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LORAIN COUNTY LOCAL RULES
8.1 Court Appointments
Persons appointed by the Court to serve as appraisers, fiduciaries, attorneys,
magistrates in involuntary psychiatric commitment proceedings, investigators,
guardians ad litem, and trustees for suit shall be selected from lists maintained
by the Court.
Appointments will be made from such lists taking into consideration the
qualifications, skill, expertise, and caseload of the appointee in addition to
the type, complexity and requirements of the case.
Court appointees will be paid a reasonable fee with consideration given to the
factors contained in DR 2-106 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, the
Ohio Revised Code, and the Local Rules of Court relating to fees.
The Court shall review the court appointment lists at least twice annually
to ensure the equitable distribution of appointments.
Comment to Court Appointments
Rule 8 of the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio and Local Rule 8.1
govern court appointments in the Probate Court. The following is a summary of practices
of Lorain County Probate Court with respect to the appointment of attorneys, appraisers,
fiduciaries, investigators, guardians ad litem, and commissioners.
- Appraisers: The Court does not maintain a list of acceptable appraisers.
Appraisers nominated by the fiduciary are appointed absent a showing of good cause why that
appraiser should not be appointed. Also see Rule 61.1.
- Fiduciaries: The Court does not maintain a list of suitable fiduciaries. In decedent’s
estates and trusts, fiduciaries are chosen on the basis of the will, or in the event of no will,
then by the preference order set by statute. If a suitable fiduciary cannot be appointed in either
of these situations, then an attorney may be appointed on the basis of preference as expressed by
the parties in interest.
With respect to guardianships, appointments are made pursuant to statute. Where there is no
suitable person, the court may appoint an attorney or some other suitable person. The Court may
appoint attorneys who apply as a result of a referral from a volunteer guardianship organization
or from an Adult Protective Services agency.
- Investigators: The Probate Court employs a full-time deputy clerk of court who also
performs the duties as an investigator in guardianship cases. In other types of investigations,
the Court utilizes employees of Lorain County Children Services whenever practical.
- Guardians ad litem: The appointment of a guardian ad litem most frequently arises in
land sale proceedings. By practice, plaintiffs nominate an attorney for appointment as guardian
ad litem and, barring any disqualification, the Court appoints the nominated attorney.
- Commissioners: Commissioners must be attorneys at law who are appointed to perform
certain investigations on behalf of the Court. Typically, the need for a commissioner arises in a
decedent’s estate involving an incompetent surviving spouse. The commissioner must be well versed
in probate law to assess both the law and facts regarding alternative property rights of the
incompetent spouse and how the election of those rights impact Medicaid and
other benefits.
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