The short answer · 9 min read
A signed Ohio trust governs only what is titled to its trustee: personal property by an instrument naming the trustee (R.C. 5810.14), real property by deed, with a memorandum of trust of record when the trustee conveys (R.C. 5301.255). While you live, the trustee's duties are owed to you alone (R.C. 5806.03); you amend or revoke by the instrument's method (R.C. 5806.02); at your death the trust becomes irrevocable and the trustee's 60-day notices run (R.C. 5808.13).
Last reviewed against the Ohio Statutes and updated on 2026-10-15.
Funding: a trust governs what is titled to it
A trust is created by a transfer of property to a trustee or by the owner's declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee (R.C. 5804.01), and is valid regardless of the size of its corpus (R.C. 5804.02(D)) — but it governs only what is in it. Personal property is transferred to a trustee by a written instrument that identifies the property and names the trustee followed by "trustee"; a transfer on death or payable on death designation naming a trustee passes to the trustee serving at the time (R.C. 5810.14). Real property is deeded to the trustee; when the trustee later conveys it, a memorandum of trust — the trustee's name and address, the trust's date and its powers over real property — is of record with the county recorder (R.C. 5301.255). Accounts are retitled to the trustee or made payable to the trustee at death.
While you are living: your trust, your control
Unless the terms expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, you may revoke or amend it (R.C. 5806.02(A)). During your lifetime, whether or not you have capacity to revoke, the beneficiaries' rights are subject to your control and the trustee's duties — including the duties to inform and report — are owed exclusively to you (R.C. 5806.03(A); R.C. 5808.13(G)); while the trust is revocable, the trustee may follow your direction even against the terms (R.C. 5808.08(A)). The property remains subject to your creditors (R.C. 5805.06(A)(1)). The capacity to create, amend or revoke a revocable trust is the capacity to make a will (R.C. 5806.01).
Your successor trustee
Name a successor in the instrument, and a way to appoint another: a vacancy that must be filled goes first to the person the terms designate, then to a person appointed by someone the terms name, then to the qualified beneficiaries' unanimous choice, then to the court (R.C. 5807.04(C)). The successor accepts by the instrument's method or by conduct (R.C. 5807.01) and, within 60 days of accepting, notifies the current beneficiaries of the acceptance (R.C. 5808.13(B)(2)). Tell the person you name; a designee who does nothing within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected (R.C. 5807.01(B)).
Keeping it current
You revoke or amend by substantial compliance with the method the terms provide or, where they provide none, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of your intent — but not by a will or codicil unless the terms expressly allow it (R.C. 5806.02(C)). Where more than one settlor created the trust, each may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, and the trustee promptly notifies the other settlors (R.C. 5806.02(B)). A trustee who does not know of a revocation or amendment is not liable for acting as if none occurred (R.C. 5806.02(G)). Review the beneficiary designations, the deeds and the successor after a marriage, a divorce, a birth or a death; a residuary clause or a class gift to "surviving" children is read by the survivorship rules of R.C. 5808.19.
If you can no longer manage it
Your successor, or the cotrustee you named, administers for you under the terms. An agent under your power of attorney may exercise your powers to revoke, amend or distribute only to the extent both the power of attorney and the terms expressly authorize it (R.C. 5806.02(E)); a guardian may do so only with the supervising court's approval (R.C. 5806.02(F)). A power of attorney under Ohio law is durable unless it says otherwise (R.C. 1337.24) and ends at your death (R.C. 1337.30(A)(1)). Your durable power of attorney for health care (R.C. 1337.12) and living will (R.C. 2133.02) are separate instruments.
What happens at your death
The trust becomes irrevocable. Within 60 days after the trustee acquires knowledge of that, the trustee notifies the current beneficiaries of the trust's existence, your identity as settlor, the right to request a copy of the instrument and the right to a trustee's report (R.C. 5808.13(B)(3)); the report follows at least annually and at termination (R.C. 5808.13(C)). A contest is commenced within two years of the death, or six months from a notice with the instrument (R.C. 5806.04). Your estate's creditors present their claims within six months (R.C. 2117.06); the surviving spouse's election against a will treats the spouse as having predeceased for the trust unless the instrument provides otherwise (R.C. 2106.01(D)). Ohio levies no estate tax on a death on or after January 1, 2013 (R.C. 5731.02). During your life you may ask the probate court to declare the trust valid, which bars a later contest of the facts decided (R.C. 5817.10; R.C. 5806.04(E)).
Where to keep the original
Keep the signed original and every amendment where your successor can find them, and tell your successor where. A beneficiary may request a copy of the instrument after your death (R.C. 5808.13(B)(1)); a certification of trust lets the trustee deal with banks and buyers without the instrument (R.C. 5810.13). A will deposited with the probate judge for a $25 fee is kept sealed until needed (R.C. 2107.07); the trust itself is not filed anywhere.
When a licensed Ohio attorney is the right next call
Whether an asset is funded, whether a deed or designation does what you intend, how an amendment should be made, what powers your agent should have over the trust, and whether to seek a lifetime declaration of validity are questions a licensed Ohio attorney of your choosing answers from your documents. TrusteeClear organizes the record and explains the statute; it decides none of them.
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General information about Ohio law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Does signing an Ohio trust move my house into it?
- No. Real property enters the trust by a deed to the trustee; when the trustee later conveys it, a memorandum of trust is of record with the county recorder (R.C. 5301.255). Personal property is transferred by an instrument naming the trustee (R.C. 5810.14).
- Can I change my Ohio trust after signing it?
- Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable: by the instrument's method or, where it provides none, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of your intent, but not by a will or codicil unless the terms allow it (R.C. 5806.02(A), (C)).
- Does my trustee owe anything to my children while I am alive?
- During your lifetime the trustee's duties, including the duties to inform and report, are owed exclusively to you, whether or not you have capacity to revoke (R.C. 5806.03(A); R.C. 5808.13(G)).
- What happens to my Ohio trust when I die?
- It becomes irrevocable; within 60 days after the trustee knows of that, the trustee notifies the current beneficiaries of its existence, the settlor's identity and their rights to the instrument and a report (R.C. 5808.13(B)(3)); a contest runs two years from the death or six months from a notice with the instrument (R.C. 5806.04).
General information about Ohio law, not legal advice.