Description

Last Updated – January 15, 2024

Background

For years, Basic Ohio Probate Forms (BOPF) has been Ohio’s number one application for preparing probate forms. Although the form set was standardized by the Ohio Supreme Court years ago, there have evolved more than a few county specific forms. In response, we put together a new Cuyahoga County version of BOPF which has been substantially rewritten to provide more user friendliness, better worksheets, and print-shop-perfect printed forms. You’ll find a complete listing of included forms below–almost 150 pages worth!

A Probate Processor

No Learning Curve. Cuyahoga4 is a stand-alone, standard Windows and Mac OSX application. It is not a simple template, HotDocs, or script, but instead is a true 32-bit application. What this means is that opening, saving and printing files is done just like in your word processor. You won’t need to learn odd or complex new ways to do things.

Free Web Forms. If you’re curious about the advantages of Cuyahoga4 over the court’s PDF web forms, click here.

Notices, Consents & Waivers

Over half the standard probate forms involve the spouse, kin and legatees, so you’ll be wanting your probate application to fully complete all the necessary notices, consents and waivers. Cuyahoga does just that! For example, if you have 40 beneficiaries or parties that must each receive a separate Form 2.2 Notice of Probate, Cuyahoga4 completes all the copies automatically based on your worksheet entries. No work-arounds or cutting and pasting.

Deluxe Previewing & Printing

If it’s installed, all previewing and printing is performed through Microsoft Word. That means any of Word’s advanced editing functions can be applied to your probate forms (Word is recommended but not required for the Windows version of Cuyahoga4, but it is required for the Mac OSX version)–

• saving your forms as PDF files that can be attached to emails

• making marginal notes or interlineations to provide the court with additional information

• doing any desired additional text editing and formatting

• spell checking legal descriptions, etc.

• accessing advanced print functions such as non-sequential page printing, duplex printing, or any other advanced function supported by your printer and Word.

Additional Features

• Handles calculations automatically; many forms entirely complete themselves!

• Exports probate files to our U.S. Estate Tax application for a true single entry system that eliminates re-typing.

• Multiple forms. When you need it, you’ll find that most forms come in multiple copies. Therefore, if there are 40 kin, in 40 different states, and each needs a particular notice, you can print all 40 notices with one click.

• Saves and loads probate estates as ordinary text files. There is no need to follow time-wasting and ill-advised procedures like saving each form or page individually. Your entire set of forms is saved and opened from one file just as you would in your word processor.

List of Included Forms

FORMS
Form 1.0	Surviving Spouse, Next of Kin, Legatees & Devisees
Form 2.0	Application to Probate Will
Form 2.1	Waiver of Notice of Probate of Will
Form 2.2	Notice of Probate of Will
Form 2.3	Entry Admitting Will
Form 2.4	Certificate of Service of Notice of Probate of Will
Form 3.0	Appointment of Appraiser
Form 4.0	Application for Authority to Administer
Form 4.1	Supplemental Application for Ancillary Administration
Form 4.2	Fiduciary’s Bond
Form 4.3	Waiver of Right to Administer
Form 4.4	Notice of Hearing on Appointment of Fiduciary
Form 4.5	Entry Appointing Fiduciary; Letters of Authority
	Fiduciary’s Acceptance
Form 5.0	Application to Relieve Estate from Administration
Form 5.1	Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved
Form 5.2	Waiver of Notice of Application to Relieve Estate
Form 5.3	Notice of Application to Relieve Estate from Administration
Form 5.4	Publication of Notice
Form 5.6	Entry Relieving Estate from Administration
Form 5.9	Report of Distribution
Form 5.10	Application for Summary Release from Administration
Form 5.11	Entry Granting Summary Release from Administration
	Commissioner’s Report
Form 6.0	Inventory and Appraisal
Form 6.1	Schedule of Assets
Form 6.2	Waiver of Notice on Hearing
Form 6.3	Notice of Hearing
Form 6.3AA	Certificate of Service of Notice of Hearing on Inventory
Form 6.4A	Application for Appointment of Commissioner
Form 7.0	Notice to Administrator of Estate Recovery Program
Form 7.0(A)	Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Form 7.1	Application for Family Allowance
Form 7.2A	Application for Apportionment of Family Allowance
Form 8.0	Citation to Surviving Spouse to Elect Against Will
Form 8.1	Election of Surviving Spouse to Take Under Will
Form 8.2	Election of Surviving Spouse to Take Against Will
Form 8.3	Summary of General Rights of Surviving Spouse
Form 8.4	Certificate of Service & Notice of Citation to Surviving Spouse
Form 8.5	Return for Certificate of Service of Citation to Surviving Spouse
Form 8.6	Waiver of Service to Surviving Spouse of the Citation
Form 9.0	Application to Sell Personal Property
Form 9.1	Schedule of Personal Property for Sale
Form 9.2	Notice of Sale of Personal Property
Form 9.C	Application to Transfer Motor Vehicle
Form 10.0	Application to Distribute in Kind
Form 10.1	Schedule of Property to be Distributed in Kind
Form 10.2	Notice of Hearing on Application to Distribute in Kind
Form 10.4	Notice to Distributee
Form 11.0	Consent to Power to Sell Real Estate
Form 12.0	Application for Certificate of Transfer
Form 12.1	Certificate of Transfer
Form 12.2	Entry Issuing Certificate of Transfer
Form 13.0	Fiduciary’s Account
Form 13.1	Receipts and Disbursements
Form 13.2	Assets Remaining in Hands of Fiduciary
Form 13.3	Entry Approving and Settling Account
Form 13.4	Waiver of Partial Account
Form 13.5	Notice of Hearing on Account
Form 13.6	Certificate of Termination
Form 13.7b	Waiver of Notice of Hearing and Consent to Account
Form 13.8	Application to Extend Administration
Form 13.9	Certificate of Service of Account to Heirs or Beneficiaries
Form 13.10	Notice to Extend Administration
Form 13.11	Application to Reopen Estate & Appoint Fiduciary
WORKSHEETS
GIW	General Information
KW	Surviving Spouse, Children, Next of Kin, Legatees, Devisees & Other Interested Parties
AW	Asset, Income & Receipts
EW	Expenses, Debts, & Disbursements
MISCELLANEOUS
DTE 100	Real Property Conveyance Fee Statement
DTE 100(ex)	Real Property Conveyance Fee Exemption
	Computation of Executor or Administrator Fee
	Computation of Attorney Fee
BMV 3773	Surviving Spouse Vehicle Transfer Affidavit
BMV 3774	Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title
	Real Estate Affidavit of Surviving Spouse or Joint Survivor
	Application for Allowance of Attorney Fee w/Exhibit
	Judgment Entry Granting Attorney Fee
	Power of Attorney for Transferring Stock/Bonds/Debentures
	Affidavit of Domicile
ENCLOSURE LETTERS
	Wills, notice and consents to probate will
	Accounting, waiver and consents
	Letters of authority; statement of duties
	To life insurance company enclosing policy
	Inventory and waiver of notice
	Instructions to appraiser
	Filing with Probate Court
TAX FORMS	These forms are the IRS static pdf forms linked from within Cuyahoga4
IRS Form SS-4	Application for Employer Identification Number
IRS Form 56	Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship
IRS Form 2848	Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representation
IRS Form 4810	Request for Prompt Assessment Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6501(d)
IRS Form 4868	Application for Extension of Time to File a Return

