OH · rules
Ohio Jud.Cond.R. 3.8
Appointments to Fiduciary Positions
(A) A judge shall not accept appointment to serve in a fiduciary position, such
as executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, attorney in fact, or other personal
representative, except for the estate, trust, or person of a member of the judge’s family,
and then only if such service will not interfere with the proper performance of judicial
duties.
(B) A judge shall not serve in a fiduciary position if the judge as fiduciary will
likely be engaged in proceedings that would ordinarily come before the judge, or if the
estate, trust, or ward becomes involved in adversary proceedings in the court on which
the judge serves, or one under its appellate jurisdiction.
(C) A judge acting in a fiduciary capacity shall be subject to the same
restrictions on engaging in financial activities that apply to a judge personally.
(D) If a person who is serving in a fiduciary position becomes a judge, he or she
must comply with this rule as soon as reasonably practicable, but in no event later than
six months after becoming a judge.
History
Comment [1] A judge should recognize that other restrictions imposed by this code may conflict with a judge’s obligations as a fiduciary; in such circumstances, a judge should resign as fiduciary. For example, serving as a fiduciary might require frequent disqualific ation of a judge under Rule 2.11 because a judge is deemed to have an economic interest in shares of stock held by a trust if the amount of stock held is more than de minimis. Comparison to Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 3.8(A), (B), and (C) are substantially the same as Ohio Canon 4(D)(1), (2), and (3). There is no Ohio Canon comparable to Rule 3.8(D). Comparison to ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 3.8 is identical to Model Rule 3.8. Ohio chose to adopt a six- month compliance window in division (D).
Provenance
- Source
- supremecourt.ohio.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-14
- Edition
- 2026-09-14
- Content hash
b5ac55bb6968e2ce47bb76a0e743866042192a1162f96373a742cacb0d182e49
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