101.16(A) |
| Photocopies of a public record | Twenty-five cents per page | Local Rule 7, which also sets certified marriage records at three dollars and certified birth and death certificates at ten dollars each |
| Computerized legal research charge | $3.00 per case | Local Rule 15, under R.C. 2101.162(A), excluding marriage applications |
| Computerization charge | $10.00 | Local Rule 15, under R.C. 2101.162(B) |
| Special projects charge | $25.00 | Local Rule 15, under R.C. 2303.201(E)(1), which lets a court of common pleas charge a fee by rule for special projects including facilities, equipment, staff, mediation or dispute resolution services and magistrates (read verbatim at codes.ohio.gov, effective March 30, 2026) |
| Transcript deposit | $300.00 | Local Rule 2, required at the time of a written request where a party wants the court's audio recording transcribed. Audio recordings are kept only 30 days after a case terminates |
| Jury trial deposit | $3,000.00 for one day | Local Rule 33, plus $100.00 per additional scheduled day, due within seven business days of the entry scheduling the jury trial; failure to post it waives the jury |
| Guardian ad litem in a land sale | $100.00 minimum | Local Rule 47. In other proceedings the fee is set on the statement of services and may be assessed as costs |
Two non-estate figures are worth knowing because families often hit them alongside an estate: a guardianship is $275.00, made up of a $175.00 filing fee and $100.00 paid directly to the court investigator for a home study, and an emergency guardianship is $100.00; a name change is $115.00, with $8.00 more if certified mail has to be sent and the publication fee paid directly to the newspaper. Where the law requires publication, Local Rule 16 designates the Perry County Tribune as the court's law journal, and the publication cost is paid to the newspaper directly and must be paid before the hearing.
Timeline
- Certificate of Service of Notice of Probate of Will: not later than two months after the fiduciary's appointment, or, where no fiduciary is appointed, not later than two months after the will was admitted to probate. Proof of service is waivers or the original certified mail receipt cards (Local Rule 12).
- Medicaid estate recovery notice, where it applies: within thirty days of letters being granted or of an application for release or summary release being filed, for an estate where the decedent or the decedent's spouse was subject to the program (R.C. 2117.061(B)).
- Inventory: within three months after appointment (R.C. 2115.02), on Form 6.0, and note that Perry County will not approve any distribution, sale or expenditure of estate assets until the inventory is filed and approved (Local Rule 30).
- Creditor claims: six months after the date of death (R.C. 2117.06). This is a date-of-death deadline, not a publication deadline, and Ohio requires no newspaper advertisement of the grant of letters. The one exception lets the Medicaid estate recovery program present its claim up to ninety days after receiving the recovery notice form or one year after death, whichever is later (R.C. 2117.061(D)).
- Final distribution account: six months after the fiduciary's appointment for every estate filed in this court, extendable to thirteen months by filing a motion to extend that states the reason. Accounts not filed in compliance are subject to citation (Local Rule 23), and the underlying statutory rule is the same six months with statutory exceptions (R.C. 2109.301). Where an extended administration applies, the fiduciary files the notice to extend the filing deadlines (Local Rule 31).
- Guardianship and trust accounts, where one runs alongside an estate: the first account is due no later than one year after appointment and on the anniversary date after that unless the court orders otherwise (Local Rule 23).
- A land sale that has not concluded within one year of filing: the plaintiff's attorney must set a status conference within thirty days after that year runs, both the fiduciary and the attorney must attend, a written status report is required, and the court expects proof of why it should not order a public sale (Local Rule 28).
- A civil action in the probate court: a status hearing set by the plaintiff's counsel within thirty days after the final answer, with at least fourteen days notice to all counsel and unrepresented parties who have appeared; motions are deemed submitted on the twenty-eighth day after filing, and a summary judgment motion is set for a non-oral hearing on that twenty-eighth day (Local Rule 28).
