(A) Administration of the estate of an intestate shall be granted to persons mentioned in this division, in the following order:
(1) To the surviving spouse of the deceased, if resident of the state;
(2) To one of the next of kin of the deceased, resident of the state.
(B) If the persons entitled to administer the estate under division (A) of this section fail to take or renounce administration voluntarily, the matter shall be set for hearing and notice given to the persons.
(C) If there are no persons entitled to administration, if they are for any reason unsuitable for the discharge of the trust, or if without sufficient cause they neglect to apply within a reasonable time for the administration of the estate, their right to priority shall be lost, and the court shall commit the administration to some suitable person who is a resident of the state, or to the attorney general or the attorney general's designee, if the department of medicaid is seeking to recover the costs of medicaid services from the deceased pursuant to section 5162.21 or 5162.211 of the Revised Code. The person granted administration may be a creditor of the estate.
(D) This section applies to the appointment of an administrator de bonis non.
Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.
Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.52, SB 124, §1, eff. 1/13/2012.
Effective Date: 07-01-2000 .