Do I need a will or is a simple form online good enough?

Answered by ProctorLaw

This is general legal information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Talk with a licensed attorney about your situation.

Short answer: an online form can be a valid Ohio will if it is signed correctly, but the form is the least important part of the plan. For a married couple with two kids and a house, the will is really about two things the form may not handle well: who raises your children, and who manages their money. And the will alone leaves gaps that a few inexpensive companion documents fill.

What makes a will valid in Ohio. The will must be in writing, signed at the end by you, and signed by two competent witnesses who watched you sign (or heard you acknowledge your signature) while physically in the room with you (R.C. 2107.03). Three things trip up do-it-yourself wills: (1) Ohio does not accept an unwitnessed handwritten will, and it does not yet allow electronic or remotely witnessed wills; (2) if one of your two witnesses is also a beneficiary, the gift to that witness is void (R.C. 2107.15), so do not use your spouse or kids as witnesses; (3) a notary is not required, but a notary does not replace the two witnesses either. A properly witnessed will is normally admitted to probate on its face without tracking down the witnesses (R.C. 2107.18). For $25 you can deposit the signed original with the Richland County Probate Court for safekeeping (R.C. 2107.07).

What happens with no will. If you died today, your spouse would inherit everything, as long as both children are also your spouse's children (R.C. 2105.06). If either of you has a child from another relationship, the law splits the estate between the spouse and the children, which is rarely what people want. And if you both died, your children would inherit outright, which creates the real problem below.

Why a bare form is not enough for parents of minors.

Guardian. Your will should nominate a guardian for the kids and a backup. Ohio courts must appoint your most recent nominee unless there is good cause not to (R.C. 2111.121).

Money for minors. A child under 18 cannot receive an inheritance outright; anything above about $25,000 requires a court-supervised guardianship of the estate, with annual accountings, and the child gets everything at 18 (R.C. 2111.05). The fix is either a trust inside the will or a direction that the children's share go to a custodian under Ohio's Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, which lets you delay distribution to as late as age 25 (R.C. 5814.02, 5814.09). Most online forms do not do this.

Life insurance and retirement accounts. These pass by beneficiary designation, not by the will. If the kids are named directly, the same guardianship problem applies. Name your spouse first and the trust or UTMA custodian second.

The companion documents every Ohio adult should have.

Durable financial power of attorney, using Ohio's statutory form (R.C. 1337.60), notarized, so your spouse can handle accounts and the house if you are incapacitated.

Health care power of attorney and living will (R.C. 1337.12, 2133.02). The Ohio State Bar Association's combined packet is free, and Ohio Legal Help posts free versions. Both need two adult witnesses (not family members) or a notary.

Transfer-on-death designation affidavit for the house (R.C. 5302.22), recorded with the county recorder now; both spouses sign. With this, the house skips probate entirely at the second death.

Transfer-on-death on vehicle titles (R.C. 2131.13, BMV form 3811) and payable-on-death beneficiaries on bank accounts (R.C. 2131.10).

Done together, these documents can make a modest estate like yours avoid probate almost entirely. A simple will-and-companion-documents package from an estate planning attorney typically costs far less than one probate guardianship for a minor. This is general information, not legal advice; if you use a form, at minimum have a lawyer check the signing and the minor-children provisions.

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