Ohio Estate Inventory: Form 6.0, Form 6.1, and the Hearing

An Ohio executor or administrator must file a complete inventory of the estate's assets with the probate court within three months of appointment, under ORC 2115.02. It goes in on Form 6.0, the Inventory and Appraisal, with the itemised assets listed on Form 6.1, the Schedule of Assets.

Ohio does something most states do not: it schedules a hearing on the inventory, and interested parties can file exceptions to it. That is the part worth understanding before you sign.

Two Forms, Not One

The statute's own heading is "Inventory - separate schedule", and the separate schedule is the point.

Form 6.0, Inventory and Appraisal, is the cover document. It is where the fiduciary states the estate's assets and their appraised values and signs.

Form 6.1, Schedule of Assets, is the itemised list that supports it. Each asset appears here with its description and value.

People filing for the first time often prepare 6.0 and stop, then get the packet back from the court. The two go together, and both are on the Supreme Court of Ohio forms site.

The Hearing, and Exceptions

This is what makes Ohio different from a state where you file the inventory and move on.

Under ORC 2115.16 the probate court holds a hearing on the inventory. An interested person who disagrees with what is on it, or with a value, can file exceptions before that hearing. The court then decides the question.

Two practical consequences follow.

The first is that your valuations are contestable in a formal setting, so a figure you cannot support is a figure someone can challenge on the record. Keep the appraisal, the statement, or the comparable sale that produced each number.

The second is that the hearing is an opportunity as much as a risk. An inventory approved without exception is a settled record of what the estate held, which is a solid foundation for every later step, including the accounting and distribution.

When the Inventory Is Not Required

Ohio's simplified paths do not carry an inventory duty. The requirement in ORC 2115.02 attaches to a full administration.

An estate proceeding by Release from Administration or by Summary Release from Administration does not file one. Those routes exist precisely to avoid the machinery of a full estate, and the inventory is part of that machinery. The Ohio release from administration guide covers which estates qualify.

If you are unsure which track you are on, the deciding fact is what the court granted. A full administration produces letters and the duties that follow, including this one. The Ohio letters of authority guide covers the appointment document itself.

What Goes on the Schedule

The inventory covers probate assets: property the decedent owned that passes under the will or by intestate succession.

Generally on the list:

• Real property titled in the decedent's sole name
• Bank and investment accounts in the decedent's sole name with no payable-on-death beneficiary
• Vehicles, boats and trailers titled solely to the decedent
• Personal property of real value, including jewellery, firearms, collections and equipment
• Business interests and money owed to the decedent

Generally not, because it passes outside probate:

• Accounts with a living payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary
• Real property that passed by Ohio transfer-on-death designation affidavit
• Survivorship tenancy property
• Life insurance and retirement accounts with a surviving named beneficiary
• Assets already held in a living trust

The Ohio transfer-on-death deed guide covers the real-property side of that second list, which is the category people most often put on the inventory by mistake.

Values

Values are as of the date of death, not the date you prepare the form. For accounts, that is the date-of-death balance, which most institutions will confirm in writing on request. For real property and unusual assets, an appraisal is the defensible route, and Ohio's form is called an Inventory and Appraisal for a reason.

Because the inventory can be excepted to at a hearing, the standard here is a value you can explain rather than a value that looks reasonable.

When Assets Turn Up Later

Ohio treats this as its own filing. The probate court fee schedule at ORC 2101.16(A)(49) carries a line for "Newly discovered assets, report of" at $7.00, which is the filing that reopens the question after the inventory has gone in.

So the answer to "I found another account" is not to leave it or to quietly add it to the accounting. It is to report it, on the record, in the estate where it belongs.

Where the Deadline Sits

Three months from appointment puts the inventory in the same early window as the certificate of notice to creditors and the will-contest period. The Ohio probate timeline sets out that sequence, and the Ohio executor duties guide covers the wider task list the inventory sits inside.

Missing it is not a formality. The court may remove a fiduciary or assess penalties for failing to file, and unlike a state with unsupervised administration, an Ohio probate court is actively holding the file.

Once the inventory is approved, the Ohio probate accounting guide picks up: the inventory fixes the opening value that every later receipt and disbursement is measured against.

Common Questions

When is the Ohio estate inventory due?

Within three months of appointment, under ORC 2115.02. The clock runs from appointment, not from the date of death.

What is the difference between Form 6.0 and Form 6.1?

Form 6.0 is the Inventory and Appraisal, the signed cover document. Form 6.1 is the Schedule of Assets, the itemised list that supports it. Both are filed.

Does every Ohio estate file an inventory?

No. Estates proceeding by Release from Administration or Summary Release from Administration do not. The duty attaches to a full administration.

What is the hearing on the inventory?

Under ORC 2115.16 the probate court holds a hearing on the inventory, at which an interested person may file exceptions to what is listed or to a value. The court decides the exception.

What value do I use?

Fair market value as of the date of death. Keep the appraisal, account statement or comparable that produced each figure, because the values are contestable at the hearing.

Do payable-on-death accounts go on the Ohio inventory?

Generally no. A POD or TOD account passes to the named beneficiary outside probate and is not a probate asset, even though statements may still arrive at the decedent's address.

What happens if I find an asset after filing?

Report it. Ohio's fee schedule carries a specific line for a report of newly discovered assets at ORC 2101.16(A)(49), which is the filing that puts the asset on the record in the right estate.

Sources

• ORC 2115.02, Inventory - separate schedule | Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules | accessed 2026-08-03
• ORC 2115.16, Hearing on inventory | Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules | accessed 2026-08-03
• Standard Probate Forms (Form 6.0, Form 6.1) | Supreme Court of Ohio | accessed 2026-09-03

Where an asset's ownership or value is genuinely contested, or where exceptions have been filed, an attorney who handles Ohio probate is the right next call.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney about your situation. It is not legal advice.