Geauga County Disclaimer of Interest (Guardian or Conservator) Form

When the person entitled to inherit Ohio real estate is a minor or an adult under guardianship, the refusal of that inheritance cannot come from the ward. Section 5815.36(B)(4) of the Ohio Revised Code places the decision with the probate division of the court of common pleas and the signature with the guardian of the ward's estate, who disclaims on the ward's behalf only after the court, on hearing after notice, consents and orders the disclaimer. This form prepares that instrument for an interest in Ohio real estate: one guardian or conservator signs it in the fiduciary capacity the form recites, under an order the form identifies by date and case number.

A court order, not a fiduciary's choice

Division (B)(4) sets two findings the court makes before ordering the disclaimer: that it is in the best interests of those interested in the ward's estate and of those who will take the disclaimed interest, and that it would not materially, adversely affect the minor or incompetent, considering other resources and the ward's age, probable life expectancy, condition, and anticipated needs. Section 3 of the form recites that order by its date of entry and case number, so the recorded instrument carries its authority on its face.

Guardian of the estate, or conservator

A guardian under Chapter 2111 is appointed for a minor or an incompetent and has the care and management of the ward's estate. A conservator under Section 2111.021 is appointed on the voluntary petition of a competent adult who is physically infirm, and that section applies the guardianship-of-the-estate provisions of the Revised Code to the conservatorship. Section 1 of the form prints both appointments beside a pair of boxes, and the letters of appointment show which box is marked; the recital that follows states that the signature is given solely in that fiduciary capacity, on behalf of the ward and not individually.

What the ward never receives

Division (H) makes the disclaimer effective as of the date the taker and the interest were finally ascertained, so the ward is never seized of the real estate; division (F)(4) adds that a spouse of a disclaimant has no dower or other interest in the real estate disclaimed, and the form carries no spousal line. The ward's own right to disclaim also survives the guardianship: division (D)(3) lets a ward who turns eighteen or regains competency disclaim afterward without repaying benefits received in the meantime, even where a guardian applied and the court declined to consent.

The contents the statute names

Division (B)(3) requires the instrument to be signed and acknowledged and to contain a reference to the donative instrument, a description of the interest disclaimed, and a declaration of the disclaimer and its extent; division (F)(4) adds a legal description sufficient to identify the land and a reference to the record of the instrument that created the interest. The form answers each in its own numbered section, including a free-form statement of the interest and extent disclaimed, the whole or a described part, and a fixed declaration in which the disclaimant disclaims the succession of the ward, retains no power to revoke, and makes no direction as to disposition; the share then passes as the donative instrument provides or under division (G) as though the ward had predeceased.

One fiduciary, one certificate, three destinations

The form recites exactly one disclaimant, the guardian or conservator of one ward, with one signature block and one acknowledgment certificate whose by-line holds the fiduciary's name and title. A ward with two co-guardians, a personal representative disclaiming for a decedent's estate, an attorney-in-fact acting under a power of attorney, and a person disclaiming in that person's own right each present a different recital and are not set up on this form. After signing, division (F) sends the instrument to the title holder, the county recorder, or the probate division depending on the donative instrument, and in every real estate case an executed copy is recorded with the recorder of the county where the land lies, laid out to the Section 317.114 standard.

The package includes the fillable disclaimer form, a completed example filled in for a realistic Hamilton County guardianship fact pattern, and the guide that walks through every numbered section, the court order, and the delivery, filing, and recording steps. This description and the guide describe the form and the governing Ohio statutes in general terms; they are not legal advice.