- Anything that needs a new case number or a payment receipt: in by 3:45 p.m. on a business day, inside the court's 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. hours (Local Rule 6). An electronic submission can be made at any hour but is only pending until court staff review and accept it (Local Rule 8).
Local nuance
Perry County-specific considerations
One judge, two divisions, and two phone numbers. The Perry County Probate Court is the probate division of the Perry County Court of Common Pleas (R.C. 2101.01), and the same elected judge also presides over the Juvenile Division; the court and the county both brand the office the Probate and Juvenile Court. The two divisions share the courthouse at 105 North Main Street, the judge, the court administrator and the fax line, but they answer on different numbers: probate at (740) 342-1493 and juvenile at (740) 342-1118. A third number at the same courthouse, (740) 342-1022, is the Perry County Clerk of Courts, the office serving the general division. That one is easy to reach by mistake and it is the wrong office for an estate, because in Ohio the probate judge is the clerk of the probate court (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(a)). The general division of the Court of Common Pleas sits on the top floor of the same courthouse under a different judge.
Three filing channels, and a 3:45 p.m. cutoff on the one that opens a case. Perry County is neither a paper-only county nor a mandatory e-filing county. Local Rule 8 accepts electronic filings three ways: by facsimile transmission, by email submission, or through the court's electronic filing system, which the court's own eFile menu item links to at efile.henschen.com and which requires an account. The rule is generous about timing on its face, allowing submissions twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, but it is careful about what counts as filed: an electronically submitted document is pending until court staff review and accept it, a rejection is notified by email or phone and never becomes part of the record, and electronic submission does not change any filing deadline. Payment is the practical trap. A fee owed on an e-filing has to go through the system's online payment function, and a fee owed on a fax or email filing has to reach the court as cash, check or money order within three days or the filing is not accepted. At the counter, Local Rule 14 says the court does not take debit or credit cards at all. And Local Rule 6 sets a cutoff that catches people: anything requiring a new case number or a payment receipt must be filed by 3:45 p.m., not 4:00 p.m.
If you have no attorney, expect to show up in person for the opening filing. Local Rule 19 requires an applicant filing any type of pleading who is not represented by an attorney to exhibit a picture identification and proof of a current address, and to complete a self-representation form at the time of filing. Local Rule 24 repeats the point for a release from administration: an unrepresented applicant must show proof of identification. Those two rules sit awkwardly beside the electronic channels, so a self-represented filer should call (740) 342-1493 and ask how the identification requirement is handled before relying on fax, email or the e-filing system to open an estate.
The local rulebook restates the small-estate thresholds in the court's own words, and one figure needs care. Local Rule 24 says a release may be filed where the assets are $100,000.00 or less and the surviving spouse is entitled to all of them for a decedent dying on or after March 18, 1999, or the assets are $35,000.00 or less and the decedent died on or after November 9, 1994, which tracks R.C. 2113.03. The same rule says a short form or summary release may be filed where the assets are less than $5,000.00, or less than $40,000.00 where there is a surviving spouse or minor children of the decedent, with funeral expenses paid or waived. Read that $40,000.00 as the court's own shorthand rather than as a statutory ceiling: the statute frames the spouse route as the R.C. 2106.13 allowance for support plus up to $5,000 for funeral and burial expenses, and conditions it on the funeral expenses being prepaid or the spouse having paid or being obligated in writing to pay them (R.C. 2113.031). The statewide treatment is on the Ohio state page; for a Perry County filing, take the route from the statute and confirm the paperwork with the court.
A commissioner is appointed in every released estate, and publication goes to one newspaper. Local Rule 24 provides that the court shall appoint a commissioner or commissioners in an estate released from administration, and that the court may waive notice of hearing where it appears no beneficiary or creditor will be prejudiced. Where the law requires publication, Local Rule 16 designates the Perry County Tribune as the court's law journal, and the cost is paid directly to the newspaper and must be paid before the hearing.
