Fifth District Upholds Denial of Claim Presented Prior To Fiduciary's Appointment

Fugate-Walton v. Walton, 5th Dist. Case No. 15CAE 07 0053, 2016-Ohio-1175. A creditor to a probate estate must file a claim within six months from the date of decedent's death. This case stands for the proposition that the claim can be made either on the executor or the executor's attorney within that time frame. Because the claim must be made on the executor or his attorney pursuant to R.C. § 2117.06, however, a claim that is mailed prior to the executor's appointment was not considered valid in this case. Since the claim letter was dated and presented prior to the estate's opening, the appellate court held that the probate court properly applied the presentment statute as written in granting summary judgment in favor of the estate for denying the claim. Therefore, the creditor lost the claim's full value.