Probate in Indiana: small estates, no will, and skipping court

Updated 2026-10-18

The short answer

In Indiana, family can collect assets with a small estate affidavit 45 days after death if the probate estate, less liens and funeral costs, is $100,000 or less. Larger estates go through probate, often without court supervision. A transfer on death deed can pass a home outside probate. Indiana has no estate or inheritance tax.

When someone dies in Indiana, the family's first question is usually practical. Do we have to go to court, and how long will it take?

Often the answer is no, or not for long. Indiana has a small estate affidavit, a simpler kind of probate without court supervision, and a deed that passes a house outside probate. This page covers each one, plus who inherits if there is no will. It is part of our estate planning guides by state. If the word is new, start with what probate is.

Can my family use a small estate affidavit in Indiana?

Yes, if the estate fits the limits (IC 29-1-8-1). The affidavit lets a person entitled to the property collect it without opening probate. The conditions:

At least 45 days have passed since the death.
No personal representative has been appointed or applied for anywhere.
The gross probate estate, wherever located, less liens, encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses, is $100,000 or less (for deaths after June 30, 2022).

The affidavit can collect debts owed to the person who died, personal property, securities, insurance death benefits payable to the estate, and safe deposit box contents. Cars and boats can be retitled through the BMV after 5 days.

A separate affidavit makes holders such as banks disclose date-of-death values within 3 business days (IC 29-1-8-1.5). That helps a family find out whether the estate fits under the limit.

Older articles online show $50,000 or $25,000. For deaths after June 30, 2022, the limit is $100,000.

There is also a summary procedure for estates at or under $100,000 plus administration costs and reasonable funeral expenses. A personal representative can distribute without notice to creditors and close with a verified statement. Real estate can pass by an affidavit recorded with the county recorder (IC 29-1-8-3).

Who inherits if there's no will?

Indiana's intestacy law decides (IC 29-1-2-1). Indiana is not a community property state. A surviving spouse receives:

One-half of the net estate if there is at least one child or a descendant of a deceased child.
Three-fourths if there are no descendants but one or both parents are living.
All of it if there are no descendants and no parents.

One rule surprises people in blended families. A second or later spouse who never had children with the person who died, where that person left children from an earlier marriage, takes only 25% of the net value of the real estate, plus the usual share of personal property.

Anything that doesn't pass to a spouse goes in this order:

Your descendants.
If there's a spouse but no descendants, your parents.
If there's no spouse or descendants, your parents, brothers and sisters, and descendants of deceased siblings (each parent takes at least one-fourth).
Your grandparents equally.
Your aunts and uncles, or their descendants.
The state.

Notice that friends never appear. If you want a friend, a charity or a favorite neighbor to receive anything, it has to be in a will or trust. Our post on dying without a will covers what happens when the list runs short.

Who serves as personal representative?

The personal representative is the executor or administrator who settles the estate. Indiana gives priority in this order (IC 29-1-10-1):

The executor named in a probated will.
A surviving spouse who inherits under the will.
Someone else who inherits under the will.
The surviving spouse, or the spouse's nominee.
An heir, or an heir's nominee.
Any other qualified person.

Some people can't serve: anyone under 18, anyone incapacitated (other than by physical illness or infirmity), a convicted felon unless the court allows it, or anyone the court finds unsuitable.

A personal representative is a fiduciary: legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says.

Can someone out of state serve?

Yes, with conditions, and not only relatives. A nonresident serving without an Indiana co-representative must file a written acceptance, appoint an Indiana resident agent to receive legal papers, and post a bond of at least the probable value of the personal property plus estimated rents and profits (IC 29-1-10-1).

In an unsupervised estate, the court may raise, lower or waive that bond. So a niece in Oregon can serve, with some paperwork.

Supervised or unsupervised probate?

Indiana offers "administration without court supervision," often called unsupervised administration (IC 29-1-7.5-1). The court may grant it if:

All heirs or beneficiaries join and consent, the estate is solvent, and the personal representative is qualified, or
The will authorizes it and the estate is solvent.