The record search is real, and so is its lag. Unlike many small Ohio counties, Perry County publishes an online docket search that actually includes estate cases, alongside guardianship, trusteeship, civil, marriage and miscellaneous types, searchable by name, case number or filing date with years back to 1978. The court's own notice is candid about the limits: posting lags a filing by at least twenty-four hours and possibly longer, the data may be altered without notice, and anyone who needs verified information should request it from the court or visit during business hours. The court charges twenty-five cents per page for copies of a public record (Local Rule 7). Read alongside the statewide requirement that every Ohio probate court put its general docket for cases filed on or after September 30, 2025 online (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(b)), Perry County is starting from a better place than most rural counties.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means for a Perry County estate |
|---|---|
| Probate local rules revised July 2026 | The court's site now serves a rulebook dated July 2026, and that is the file the Supreme Court of Ohio's trial-court directory links. A much older copy, revised January 2016, is still hosted on supremecourt.ohio.gov and still shows the court's superseded perrycountycourt.com email address and phone extensions; take the rules from the court's own site. One inconsistency to know about: the current file's title page says revised July 2026 while its ordering paragraph still reads effective January 1, 2025, so ask the court if a rule's exact date matters to you |
| Filing fee schedule effective January 1, 2025 | The court's Court Fees schedule and Local Rule 14 now agree line for line on the estate items: $225.00 for a full administration with a will, $200.00 without one, $140.00 and $125.00 to relieve an estate from administration with and without a will, and $73.00 for a summary release. Both sources say fees are subject to change, so confirm at (740) 342-1493 |
| Court email address is now a county .gov address | The court publishes [email protected] on its home page and its contact page. Older directories and the 2016 rulebook still show a perrycountycourt.com address, which matters because Local Rule 8 lets you file by email |
| Free legal clinic 2026 calendar published | The court-sponsored Perry County Free Legal Clinic runs on the first Tuesday of each month except January and July, with sign-in from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the judge's first-floor courtroom, pre-registration at 614-827-0504 and walk-ins welcome. The 2026 flyer on the county site lists the dates |
One statewide change is worth knowing but is not Perry County specific and is covered on the Ohio state page: the Revised Code now requires every Ohio probate court to make its general docket for cases filed on or after September 30, 2025 available online for public access and printing (R.C. 2101.11(A)(1)(b)). Perry County already runs its own online record search covering estate cases, so that requirement changes less here than in counties with no search at all.
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Perry County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the home near New Lexington, Somerset or Thornville was held jointly with right of survivorship, or was covered by a transfer on death designation affidavit recorded with the Perry 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 Perry County Probate Court: Forms 2.0 and 4.0 with a will, leading to letters testamentary, or Form 4.0 alone with no will, leading to letters of administration. Where the spouse inherits everything, the estate may qualify to be released from administration rather than fully administered (R.C. 2113.03), which Local Rule 24 confirms the court handles on the same terms, and which costs $140.00 with a will or $125.00 without one on the court's schedule effective January 1, 2025, against $225.00 or $200.00 for a full administration. Note that the court appoints a commissioner in an estate released from administration (Local Rule 24). | Asset discovery to confirm how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Perry 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 | This is where Perry County's local rules bite hardest. Ohio requires an administrator to be a resident of Ohio (R.C. 2109.21(A)), so an out-of-state child cannot simply be appointed administrator where there is no will; a nonresident executor named in a will can qualify if related to the person who made the will by consanguinity or affinity (R.C. 2109.21(B)(1)). On top of that, Local Rule 18 requires a nonresident applicant to use an Ohio-licensed attorney and to satisfy the court that the assets stay in Perry County, through an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, bond, or a deposit of a substantial part of the assets in a county financial institution. Where the estate is small enough to be relieved from administration on Forms 5.0 and 5.1 (R.C. 2113.03) or to take a summary release on Form 5.10 (R.C. 2113.031), the filing itself is shorter, and Local Rule 8 lets it come in by fax, email or the court's electronic filing system rather than by a flight to New Lexington. A release still requires the Medicaid estate recovery notice within thirty days where the program applies (R.C. 2117.061) and does not shorten the six-month creditor window (R.C. 2117.06). | 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 filed remotely and accepted the first time. An attorney referral, which Local Rule 18 makes close to mandatory for a nonresident applicant. |