Print Shop Perfect Probate Forms

Every form you print is fully formatted, picture perfect, and ready to file. Cuyahoga4 complies with the typographical specification set forth in Rules 51 and 52 of the Supreme Court Rules for Superintendence for Courts of Common Pleas assures acceptability. All forms were designed for two reasons: to comply with the Supreme Court typographical specification, and to be easier to read and understand (larger print/more white space).

No Repetition – Automated Forms

You enter basic information one time. Cuyahoga4 completes the forms based on your single entry (i.e., decedent’s name, address, date of death; applicant or fiduciary’s name, address and telephone number; attorney’s name, address, telephone number and registration number; surviving spouse’s name, address and telephone number; all court information, county name, court title, presiding judge, etc.). This is true of the estate assets and liabilities as well as basic information. Once entered, simply direct the items to the appropriate forms by pointing and clicking. That means you type lengthy legal descriptions a single time and merely direct it to the various forms by clicking.

Compatibility With U.S. Estate Tax Application

Another great feature is Cuyahoga4’s compatibility with our U.S. Estate Tax (P706) application. Cuyahoga4 files can be converted into nearly complete estate tax files that you need only review and print. This, in itself, saves hours of time and reduces errors that may otherwise occur when transferring or retyping information. The process is extremely easy. Simply mark an asset or debt to direct it to a particular schedule of the estate tax return. Our P706 application can import the contents of your probate file. It’s no harder than opening a file!

User Friendly, No Prohibitive Learning Curve, No Expensive Training Needed

When we say we use a standard interface, it means that Cuyahoga4 looks and feels familiar. It has a File menu with saving and printing commands in the customary locations. For you this means that you can dive right in instead of having to learn new ways to do things you already know how to do in your experience with other applications. Unconventional controls and interface gimmickry are okay for games, but business and legal software should stick to the the standard interface you’re familiar with.

User Friendly Prices; No Hidden Charges

When you realize that the cost of other legal software (i.e., bankruptcy packages, probate software, office management systems, etc.) can start at about $500 and up, you can appreciate the price-conscious value of Cuyahoga4. There are no subscription fees, maintenance charges, update expenses, technical support costs or other related or hidden charges. For the life of the application (typically 4 to 6 years), everything’s included. Like all the other software in the Puritas Springs Software legal library, we designed and priced Cuyahoga4 to give you maximum bang for the buck! No other legal software gives you the same specialized, comprehensive assistance so inexpensively.

* The Mac Version requires Microsoft Word for Mac word processor. The Windows version does not.