SIDNEY — The Probate Court comprises one-half of the Shelby County Common Pleas Probate & Juvenile Court’s responsibilities.

Overall, the Probate Court saw a successful year of operation and service to the community.

Judge Jeffrey J. Beigel, Shelby County Probate Court, has submitted the following report:

The Probate Court’s responsibilities include the probating of wills, trusts and estates, the guardianships of minors and incompetent adults, adoptions, will contests, name changes, marriage licenses, civil proceedings, disinterment, minor settlements, structured settlements, mental illness, wrongful death, including the hearings and litigation disputes related to these types of cases.

The Probate Court was busy with a caseload that saw 2% decrease in new cases but a 16% increase in other filings/pleadings over the prior year. Overall, the Probate Court handled a case load of 1,327 matters in 2023, consisting of 646 pending cases from 2022, an additional 362 new cases, and 319 marriage licenses issued. At year-end, pending matters included 367 estates, 189 guardianships of incompetents, 2 conservatorships, 24 guardianships of minors, 11 adoptions, 23 trust matters, 3 civil actions, 4 name changes, 1 mental illness filings, 26 marriage licenses, and other miscellaneous cases.

The court deposited $58,627.42 of collected revenue into the General Fund, being a 17.84% increase compared to 2022.

The court adopted a Language Access Plan to promptly and efficiently provide services and access to justice for limited English proficient individuals, as well as persons with hearing issues. All interpreter services are provided free of charge to the individual.

The annual in-person training to assist guardians in complying with their education requirements was held on Oct.25, 2023. This year’s topic was Housing Decision Making and both morning and afternoon sessions were well attended.

The court established partnership with Catholic Social Services to appoint it to serve as guardian for indigent incompetent individuals who have no one else to to assist them. There is a high demand for guardians of adult incompetent persons and this program is designed to meet that long-term need.

The court’s volunteer Guardian Angel program continues to reach out to guardians and visit residences, and speak with the ward, guardian and family to help monitor the welfare and well-being of the ward.

In November the court acknowledged National Adoption Awareness Month with 27 adoption petitions being filed during the year. The court believes that adoptions play an important role for children, families and our community.

In 2023 the Court’s administration and management responsibilities were updated as follows: McKenzie Lotz, human resources & reclaim; Heather Roe-McClain, fiscal manager, assistant chief probate clerk & judicial paralegal; Kim Rosengarten, chief juvenile clerk & technology officer; Patricia Rosengarten, chief probate clerk; Kory Yohey, chief probation officer. Staffing for all Probate and Juvenile divisions involves 19 well trained employees working hard to provide quality Court services to the public.

The court has been busy keeping pace with recent legislative and judicial changes to various laws that affect probate. As a member of the Ohio Judicial Conference’s Probate Law & Procedure Committee I regularly attended meetings to keep abreast of, and provide input on, proposed legislation, trends and issues that may affect our local court.