| 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 Perry 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 published figure is $200.00 without a will or $225.00 with one. The inventory follows within three months (R.C. 2115.02) on Form 6.0 and must carry the address, legal description and parcel or lot number of the real estate, and no sale can be approved before the inventory is filed and approved (Local Rule 30). A land sale that has not concluded within a year of filing draws a status conference that both the fiduciary and the attorney must attend, with a written status report and proof of why the court should not order a public sale (Local Rule 28). Where the property is transferred to heirs rather than sold, the route is a Certificate of Transfer on Form 12.0, recorded with the Perry County Recorder at 212 South Main Street. Any hearing is at the courthouse in New Lexington. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, insurance and real property. Packet generation for the administration and the inventory, including the parcel detail Perry County requires. Attorney referral where the sale, a mortgage payoff or a dispute among heirs makes counsel worthwhile. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Perry County Probate Court (perrycountycourt.com), (740) 342-1493 | The filing office for estates: hours, location, the P.O. Box 167 mailing address, the fee schedule, the local rules, the record search and the eFile link. Court staff can explain procedure but are prohibited by law from giving legal advice or helping prepare forms, which the court says plainly on its own home page |
| Perry County Probate Court phone numbers and email (perrycountycourt.com) | The court's own contact page, with the probate line (740) 342-1493, the fax (740) 342-5524, the email [email protected] and direct numbers for the deputy clerks |
| Perry County Probate Division local rules, revised July 2026 (perrycountycourt.com) | The single most useful document for a Perry County filing: hours and the 3:45 p.m. cutoff, the electronic, fax and email filing rule, the printing and signature requirements, the filing-fee list, the nonresident fiduciary conditions, the identification requirement for unrepresented filers, the bond rules, the account deadlines and the inventory requirements |
| Perry County Probate Court record search (perrycountycourt.com) | The court's own online docket search, covering Civil, Estate, Guardianship, Marriage, Miscellaneous and Trusteeship cases, searchable by name, case number or filing date. Expect an acceptance screen and an image puzzle, and expect a lag of at least twenty-four hours between a filing and its appearance |
| Perry County free legal clinic, 2026 schedule (perrycountyohio.gov), 614-827-0504 | A free legal-advice clinic held in the judge's first-floor courtroom at 105 North Main Street on the first Tuesday of most months, with sign-in from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., sponsored by the probate and juvenile judge with Southeastern Ohio Legal Services and running since September 2008. Open to income-eligible people who live in Perry County or are party to a Perry County case; bring proof of income and your paperwork. Pre-registration is recommended and walk-ins are welcome. It is described as civil legal advice, so ask whether an estate question is in scope |
| Supreme Court of Ohio Standard Probate Forms, decedent's estate (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The statewide forms used in every Ohio county, including Perry, with the numbered variants and waivers. The court's own Court Forms link goes to the Supreme Court's probate forms index, which includes this set |
| Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio trial courts and local rules (supremecourt.ohio.gov) | The official court name for every Ohio county's Court of Common Pleas divisions with links to their local rules, useful if an estate touches more than one county |
| Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, Newark office (lasco.org), 740-345-0850 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Its Newark office at 15 West Locust Street, Suite A, covers Knox, Licking, Muskingum and Perry counties, so this is the legal-aid program for Perry County. 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 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 |
| Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral (ohiobar.org) | Referrals to Ohio probate attorneys, useful in a county with a small local bar |
| Perry County Recorder (perrycountyohio.gov), (740) 342-2494 | Where a certificate of transfer or a transfer on death designation affidavit is recorded. The office is at 212 South Main Street, not in the courthouse, and it takes cash and checks only |
When to hire an attorney
Many Perry 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 real property, timber, oil, gas or coal interests have 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 for a minor or an incompetent adult has to run alongside the estate. One local factor is close to decisive: if the person applying to be fiduciary lives outside Ohio, Local Rule 18 requires the applicant to use an attorney licensed in Ohio and to satisfy the court that the assets stay in Perry County, and R.C. 2109.21(A) bars a nonresident from serving as administrator at all. Court staff can explain procedure but are prohibited by law from giving legal advice or helping prepare forms. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Perry County and the surrounding southeastern 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, Perry County real estate and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Ohio route fits your estate settlement before you file in New Lexington.
