(A) A complaint under section 5817.03 of the Revised Code shall name as party defendants the following, as applicable:

Need help with a review of a will?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Ohio Code 5817.06

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Court: means the probate court of the county in which the complaint under section 5817. See Ohio Code 5817.01
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Trust: means an inter vivos revocable or irrevocable trust instrument to which, at the time the complaint for declaration of validity is filed under section 5817. See Ohio Code 5817.01
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(1) The settlor’s spouse;

(2) The settlor’s children;

(3) The settlor’s heirs who would take property pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code had the settlor died intestate at the time the complaint is filed;

(4) The trustee or trustees under the trust;

(5) The beneficiaries under the trust;

(6) If the trust amends, amends and restates, or replaces a prior trust, any beneficiary under the settlor’s most recent prior trust.

(B) A complaint under section 5817.03 of the Revised Code may name as a party defendant any other person that the settlor believes may have a pecuniary interest in the determination of the validity of the settlor’s trust.

(C) A complaint under section 5817.03 of the Revised Code may contain all or any of the following:

(1) A statement that a copy of the trust has been filed with the court;

(2) A statement that the trust is in writing and was signed by the settlor;

(3) A statement that the trust was executed with the intent to create a trust;

(4) A statement that the settlor had the legal capacity to enter into and establish the trust;

(5) A statement that the trust has a definite beneficiary or is one of the following:

(a) A charitable trust;

(b) A trust for the care of an animal as provided in section 5804.08 of the Revised Code;

(c) A trust for a noncharitable purpose as provided in section 5804.09 of the Revised Code.

(6) A statement that the trustee of the trust has duties to perform;

(7) A statement that the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary of the trust;

(8) A statement that the settlor executed the trust free from undue influence, not under restraint or duress, and in the exercise of the settlor’s free will;

(9) A statement that execution of the trust was not the result of fraud or mistake;

(10) The names and addresses of the settlor and all of the defendants and, if any of the defendants are minors, their ages;

(11) A statement that the trust has not been revoked or modified;

(12) A statement that the settlor is familiar with the contents of the trust.