Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in Ohio
At a glance
| Governing law and device recognized | Limited statutory route: fixed incorporation by reference under Ohio Rev. Code § 2107.05, not a freely updatable personal-property-list statute |
|---|---|
| Will reference required | Yes; the will must refer to the document, book, record, or memorandum as being in existence when the will is executed (§ 2107.05(A)) |
| Eligible property and exclusions | No memorandum-specific tangible-property definition, exclusion list, or value cap; § 2107.05(A) is a general incorporation provision |
| Signature, handwriting, and date | No separate handwriting, signature, witness, or date condition for the incorporated document in § 2107.05(A); the will must satisfy § 2107.03 |
| Item and devisee identification | No memorandum-specific item-or-devisee formula in § 2107.05(A); the statute prescribes existence, will reference, and probate deposit |
| Timing before or after the will | Document must exist when the will is executed; the old will cannot incorporate a document first created afterward (§ 2107.05(A)) |
| Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority | No casual later-list update; a replacement must be brought in through a later will, codicil, or other will-formal writing (§ 2107.33(A)(4)-(5)) |
| Probate use, effect, and failure consequence | Deposit original when will is probated or within 30 days; good-cause extension allowed; certified correct copy may substitute; statute states no automatic-invalidity sentence (§ 2107.05(A)) |
Ohio uses fixed statutory incorporation
Ohio does not provide a UPC-style personal-property list that may be written or changed after the will. Revised Code § 2107.05(A) instead permits a will to incorporate an “existing document, book, record, or memorandum” only when the will refers to it “as being in existence at the time the will is executed.”
That is a general incorporation provision. It does not supply a separate tangible-personal-property definition, excluded-asset list, value ceiling, handwriting rule, signature rule, dating rule, or item-and-recipient formula for a personal-property memorandum. The will itself remains subject to § 2107.03: it must be written, signed at the end, and attested and subscribed in the testator's conscious presence by at least two competent witnesses.
What trips people up
Ohio adds a post-death filing rule that many incorporation statutes do not. Section 2107.05(A) says the incorporated document must be deposited in the probate court when the will is probated or within 30 days afterward. The court may extend that time for good cause. A copy may replace the original only if a person authorized to take acknowledgments certifies the copy as correct.
The document also is fixed at will execution. A new list written afterward is not the existing document referenced by the old will. Section 2107.33(A) allows a later written will or codicil executed under the chapter, or another writing signed, attested, and subscribed in the chapter's manner. A binding replacement therefore needs a will-formal route rather than a casual edit or a self-declared supersession on a later list.
Common questions
Can the memorandum be created after the will is signed?
Not through § 2107.05(A). The will must refer to the document as being in existence when the will is executed.
Must the incorporated document itself be signed, witnessed, handwritten, or dated?
Section 2107.05(A) states no such independent formality for the document, book, record, or memorandum. Section 2107.03's signature and witness requirements apply to the will.
What property may the memorandum cover?
Section 2107.05(A) is not limited to a statutory category of tangible personal property and states no memorandum-specific exclusion list or value cap. Other law may still govern ownership, title, nonprobate transfers, and whether a particular asset can pass under a will.
What if the original cannot be deposited within 30 days?
The probate court may grant an extension for good cause. The statute also allows a certified correct copy instead of the original. It does not state in § 2107.05(A) that missing the initial 30-day period automatically invalidates the incorporated document.
Statutes and sources
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2107.05 — existing-document rule, reference in the will, probate deposit, good-cause extension, and certified-copy option. Official enrolled 132nd General Assembly Sub. H.B. 595: https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_132/legislation/hb595/05_EN/pdf/ (accessed 2026-08-11).
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2107.03 — writing, end-signature, conscious-presence, and two-witness rules for the will. Official enrolled 129th General Assembly Am. Sub. S.B. 124: https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_129/legislation/sb124/05_EN/pdf/ (accessed 2026-08-11).
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2107.33(A)(4)-(5) — later will, codicil, and other will-formal writing routes. Same official H.B. 595 URL (accessed 2026-08-11).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Ohio law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Ohio law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace