Wills, trusts, and probate in Franklin County.
Ohio repealed its state estate tax in 2013, so most Columbus families plan only around federal estate tax (which only bites at very high net worth). What still bites is probate — and Ohio probate runs through the Franklin County Probate Court, which is unforgiving on technicalities. A well-drafted revocable trust, a transfer-on-death affidavit for real estate, and properly funded beneficiary designations can keep most Columbus estates out of probate entirely. The 10 firms below build those plans every day.
Estate planning in Columbus splits cleanly by net worth. Under $1 million in countable assets: a will, durable powers of attorney, a healthcare proxy, a living will, and proper beneficiary designations on retirement and life-insurance accounts. Between $1 million and $5 million: usually a fully funded revocable trust with a pour-over will, transfer-on-death affidavits for Ohio real estate, and coordinated IRA beneficiary planning. Over $5 million: irrevocable trust planning, gift-tax returns, generation-skipping trust planning, and frequent revisits as the federal exemption changes.
We weighted Chambers USA High Net Worth rankings, Best Lawyers in America selections for Trusts & Estates Law, Super Lawyers selections, OSBA Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law specialist certifications, and verified Franklin County Probate Court filings. Fees in this market range from a $400 flat-fee simple will at a focused solo up to $7,500+ for a fully funded revocable trust at a BigLaw firm. Hourly partner time at the largest firms runs to $700 an hour for the most senior trust attorneys.
How we picked these 10: We cross-checked published verdicts, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers selections, Avvo and Justia ratings, peer reviews, and bar association recognition. Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Estate planning, trusts, wealth transfer, business succession
Columbus-headquartered AmLaw firm with a Chambers USA High Net Worth Band 1 ranking for several years through 2025. Best Lawyers ‘Best Law Firms’ Tier 1 for Trusts & Estates Law (Ohio and national). Strong fit for high-net-worth families and business owners.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trust administration, business succession, charitable giving
Multi-office Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana firm with a substantial Columbus base. Deep private client group, with coordinated tax, corporate, and real estate partners for closely held business succession planning.
Practice focus: Private wealth, multi-jurisdictional estate planning, family office
Global firm with a Columbus office of 80+ lawyers and paralegals. Best fit for very high net worth, multi-jurisdictional families and clients with international holdings.
Practice focus: Estate planning, business succession, charitable planning, special needs
Long-established Columbus firm. Partner Geoffrey Kunkler practices in estate planning for individuals and business owners, asset protection for retirees, estate administration, charitable planning, and special needs trusts.
Practice focus: Estate planning, fiduciary services, wealth transfer, family business
Columbus-headquartered AmLaw firm. Established trusts and estates practice with deep federal tax bench. Frequent counsel for Columbus family offices and closely held business owners.
Practice focus: Estate planning, wealth transfer, fiduciary services, family office
Columbus-founded AmLaw 100 firm. Private wealth group serving high-net-worth Columbus families and business owners. Strong on irrevocable trust structures and generation-skipping planning.
Practice focus: Estate planning, charitable giving, trust administration, fiduciary litigation
AmLaw 200 firm with a Columbus office and a national private client practice. Comfortable with charitable remainder trusts, conservation easements, and trust decanting.
Practice focus: Elder law, Medicaid planning, estate planning, special needs trusts, probate
Columbus elder-law and estate-planning boutique. Particularly strong on Medicaid planning, special needs trusts, and asset protection for retirees. Phone: 614-362-4058.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, elder law
Columbus-area solo with 30+ years of estate planning and probate work. Super Lawyers selection for estate planning and probate. Direct attorney handling and approachable for first-time planners.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, trust administration
Columbus boutique focused on estate planning and probate administration. Approachable for middle-class families looking for a flat-fee planner with personal attention. Phone: 614-285-4905.
Tell us a few details and we’ll match you with vetted estate planning attorneys in Columbus. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →Columbus estate planning fees split into three lanes. Flat-fee simple work: $300 to $700 for a single-person will package, $600 to $1,400 for a married-couple bundle (wills, powers of attorney, healthcare proxies). Revocable trust packages: $2,500 to $5,000 at the boutiques and mid-sized firms, $4,500 to $8,500 at Vorys, Bricker Graydon, Porter Wright, BakerHostetler, and Squire Patton Boggs once you start funding real estate or business interests. Hourly work for tax-driven planning, gift-tax returns, or contested estate administration: $275 to $475 at the boutiques, $350 to $700 at the BigLaw firms.
Franklin County probate administration is billed against a retainer with statutory fee guidelines as a reference, typically resolving in 2 to 5 percent of the gross estate value for a routine administration. A contested will or trust dispute can run $25,000 to $200,000 depending on how far it travels through the probate court and the Tenth District Court of Appeals.
Initial planning meeting: 60 to 90 minutes. Bring prior estate documents, a list of assets and account titling, your beneficiary designations, and the names you want as executor, trustee, and guardian for any minor children.
Draft turnaround: 2 to 4 weeks for a will-only package, 4 to 8 weeks for a fully funded revocable trust. Most firms send a redline, schedule a review call, then book a signing.
