Ohio- Eviction of an out of state illegal occupant

[Ananeya Abebe]

I just recently acquired a property in Ohio where one of the units was recently leased out at of the end of April 2023. However the tenant passed away two weeks after signing the lease due to natural causes and shortly before we closed on the property. The seller did not disclose this information and now I am left to deal with the unfortunate circumstances. To make matters worse, there is no other person on the existing lease that goes through April 2024. The tenant’s daughter, who is in adult that lives in Detroit, has moved into the unit and is now illegally occupying the unit while trying to figure out how to move forward with arrangements for her mother. As new owners, we would like the unit vacated, assessed for damages, and put back on the market for occupancy. As a result we are looking to send a notice to vacate within 30 days. 

Has anyone gone through such a situation if so any recommendations/best practices? 

Also since the daughter is not on the lease, how should we disburse the security deposit after assessing damages? The tenant has no will/deed or anything. There is another sister who is claiming she’s executor but hasn’t provided any evidence.

Not the situation we expected to be in but that’s what being a landlord is all about :-/