Known creditors must be served with notice of the petition. Our post on the probate process walks through the steps, and how long probate takes covers timing.

How long do creditors have?

After letters issue, notice is published once a week for two weeks in a row and sent to heirs, beneficiaries and known creditors. A creditor must file within three months after the first publication, or two months after a later notice. In every case, debts not filed are barred nine months after death (IC 29-1-14-1). The Medicaid estate recovery unit also has nine months from death.

How much is the personal representative paid?

Indiana says "just and reasonable" compensation, set by the court (IC 29-1-10-13). There is no percentage schedule. If the will sets a fee, that is the full pay, unless the personal representative turns it down in writing before taking the job. Our post on what an executor gets paid compares approaches.

Can my house skip probate?

Yes, with a transfer on death deed (IC 32-17-14-11). What to know:

You sign it, and it must be recorded with the county recorder before your death, or it is void.
The county auditor's endorsement is needed to record it.
It can name a revocable trust as the beneficiary. Our post on what a trustee does explains that role.
If the home is owned with a spouse as tenants by the entirety, the other spouse must join.

A living trust is the other common way to keep a home out of court. Our post on how to avoid probate compares the options.

Will my heirs owe Indiana estate or inheritance tax?

No. Indiana's inheritance tax doesn't apply to deaths after December 31, 2012, and its estate tax was repealed in 2013. The Department of Revenue says no inheritance tax is owed in Indiana (Indiana DOR, Departmental Notice #44).

Which path fits?

Situation	Likely path
Probate estate of $100,000 or less, 45 days have passed	Small estate affidavit
Only a car or boat to retitle	BMV transfer after 5 days
Home with a recorded transfer on death deed	Passes to the named beneficiary outside probate
Larger estate, family agrees, estate can pay its debts	Unsupervised administration
Estate that doesn't qualify for unsupervised administration	Probate with court supervision

Here is a typical case, a composite. Barbara, 76, lived in Bloomington and never married. She had recorded a transfer on death deed naming her nephew. Her bank accounts came to about $60,000. Forty-five days after she died, her nephew used the affidavit for the accounts. The house passed to him under the deed. There was no court case.

Some people would rather not leave this to a nephew in another state. Trella Trust Company, through a Kinly membership, can be named as executor or trustee, first or as backup to someone you choose. If it steps in and settles the estate, that work is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts.

Before death, the papers that matter most are your powers of attorney. See our Indiana financial power of attorney guide and Indiana medical power of attorney guide.

Common questions

What is the small estate limit in Indiana?

$100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022, measured as the gross probate estate less liens, encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses. The affidavit can be used 45 days after death if no personal representative has been appointed or applied for.

Does a spouse inherit everything in Indiana if there's no will?

Only if there are no descendants and no parents. With children, the spouse takes half. With no children but a living parent, the spouse takes three-fourths.

Can someone who lives in another state be a personal representative in Indiana?

Yes. They must file a written acceptance, appoint an Indiana resident agent, and usually post a bond. In an unsupervised estate the court can waive the bond.

Does Indiana have an inheritance tax?

No. Indiana's inheritance tax doesn't apply to deaths after 2012, and its estate tax was repealed in 2013.

How long do creditors have to come forward in Indiana?

Three months after the first published notice, or two months after a later notice. Every debt not filed is barred nine months after death.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

State guidesPower of attorney in Indiana: the rules, signing and who to namePower of attorney in Indiana is durable by default, needs a notary or two witnesses, and banks face penalties for refusing it. Here's how to get it right.State guidesMedical power of attorney in Indiana: how it works, how to signMedical power of attorney in Indiana: how to sign an advance directive, who can't witness, the living will, and the ten-level list if nobody is named.State guidesEstate planning by state: guides for all 50 statesEstate planning by state: what stays the same everywhere, what changes, and power of attorney, medical and probate guides for all 50 states.