In re Settlement for Fischer, 2019 Ohio 4749

In April 2008 appellant Travis Fischer (a minor at the time) was injured in an auto accident; Progressive offered a $12,500 settlement and the probate court approved a net deposit to Fischer’s account in June 2009.
The probate court record showed a savings account (about $4,115) held in Fischer’s name and due to be released at majority (he turned 18 in Sept. 2009).
Fischer was indicted (July 2009), pled guilty to multiple felonies (Nov. 4, 2009), and was sentenced to 30 years to life.
On March 16, 2010 the probate court ordered the bank to release the account and disburse two checks: $1,012.71 to juvenile court for costs/attorney fees in two juvenile cases, and the remainder to the common pleas clerk to apply to costs, fines, then incarceration fees in the criminal case.
Fischer filed a pro se motion to vacate that March 16, 2010 disbursement entry on March 25, 2019; the probate court denied the motion as previously decided, and Fischer appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the 2010 probate disbursement order could be vacated	Fischer: settlement proceeds (personal-injury funds) are exempt from collection under R.C. 2329.66(A)(12)(c); the 2010 order is void and should be vacated	State: the 2010 entry was a final order; Fischer’s claim is an untimely legal attack barred by res judicata; not a jurisdictional voidness claim	Court: Denied vacatur; the 2010 order was final and res judicata bars collateral attack; the claim is a non‑jurisdictional legal error, not a void judgment

Ohio Pyro, Inc. v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, 115 Ohio St.3d 375 (2007) (collateral or indirect attacks on civil judgments are disfavored)
EMC Mtge. Corp. v. Jenkins, 164 Ohio App.3d 240 (2005) (applicability of res judicata is a question of law reviewed de novo)
State ex rel. Beil v. Dota, 168 Ohio St. 315 (1958) (errors not implicating jurisdiction render judgments voidable, not void, and generally not subject to collateral attack)