Removal of Trustee Is Final Appealable Order

In re: Guardianship of Mull, 7th Dist. Case No. 15 BE 11, 2015-Ohio-5440. Recognizing that a trustee is a fiduciary like an executor is a fiduciary, the Seventh District held that a decision denying the removal of a trustee is a final appealable order. While the action before the probate court was a declaratory-judgment action to determine which amended trust was valid, the appellate court determined that the probate court's decision not to remove the trustee was a provisional remedy pursuant to R.C. § 2505.02. The provisional order was considered a final appealable order because, if the trustee is mishandling the trust, the beneficiaries are deprived of meaningful remedy to address the mishandling of trust assets. According, the appellate court determined that the removal of an executor falls within the category of provisional remedies of which there is no meaningful or effective remedy could be granted upon appeal following the final resolution of the estate.