What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent in Ohio?

1. Costs and expenses of administration; 2. Funeral expenses up to $4,000 (in the funeral director's bill, or court-approved), plus burial and cemetery expenses up to $3,000; 3. Spousal and minor children support allowance (R.C. § 2106.13); 4. Debts entitled to a preference under the laws of the United States; 5. Expenses of the decedent's last sickness; 6. Additional funeral expenses (up to $2,000 more if the director's bill exceeds $4,000); 7. Expenses of the decedent's last continuous stay in a nursing home, residential facility, or hospital long-term care unit; 8. Personal property taxes, Medicaid estate recovery claims, and obligations for which the decedent was personally liable to the state or its subdivisions; 9. Manual labor debts (up to $300 per person, performed within 12 months before death); 10. Other debts for which claims have been presented and finally allowedR.C. § 2117.25Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.

Ohio pays them in proportion to their amountsR.C. § 2117.25(E)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source: each claim in the class receives the same share of what it is owed.

A executor is not personally liable for the decedent's debtsOhio Rev. Code 2117.35Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. A executor who distributes property to heirs while claims are unpaid is personally liableOhio Rev. Code 2113.53(C)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. Ohio's statutes state no rule on the executor's personal liability for paying a later class before an earlier class is paid in full.

Yes. A person named in a will who has not yet been appointed can decline the appointment, and an insolvent estate is a common reason to. Ohio's statute does not fix the form of the declination. The Renunciation of Executor for Ohio prepares the writing or the state's official form.