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 with the Perry County Probate Court at the counter, by mail, or through one of the court's electronic channels.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, or when a nonresident applicant needs Ohio counsel under the court's own local rule, Sunset connects families to a vetted Ohio probate attorney serving Perry 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 Perry County?
With the Perry County Probate Court at the Perry County Courthouse, 105 North Main Street, New Lexington, OH 43764, or by mail to P.O. Box 167, New Lexington, OH 43764. It is the probate division of the Perry 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 Perry County Clerk of Courts. File in Perry County if the person was a resident of the county at the time of death (R.C. 2113.01).
How much does it cost to file probate in Perry County?
Perry County publishes its own figures, so you can plan. The court's fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025, and Local Rule 14 of its rules revised July 2026 both set $225.00 for a full administration with a will, $200.00 for a full administration without a will, $140.00 to relieve an estate from administration with a will, $125.00 to relieve an estate from administration without a will, and $73.00 for a summary release. Ohio fixes the underlying items by statute, including $35.00 to appoint a fiduciary and $15.00 to probate a will (R.C. 2101.16(A)), and Local Rule 15 adds $3.00 for computerized legal research, $10.00 for computerization (R.C. 2101.162) and $25.00 for special projects (R.C. 2303.201(E)). Bring cash or a check, because Local Rule 14 says the court does not accept debit or credit cards, and confirm the current amount at (740) 342-1493 since both sources say fees are subject to change.
Is there e-filing for probate in Perry County?
Yes, which is unusual for a county this size. Local Rule 8 says the court will accept electronic filings by facsimile transmission, by email submission, or by e-filing on the court's electronic filing system website, which the court links from its own eFile menu item at efile.henschen.com and which requires an account. Submissions can be made at any hour, but a document is pending, not filed, until court staff review and accept it, and a rejection is notified by email or phone. A fee on an e-filing goes through the system's online payment function; a fee on a fax or email filing must reach the court by cash, check or money order within three days. Local Rule 8 does not say whether a self-represented filer may register, and Local Rule 19 separately requires an unrepresented filer to show photo identification and proof of address when filing, so call (740) 342-1493 before assuming you can open an estate electronically.
Can I look up a Perry County probate case online?
Yes. The Perry County Probate Court runs its own record search, reached from the Record Search item on its site. After an acceptance screen and an image puzzle you can search by name, by case number or by filing date, across case types Civil, Estate, Guardianship, Marriage, Miscellaneous and Trusteeship, with years selectable back to 1978. The court's own notice warns that posting lags a filing by at least twenty-four hours and possibly longer and that verified information should be requested from the court. Copies of a public record cost twenty-five cents per page (Local Rule 7).
What are the hours of the Perry County Probate Court, and is there a filing cutoff?
The court is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays and any closed paid days filed with the county commissioners, per Local Rule 6 of its local rules revised July 2026, which the court and the county both repeat on their sites. The cutoff catches people: any filing that requires a new case number or a payment receipt must be filed by 3:45 p.m. The marriage license department runs 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. (Local Rule 6.1). Verified July 2026; call (740) 342-1493 to confirm before making the drive.
What forms do I need for probate in Perry County?
