In re Estate of Parks

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 1841

Syllabus

The probate court's decision declaring a special administrator's appointment void ab initio and reopening an estate was not a final order because issues regarding the estate could still be reviewed by the court. A subsequent 60(B) motion to reverse that order was thus actually a motion to reconsider. The trial court's granting of the motion to reconsider was not an abuse of discretion because R.C. 2113.06 and R.C. 2113.07's requirements of notice and a hearing before appointment of an executor or administrator are inapplicable to the appointment of a special administrator under R.C. 2113.15. The statutes clearly distinguish between executors, administrators, and special administrators. Additionally, a special administrator is simply a stakeholder, and their appointment deprives a person with priority to be an executor or administrator, such as a surviving spouse, of no rights which requires notice and a hearing.