Signing and funding: One in-person appointment with the attorney, witnesses, and a notary. Funding the trust (retitling accounts, recording deeds, updating beneficiary designations) is another 30 to 60 days of follow-up.
Probate after death: Routine Franklin County estates typically close in 7 to 12 months. Estates that elect ‘release from administration’ (under $35,000) close in 60 to 120 days. Contested matters can run 2 to 5 years.
Match the firm to the estate. Under $1 million net worth with no business interests and a routine family structure: any of the boutiques on this list (R.F. Meyer & Associates, Sponseller, Orr) will do excellent work for under $2,000 in flat fees. Between $1 million and $5 million with a closely held business or rental properties: Carlile Patchen & Murphy or one of the BigLaw firms (Vorys, Bricker Graydon, Porter Wright) handles the tax and succession layers cleanly. Over $5 million or with multistate property: Vorys and Squire Patton Boggs both have national private wealth practices that fit institutional-grade planning.
Two practical questions to ask before you sign: who actually drafts the documents (partner, associate, or paralegal under partner review), and what the firm charges for the inevitable update in three or five years when tax law changes or a beneficiary dies, marries, or divorces. The second number can dwarf the first over a decade if the firm rebuilds the plan from scratch each time.
Guaranteed probate avoidance. No ethical estate planner guarantees you will avoid probate. A properly funded trust avoids probate for the assets titled in the trust. Assets left outside the trust still pass through Franklin County Probate Court.
Seminar trusts and free-dinner pitches. Trust seminars at restaurants often quote a flat package that looks reasonable until you read the engagement letter. The signing happens fast, the funding does not happen at all, and the family discovers years later that nothing was retitled. If a firm cannot explain in plain English how they will fund the trust and follow up, walk away.
No tax review. Even modest Columbus estates should get an IRA, life-insurance, and 529-plan review at intake. A planner who skips taxes entirely is leaving real money on the table.
Vague fee terms. The engagement letter should specify the flat fee or hourly rate, what is included, what triggers extra charges, and what future amendments cost. “Don’t worry about cost” is a red flag.
One-attorney shop with no succession plan. Your estate plan is meant to outlive you. If the solo who drafted it retires or dies, who holds your documents and answers questions in 15 years? Ask. A serious firm has a written answer.
Most firms on this list offer a free initial call. Use it. Bring this list and write down the answers. Compare across at least two firms before you sign anything.
Franklin County Probate Court. Located at 373 S High St in downtown Columbus. The court is known for tight calendar discipline and strict adherence to local rules. A firm that practices here regularly knows the staff and the procedural shortcuts.
Ohio has no state estate or inheritance tax. Ohio repealed its estate tax in 2013. That removes a planning concern your friends in Pennsylvania still face. Federal estate tax exemption is the only number most Columbus families need to plan around, and at the current threshold it does not bite for the vast majority.
Ohio transfer-on-death affidavits. Ohio allows a transfer-on-death affidavit for real estate. Properly recorded with the Franklin County recorder, it passes the home to a named beneficiary outside probate. Many Columbus planners use it as a low-cost alternative to retitling a home into a revocable trust.
Ohio spousal elective share. A surviving spouse has a statutory right to a share of the estate even if the will says otherwise. Columbus planners flag this in any blended-family or second-marriage situation and structure around it cleanly.
Most Columbus families with a house, retirement accounts, and minor children do well with a will, durable powers of attorney, a healthcare proxy, a living will, and properly named beneficiary designations. A revocable trust earns its keep when you own out-of-state real estate, want to keep your affairs private from the probate file, or want to leave assets in protected shares for a spouse, child, or grandchild.
$300 to $700 for a single-person will package, $600 to $1,400 for a married couple at the boutique and small firms. BigLaw firms (Vorys, Bricker Graydon, Squire Patton Boggs, Porter Wright, BakerHostetler) charge $1,200 to $2,500 for the same documents because the time is partner time.
No. Ohio repealed its estate tax in 2013 and has no inheritance tax. Federal estate tax is the only one most Columbus families plan around, and the current exemption is high enough that it does not affect the vast majority.
Routine estate administration in Franklin County typically closes in 7 to 12 months. ‘Release from administration’ (small estates under $35,000) closes in 60 to 120 days. Contested estates with will contests or trust disputes can run 2 to 5 years.
Ohio allows a transfer-on-death affidavit recorded with the county recorder during your lifetime, naming the person who inherits the property automatically when you die. The home passes outside probate. It is a low-cost alternative to titling the home into a revocable trust.
Ohio gives a surviving spouse a statutory elective share of the estate even if the will leaves nothing. A good Columbus estate planner flags this in any blended-family or second-marriage situation and structures around it.
Review every 3 to 5 years and at every major life event: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, a significant change in assets, or a move to or from Ohio. Most firms charge a reduced rate for routine updates.
Yes, and most Columbus estate firms expect to. Some include a discounted probate engagement letter in the original planning package. Ask up front whether your firm will represent the estate, what they charge for it, and whether your named executor can pick a different lawyer.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one the same question: How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and what is the realistic range of outcomes? The answer tells you most of what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team