Indiana Probate Forms: What You Need at Each Stage

Finding an Indiana probate form is easy. Understanding which form to use, when to file it, and what happens if you skip one — that's the part county clerk websites don't explain.

Indiana probate courts are organized at the county level, and most counties provide form packets through their clerk's offices or local court websites. St. Joseph County, the only county in Indiana with a dedicated Probate Court, has its own form set. Every other county handles probate through general trial courts on their standard civil dockets.

Here's what you actually need, stage by stage.

Stage 1: Opening the Estate

Petition for Probate of Will / Petition for Administration

This is the foundational filing that opens a probate case. If the decedent left a valid will, you file a Petition for Probate of Will. If there is no will, you file a Petition for Administration (intestate). The petition identifies the decedent, the proposed personal representative, and the basic facts of the estate.

The Indiana petition for probate form is not a single state-issued PDF — it varies by county. Marion County, Allen County, and Hamilton County all provide their own versions through their clerk's websites. In counties without an online form repository, you can download general forms from Indiana Legal Help (indianalegalhelp.org) or request them directly from the clerk's office.

The petition must be filed in the trial court of the county where the decedent was domiciled at the time of death.

Oath of Personal Representative

Before letters of authority are issued, the court requires the personal representative to take an oath. This is a standard one-page form affirming that the representative will faithfully administer the estate according to Indiana law. Most county form packets include it alongside the petition.

Filing Fees

The base probate filing fee across Indiana is $177.00. This is not the final total — counties pile on supplemental charges. The $177 breaks down into document storage fees, automated record-keeping fees, judicial salaries fees, and court administration fees. Some counties add sheriff service fees ($28 in Greene County), and St. Joseph County assesses automated record fees on top of the base. Always call the clerk's office before filing to get the exact total for your specific county — fees can push past $200 in some jurisdictions.

The estate pays filing fees, not the personal representative personally.

Stage 2: Notifying Creditors and Interested Parties

Notice of Administration

Once letters are issued, the clerk (or the estate's attorney using the e-filing system) must publish a formal Notice of Administration in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, once per week for two consecutive weeks. This is not a form you fill out — it is a legal notice drafted according to statutory requirements and submitted to the newspaper.

The publication of this notice starts the creditor claim clock. Creditors have three months from the date of first publication to file formal claims against the estate. After nine months from the date of death, all creditor claims are absolutely barred under Indiana law regardless of notice — this is the outer deadline.

Notification to FSSA (Medicaid Estate Recovery)

If the decedent was 55 years of age or older at the time of death, the personal representative is legally required to send a Notice of Administration directly to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Estate Recovery Unit. This requirement has been in effect since July 1, 2018 under Indiana Code 29-1-7-7(d). The required mailing address is: 402 W. Washington St., W451, MS 27, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Failure to notify FSSA can leave the personal representative personally exposed.

Stage 3: Inventory and Appraisement

Estate Inventory

Within two months of appointment, the personal representative must prepare a written inventory of the decedent's entire probate estate. Under Indiana Code 29-1-12-1, this document must list every probate asset with its fair market value as of the date of death, along with a statement of all known liens and encumbrances.

In an unsupervised estate, the inventory does not have to be filed with the court — but the personal representative must provide a copy to any interested person or distributee who formally requests one. In a supervised estate, the inventory goes into the court record.

The inventory is not a state form — it is a document you create. At minimum it should be organized by asset category: real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, vehicles, personal property, business interests. Professional appraisers are sometimes required for unusual or high-value assets such as collectibles, firearms, antiques, or closely held business interests.

Stage 4: Closing the Estate

Verified Closing Statement (Unsupervised Administration)

For an unsupervised estate, the personal representative closes the estate by filing a Verified Closing Statement with the court. This cannot be filed until at least three months after the date of first publication of the Notice of Administration. The statement — filed under oath — affirms that all creditor notices were properly published, all valid claims and taxes have been paid, and the estate assets have been distributed to the correct parties.

After filing, there is a three-month waiting period. If no distributee or creditor files an objection within that window, the court's duty to audit the estate evaporates under IC 29-1-7.5-4.5 and the estate is closed.

Final Accounting (Supervised Administration)

In a supervised estate, closure is more involved. The personal representative must file a detailed, line-item final accounting under Indiana Code 29-1-16 — every dollar in, every dollar out, every distribution, every fee. The court sets a hearing, and interested parties have until 14 days before the hearing to file written objections. The personal representative must provide notice of the hearing to all interested persons.

The final accounting must generally be filed within one year of the personal representative's appointment, unless good cause is shown for an extension.

Order to Close

Once the accounting is approved or the unsupervised closing statement period runs without objection, the estate's attorney files a proposed Order closing the estate. The judge signs it, the personal representative's appointment terminates, and the probate case is closed.

Special-Purpose Forms

State Form 49606 — Application for certified death certificate copies (Indiana Department of Health). Required before anything else can happen.

State Form 18733 — Affidavit for Transfer of Certificate of Title for Vehicle/Watercraft Without Administration (Indiana BMV). Used to transfer vehicle titles in small estates without going to probate court. Available just five days after death for vehicle-only transfers.

Small Estate Affidavit (General) — Used to collect financial accounts and personal property for estates valued under $100,000. Available from Indiana Legal Help (forms.in.gov). Must wait 45 days from the date of death before use.

Form IT-41 — Indiana Fiduciary Income Tax Return (Indiana Department of Revenue). Required if the estate generates income during administration. Must file by the 15th day of the fourth month after the close of the estate's tax year.

The Gap That Forms Don't Fill

Every county clerk website will tell you that court staff cannot provide legal advice. What they won't tell you is that downloading a form and filling it in wrong — wrong timing, wrong notice method, wrong asset classification — can leave the personal representative personally liable for estate debts or result in distributions that shortchange beneficiaries.

The forms are the raw materials. What most executors need is the sequencing: which form comes first, what triggers each deadline, and what the consequences are for missing each one.

The Indiana Probate Process Guide provides the complete chronological playbook — probate forms mapped to their deadlines and contexts — along with checklists for the small estate affidavit pathway, the unsupervised administration process, and the situations that require bringing in legal counsel.

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