OH Bar Wills Trusts and Estates 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Ohio law, how many witnesses are required for a valid attested will?
- Two competent witnesses (Correct answer)
- One witness and a notary
- Three competent witnesses
- No witnesses if the will is signed
Correct answer: Two competent witnesses
Ohio R.C. 2107.03 requires a will to be signed by the testator and attested by two or more competent witnesses who saw the testator sign or heard the testator acknowledge the signature.
Question 2: A testator in Ohio writes her entire will in her own handwriting and signs it, but no witnesses attest it. Is the will valid?
- No, because Ohio does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills (Correct answer)
- Yes, because holographic wills are valid everywhere
- Yes, if the handwriting is verified by two people
- No, unless it is also notarized
Correct answer: No, because Ohio does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills
Ohio does not recognize holographic wills; even a fully handwritten will must satisfy the attestation requirements of R.C. 2107.03.
Question 3: Under Ohio's antilapse statute, a devise to a predeceased beneficiary is saved for the beneficiary's issue only if the beneficiary was what?
- A relative of the testator (Correct answer)
- Any named individual
- A resident of Ohio
- A charity
Correct answer: A relative of the testator
Ohio's antilapse statute, R.C. 2107.52, saves a lapsed devise for the deceased devisee's surviving descendants only when the devisee is a relative of the testator (or of the testator's spouse under the current statute).
Question 4: In Ohio, a surviving spouse who is dissatisfied with the will may elect to take against it. Which statement best describes the elective share when the decedent left two or more children?
- One-third of the net estate (Correct answer)
- One-half of the net estate
- The entire net estate
- A fixed dollar amount of $60,000
Correct answer: One-third of the net estate
Under R.C. 2106.01, the electing spouse takes the intestate share not to exceed one-half of the net estate, reduced to one-third when the decedent left two or more surviving children or their lineal descendants.
Question 5: A testator executes a valid will, then later marries. Under Ohio law, what effect does the subsequent marriage generally have on the will?
- The will is not revoked, but the spouse may take an intestate share as a pretermitted spouse would under the election statutes (Correct answer)
- The will is automatically revoked in full
- The will is revoked only as to real property
- The marriage has no effect of any kind
Correct answer: The will is not revoked, but the spouse may take an intestate share as a pretermitted spouse would under the election statutes
In Ohio, marriage after execution does not revoke a will, but the surviving spouse is protected through the election against the will and related spousal rights.
Question 6: Which act by an Ohio testator is sufficient to revoke a will by physical act?
- Tearing the will with intent to revoke it (Correct answer)
- Writing 'void' on a photocopy of the will
- Telling witnesses orally that the will is revoked
- Losing the will accidentally
Correct answer: Tearing the will with intent to revoke it
R.C. 2107.33 permits revocation by tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will with the intention of revoking it; oral statements and acts on copies are ineffective.
Question 7: Under Ohio intestacy, if a decedent dies survived by a spouse and one child who is also the child of that spouse, how is the probate estate distributed?
- The spouse takes the entire estate (Correct answer)
- The spouse takes one-half and the child one-half
- The child takes the entire estate
- The spouse takes $20,000 plus one-third
Correct answer: The spouse takes the entire estate
Under R.C. 2105.06, when all of the decedent's children are also children of the surviving spouse, the spouse inherits the entire intestate estate.
OH Bar Wills Trusts and Estates 2
Under Ohio law, how many witnesses are required for a valid attested will?