Order appointing an estate administrator is a not a final appealable order

In re Estate of Thomas, 9th Dist. No. 27177, 2014-Ohio-3481. The Ninth District Court of Appeals considered whether an order appointing an estate administrator was a final appealable order under R.C. § 2505.02. After the probate court considered competing applications from two brothers to administer their mother’s estate and appointed one brother to administer the estate, the brother whose application was denied appealed. The Appellate Court recognized that for the probate court’s order to be appealable, it must not be made in a special proceeding and affect a substantial right. R.C. § 2505.02(A)(1) defines substantial right as a right that the United States Constitution, the Ohio Constitution, a statute, the common law, or a rule of procedure entitles a person to enforce and protect.  The Appellate Court also recognized the Supreme Court of Ohio’s standard for determining whether an order affects a substantial right as whether the order, if not immediately appealable, would foreclose appropriate relief in the future.  The Appellate Court upheld its previous decisions concluding that an order denying a motion to dismiss an application to administer an estate and appointing an executor of an estate does not impact a substantial right. The Appellate Court stated that the probate court’s ruling did not foreclose the appealing brother from taking action in the future should the appointed brother breach his fiduciary duty to the estate. Accordingly, because the order was not a final appealable order, the Appellate Court dismissed the appeal.