Recent changes adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court may impact your probate practice. These changes are:

Updates to Standard Probate Forms Effective February 1, 2022

The Court adopted Amendments to the Rules of Superintendence of the Courts of Ohio for Probate Forms 7.0, 21.6, and 66.05 and Sup. R. 66.05 to update certain forms as a result of recent statutory and administrative changes in several key areas:

• Guardianships: Probate Form 66.05 – Affidavit of Guardian of Applicant was repealed. The Affidavit is now found in Rule 66.05 of the Rules of Superintendence.
• Name Changes: Probate Form 21.6 – Application to Waive Publication Requirement and Seal File is revised to reflect the change in the statutory reference to R.C. 2717.11.  The form specifically advises users to discard all previous versions of this form.
• Medicaid Estate Recovery Program: Probate Form 7.0 – Certification of Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is revised to change the address of the Medicaid Estate Recovery program.  This form also advises users to discard all previous versions of this form.

Amendments to Guardianship Rules Effective July 1, 2022

The Court adopted  Amendments to the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, Rules 66 – 66.09 based on recommendations by the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence and proposals suggested by the Ohio Judicial Conference and the Ohio Association of Probate Judges.

Rule 66 – Guardianships is amended at (A) to include in the statement accompanying the application for appointment of a guardian on the grounds of mental incompetency that the agent of the prospective ward or other individual has refused to consent to a mental health examination.

Rule 66.03 – Local Guardianship Rule is revised at (B) to include the actions of the guardian in denying a request of a person to visit the ward.

Amended Rule 66.05 at (A)(5) directs the court investigator to inquire into the visitation history and preferences of the prospective ward and make a written report of the visitation recommendation to the court.

Rule 66.06 – Guardian Pre-Appointment Education is revised at (A)(5) to include within the guardian fundamentals course training how to detect and report abuse, neglect, and exploitation allegations to authorities.  This is added to heighten awareness of potential abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Amendments to Rule 66.08 (C) – Reporting abuse, neglect, or exploitations add the long-term care ombudsman, or law enforcement to the reporting entities.

Rule 66.09 (F) – Communication with ward is amended to add that the guardian is encouraged to identify persons with whom the ward desires to communicate and facilitate communication the guardian believes is in the best interest of the ward.

As always, if you have questions or comments about this or any other loss prevention topic, please feel free to contact us. We’re here to help.