The statewide Standard Probate Forms prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Perry County publishes no local estate forms, and the court's own Court Forms menu item links straight to the Supreme Court's probate forms. 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. Local Rule 9 controls presentation: case number on every page, legible and one sided on eight and one-half by eleven inch paper, original signatures with blue ink preferred, no alterations, the attorney may not sign for the fiduciary, and complete filings only.
Can I serve as executor in Perry County if I live out of state?
It depends on whether there is a will, and Perry County adds conditions. Ohio requires an administrator, meaning the fiduciary appointed where there is no will, to be a resident of Ohio, and requires removal on proof that the administrator is no longer a resident (R.C. 2109.21(A)). A nonresident executor named in a will can qualify, including where the person is related to the person who made the will by consanguinity or affinity (R.C. 2109.21(B)(1)). On top of the statute, Local Rule 18 requires a nonresident applicant to comply with R.C. 2109.21 and to use an attorney licensed in Ohio, and, so that the assets stay in Perry County during administration, to meet one or more conditions the court requires: an Ohio-resident co-fiduciary, bond in compliance with R.C. 2109.04, or deposit of a substantial amount of the assets in a financial institution in the county. Ask the court and an Ohio attorney before you apply.
How long does an estate take in Perry County?
Perry County runs the statutory clock and publishes its own deadlines. The inventory is due within three months after appointment (R.C. 2115.02), and no distribution, sale or expenditure of estate assets is approved before the inventory is filed and approved (Local Rule 30). Creditors have six months from the date of death, not from any publication (R.C. 2117.06). The final distribution account is due six months after appointment for every estate filed in this court, extendable to thirteen months by a motion stating the reason, with late accounts subject to citation (Local Rule 23), which matches the statutory rule (R.C. 2109.301). Where a will was admitted, the Certificate of Service of Notice of Probate of Will is due within two months of the appointment (Local Rule 12). The court publishes no probate hearing calendar, so ask at (740) 342-1493 how a particular matter is set.
Do I have to travel to New Lexington to settle an estate in Perry County?
Less than in most rural Ohio counties. Papers can be mailed to P.O. Box 167, New Lexington, OH 43764, and Local Rule 8 also allows filing by fax to (740) 342-5524, by email to [email protected], or through the court's electronic filing system, so much of an uncontested estate can be run remotely. Two things still pull you to the courthouse: an unrepresented applicant must exhibit photo identification and proof of a current address and complete a self-representation form when filing (Local Rule 19), and the court publishes no remote-appearance rule, so plan on New Lexington for a hearing. Ask the court at (740) 342-1493 whether a particular hearing can be handled by phone or video.
Is there free legal help for a Perry County estate?
Two places to start. The Perry County Free Legal Clinic meets in the judge's first-floor courtroom at 105 North Main Street on the first Tuesday of most months, with sign-in from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; it is sponsored by the probate and juvenile judge with Southeastern Ohio Legal Services, has run since September 2008, and is open to income-eligible people who live in Perry County or are party to a Perry County case. Pre-register at 614-827-0504, bring proof of income and your paperwork, and note the clinic is described as civil legal advice, so ask whether an estate question is in scope. Separately, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio's Newark office at 740-345-0850 covers Knox, Licking, Muskingum and Perry counties for eligible low-income residents; confirm it can take a probate matter.
Is the probate court the same as the juvenile court in Perry County?
It is the same judge and the same building, in two divisions with two phone numbers. One elected judge presides over both the Probate Division and the Juvenile Division of the Perry County Court of Common Pleas, and the court and the county both brand the office the Probate and Juvenile Court, which is common in Ohio's smaller counties. Estates, wills, guardianships, name changes, adoptions, minor settlements and marriage licenses are probate matters and go to (740) 342-1493; juvenile matters go to (740) 342-1118. Neither line is the Perry County Clerk of Courts, (740) 342-1022, which serves the general division and does not open estates.
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.