(A) Except as provided in section 2101.164 of the Revised Code, the fees enumerated in this division shall be charged and collected, if possible, by the probate judge and shall be in full for all services rendered in the respective proceedings:

Ask a will, trust or estate question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified estate & trust lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(B)(1) In relation to an application for the appointment of a guardian or the review of a report of a guardian under section 2111.49 of the Revised Code, the probate court, pursuant to court order or in accordance with a court rule, may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.041 or division (A)(2) of section 2111.49 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that an alleged incompetent or a ward is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation.

(2) In relation to the appointment or functioning of a guardian for a minor or the guardianship of a minor, the probate court may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.042 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that the guardian or applicant is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation.

(3) In relation to the filing of an affidavit of mental illness for a person with a mental illness subject to court order, the court may waive the fee under division (A)(75) of this section if the court finds that the affiant is indigent or for good cause shown.

(C) Thirty dollars of the thirty-five-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(34) of this section and twenty dollars of the sixty-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(59) of this section shall be deposited by the county treasurer in the indigent guardianship fund created pursuant to section 2111.51 of the Revised Code.

(D) The fees of witnesses, jurors, sheriffs, coroners, and constables for services rendered in the probate court or by order of the probate judge shall be the same as provided for similar services in the court of common pleas.

(E) The probate court, by rule, may require an advance deposit for costs, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars, at the time application is made for an appointment as executor or administrator or at the time a will is presented for probate.

(F)(1) The “putative father registry fund” is hereby created in the state treasury. The department of job and family services shall use the money in the fund to fund the department’s costs of performing its duties related to the putative father registry established under section 3107.062 of the Revised Code.

(2) If the department determines that money in the putative father registry fund is more than is needed for its duties related to the putative father registry, the department may use the surplus moneys in the fund as permitted in division (D) of section 2151.3527 or section 5103.155 of the Revised Code.