Probate question. Ohio

[George 493]

My wife’s mom died unexpectedly after complications from a routine procedure in NW Ohio earlier this week and we’re not really sure what to do.  She was unmarried and has two adult kids who both live in Texas. 
 

she didn’t have a will, so far as we can tell, and didn’t really have a lot of assets. She has a couple of bank accounts which likely don’t have much in them (she was drawing social security disability and not really working) and a truck to go along with her personal belongings. 
 

unfortunately it doesn’t look like she had a POD/beneficiary on her bank accounts and they won’t release any information to my wife or his brother. 
 

are we going to have to hire a lawyer up there to administer the estate and go through the probate process? Is it really going to be worth it?  Anything we can do outside of that to get access to the bank accounts or truck title? 
 

we’ve already informed social security…I think she got paid the day after she died, so as we understand it, that will get clawed back. We have no clue what other debts or auto payments may be coming out of her accounts. We don’t want to drain the accounts for fear of a fraud/identity theft issue. 
 

not sure where to go from here. 

[Dr Fear 1290]

What county did she live in? I don't practice there but it looks like they have a small estate >35K procedure that you may be able to do by mail. Sometimes you can find good pro se instructions on the court's website. What really matters is what the bank requires. I would call and ask or get on their website.

[George 493]

Looks like Williams county. She lived in Bryan. We’ll see if we can find info on the sub-35k thing. 
 

bank wasn’t very helpful at first pass. Told my brother in law to go to his bank and ask about the process in a general sense. 

[TwiceHorn 32079]

Any real estate?  That's usually the thing that requires probate to get good clear title.

But the bank accounts and the truck could be issues, as well and looks like going to be.

You might call the probate court in the county and see if they can offer any help or to a bar association etc.

[Dr Fear 1290]

You got boots on the ground up there?

[statsman 5693]

When my brother died (in Texas), with no will, his bank released his (low four figures) funds to me with a death certificate, largely because the same bank held my mortgage. If you or your brother in law bank with them, you could give that a try. 
 
This is a good example of why our parents should have one of their kids on their bank accounts. Unless they don’t have one that can be trusted. 
 
Good luck! I know (I really know) what a PITA this is. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by statsman

[conVINCEd 21477]

17 minutes ago, statsman said:

When my brother died (in Texas), with no will, his bank released his (low four figures) funds to me with a death certificate, largely because the same bank held my mortgage. If you or your brother in law bank with them, you could give that a try. 
 
This is a good example of why our parents should have one of their kids on their bank accounts. Unless they don’t have one that can be trusted. 
 
Good luck! I know (I really know) what a PITA this is. 

You also need to write down you passwords somewhere.  It took us 6 months to figure what we were dealing with when my aunt died.  We had no clue, we suspected there wasn’t much there, and that ended up being correct.  If we could’ve unlocked her iPad, we would’ve had a clearer picture immediately.  

[George 493]

Good advice. I was honestly surprised she didn’t have anyone listed on her accounts. 
 

my dad passed a few years ago, but we knew it was coming. I had access to all of his stuff and was a named owner on the account. 
 

wife and I have an envelope in my parent’s safe with passwords and info but we don’t have a will. Stupid and something we’re fixing asap. 
 

good reminder to check the beneficiaries on all your shit. Make sure an ex isn’t listed on your 401k or life insurance 😀