Basic Ohio Probate Forms

Last Updated - September 1, 2023

Forms

Free Web Forms. If you're curious about the advantages of BOPF over the probate court's PDF web forms, click here.

Quality Not Quantity. Instead of paying for thousands of forms you never use or that are incorrect or incomplete, we give you the complete set of “Standard Probate Forms” as promulgated by the Ohio Supreme Court under the Rules for the Superintendence of Common Pleas Courts and legally valid in all counties. Every Standard Probate Form for the handling of decedent's estates from beginning to end between Form 1.0 and Form 13.7 is represented.

The Solution

Law offices needed intelligently integrated probate forms. If you enter a decedent's name, address, and date of death once, why reenter it on multiple other probate forms? That goes double for assets and debts. If you enter a lengthy real estate legal description once, why retype it on the Inventory, then on the Certificate of Transfer, and later again on the Final Account? You should even be able to take the legal description and transfer it to Schedule A or E of the U.S. Estate Tax return (Form 706) if you need to.

A probate program must handle financial information. Once you enter a real estate value, for example, the value should appear automatically on the Inventory (in the appropriate category); it should also appear automatically on the Final Account (in the appropriate category); the value should also appear on any of a dozen other probate forms that require this information—automatically. The same applies for the transfer of this asset to the U.S.  Estate Tax return (Form 706).

Summary of Features

• Handles all calculations automatically; most forms complete themselves automatically!

• Prepares every probate form in the Standard Probate Form set as published in the Supreme Court's Rules for the Superintendence of Common Pleas Courts.

• Has the ability to export probate files to the U.S. Estate Tax program - a true single entry system.

• Notices, Consents & Waivers. More than half the standard probate forms involve the spouse, kin and legatees, so you’ll be wanting your probate program to fully complete ALL the necessary notices, consents and waivers. BOPF does all that and more! So, if you have 40 beneficiaries, BOPF completes the notices, consents and waivers for all of them automatically - one for each individual or entity that needs one. If there are 40 kin, in 40 different states, and each needs a particular notice, waiver or consent, you can have BOPF prepare all forty different copies in one step. Our new BOPF makes such forms available in multiple sets including without limitation the following: Form 1.0 - Surviving Spouse, Next of Kin, Form 2.2 - Notice of Probate of Will, Form 4.4 - Notice of Hearing, Form 5.3 - Notice of Application to Relieve, Form 5.5 - Form 6.1 - Schedule of Assets, Form 6.3 - Notice of Hearing on Inventory, Form 10.2 - Notice of Hearing, Form 10.4A - Notice to Distributee, Form 12.1 - Certificate of Transfer, Form 12.2 - Entry Issuing Certificate, Form 13.1 - Receipts and Disbursements, and Form 13.5 - Notice of Hearing on Account.

• The ability to insert, move, sort and delete individual assets or debts in their respective worksheets.

• Push button operation of common program functions such as starting, loading or saving files, printing forms, etc.

• Advanced, easy-to-use worksheets for entering kin, beneficiaries, assets and expenses.

• Time & Services Worksheet for keeping track of your time.

• More than just probate forms - we include letters and forms for transferring real estate, motor vehicles, stock, cashing in life insurance policies, and more

Print Shop Quality Probate Forms

Every form is fully formatted, picture perfect and ready to file. Strict compliance with the typographical specification set forth in Rules 51 and 52 of the Supreme Court Rules for Superintendence for Courts of Common Pleas assures acceptability in all Probate Courts.

No Repetition - Automated Forms

You enter basic information one time. BOPF automatically completes the forms based on your single entry (i.e., decedent's name, address, date of death; applicant or fiduciary's name, address and telephone number; attorney's name, address, telephone number and registration number; surviving spouse's name, address and telephone number; all court information, county name, court title, presiding judge, etc.). Enter assets and liabilities once. Then simply direct the entries to the appropriate forms by pointing and clicking. That means you type lengthy legal descriptions a single time. Enter any information you want and use it as a default over and over in different decedent files without retyping!

Word Processor Compatibility

You'll love this exciting new feature. With it you can send a form to Microsoft Word so you can (1) spell check or grammar check forms, (2) fax, email or make pdfs of probate forms, (3) access extraordinary print functions like printing non-sequential pages, duplex printing, etc., (4) modify your forms to be indistinguishable from the Court's own "approved" forms. So in addition to printing forms that comply with each of the hundred or more specifications in the rules, BOPF also lets you change the forms in your word processor to include any county- or office-specific modifications you desire. The functionality of your word processor is your only limitation. The Windows version does not require Word.

Compatibility With U.S. Estate Tax

Better yet is BOPF's compatibility with our U.S. Estate Tax (P706) software. BOPF files can be converted into nearly complete estate tax files that you need only check over and then print. This, in itself, saves hours of time and reduces errors that may occur in the preparation of the estate tax return. The process is easy. Simply mark an asset or debt to direct it to a particular schedule of the estate tax return. The estate tax application can read the probate file and import its contents.

A Complete, Stand-Alone Probate System

BOPF is not a browser add-on or macro. BOPF is a complete system in itself. It automatically completes and formats the probate forms based on information you enter in the worksheets. It prints print shop quality probate forms on all printers—laser, ink jet, even dot matrix printers. Additional software or hardware is unnecessary.

User Friendly, No Prohibitive Learning Curve, No Expensive Training Needed

Because it was written and designed by an Ohio attorney, BOPF works the way you expect it to.  It follows standard programming conventions which means that opening, saving, and printing is done in the customary way, just like in your word processor. You won’t be forced to learn needlessly different or complex new ways to do the same things you already know how to do by custom. In addition to programming considerations, the screen designs and printouts look exactly like the probate forms with which you are familiar. No training sessions are necessary (although YouTube demonstration videos are available if you'd like them). BOPF is as easy to use as a word processor because it completes, calculates and formats the probate forms automatically. Of course, there is extensive on-line help, and there is our easy-to-read, printed software owner's manual. If you do have a problem, our expert telephone support staff can answer any question.

User Friendly Prices

When you realize that other legal software (i.e., bankruptcy packages, probate software, office management systems, etc.) start at about $500 and up, you can appreciate the price-conscious value of BOPF. Like all the other software in the Puritas Springs Software legal library, we designed and priced BOPF to give you maximum bang for the buck! No other legal software gives you the same specialized, comprehensive assistance so inexpensively. Remember, there are no annual update fees, subscription costs, or other hidden charges. Historically, over the past 35 years, our users have enjoyed from 4 to 6 years of free updates. Who else does that?

Basic Ohio Probate Forms (BOPF) is a stand-alone, application.  It is not a template, Hot-Docs or a script, but instead is a true 32-bit Windows or OSX program. It is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Mac OSX 10.8 or higher. This means opening, saving, and printing is done just like it is in your word processor. You won't need to learn needlessly different or complex new ways to perform routine operations. It makes sense. If you're going to work efficiently, you want a program to have a common, standard, and immediately recognizable user interface.