Indiana Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Indiana.
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Types of Probate in Indiana
Indiana probate is handled by the circuit court, or a superior court exercising probate jurisdiction, in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. The path depends on the estate value and whether the estate qualifies for a short form: collection by affidavit for the smallest estates, a summary close under IC 29-1-8-3, or full administration that can run unsupervised under IC 29-1-7.5 or under court supervision.
See the full comparison of Indiana probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Indiana Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 92 counties have detailed data.
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Indiana Probate Guides
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Browse Indiana guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Indiana guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Forms & Court
1Executor Duties
4Taxes & Deadlines
7Planning Documents
7Property Transfer
1Indiana Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Indiana probate resource map by source type
All Indiana self-help resources (4 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Indiana probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Indiana probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Indiana probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Indiana Judicial Branch (Indiana Courts)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-18.
- Indiana mycase (statewide public case search)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-18.
- Indiana Code (Indiana General Assembly, iga.in.gov)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-18.
- Indiana Courts Self-Service Legal Center
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-18.
Settled pairs these Indiana source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Indiana Estate Law Overview
Indiana Estate Tax Info
Indiana has no state estate tax, and its inheritance tax does not apply to deaths after December 31, 2012. No probate tax is imposed on the value of the estate. Indiana does have a state income tax, so a final individual return and any fiduciary income tax return may still be required.
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives probate property when an Indiana resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
Under IC 29-1-2-1(b)(1) the surviving spouse receives one-half of the net estate if the intestate is survived by at least one child or by the issue of at least one deceased child.
Under IC 29-1-2-1(b)(2) the surviving spouse receives three-fourths of the net estate if there is no surviving issue but the intestate is survived by one or both parents; under IC 29-1-2-1(d)(2) the remainder passes to the surviving parents.
Under IC 29-1-2-1(b)(3) the surviving spouse receives all of the net estate if there is no surviving issue or parent.
Under IC 29-1-2-1(c), a second or subsequent childless spouse takes only an amount equal to 25% of the remainder of the fair market value (as of the date of death) of the decedent's real property minus the value of liens and encumbrances on that real property. The fee vests at once in the decedent's children or their descendants. The childless subsequent spouse still receives the same share of PERSONAL property as any surviving spouse under IC 29-1-2-1(b).
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Issue of the intestate (children and their descendants)The share not passing to a surviving spouse, or the entire net estate if there is no spouse; equal shares at equal degree, representation for more remote degrees
- 2Surviving parents (when there is a surviving spouse but no issue)The one-fourth of the net estate not passing to the surviving spouse
- 3Parents, brothers, sisters, and the issue of deceased brothers and sisters (together, when there is no surviving spouse or issue)All in one class; each living parent is treated as of the same degree as a brother or sister, but each parent's share may not be less than one-fourth of the net estate. Issue of deceased siblings take by representation.
- 4Issue of brothers and sisters (when no parent or sibling survives)Equal shares at equal degree; representation for more remote degrees
- 5GrandparentsEqually, when there is no surviving issue, parent, or issue of a parent
- 6Aunts and uncles and their issueThe estate is divided into shares for the surviving brothers and sisters of the decedent's parents and for deceased ones leaving surviving issue; each share passes to that aunt or uncle or their issue per stirpes
- 7State of Indiana (escheat)If no person in the listed classes survives, the estate passes to the state
Indiana Homestead Protection
Indiana homestead protection is a limited statutory creditor exemption plus strong tenancy-by-the-entireties protection, not an unlimited constitutional homestead system. Under IC 34-55-10-2(c)(1), real estate or personal property constituting the personal or family residence of a debtor or dependent is exempt from execution up to $22,750 (the DFI-adjusted amount effective March 1, 2022; statutory base $15,000). Indiana has NO separate probate homestead allowance; the probate-side family protection is the $25,000 survivor's allowance under IC 29-1-4-1.
0Creditor protection: read the statute text
$22,750 per debtor (as adjusted). The exemption is individually available to joint debtors concerning property held as tenants by the entireties, so a married couple may effectively protect up to $45,500 of residence equity from joint creditors, in addition to the entireties rule below.
Statute: IC 34-55-10-2(c)(1); IC 34-55-10-2(c)(5)
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Outside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Property types: Real estate used as the personal or family residence, Personal property constituting the residence (for example a mobile home; verify titling specifics), Tenancy-by-the-entireties real estate (protected from individual-spouse debts under IC 34-55-10-2(c)(5))
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction is modeled; review the surviving spouse's elective share (IC 29-1-3-1) and the $25,000 survivor's allowance (IC 29-1-4-1) separately.
With minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction is modeled; children under 18 share the survivor's allowance when there is no surviving spouse rather than taking under a devise restriction.
Exempt Property
Indiana's probate code protects the surviving spouse (or, if none, children under 18) with a single $25,000 survivor's allowance rather than an itemized exempt-property list. Separate creditor exemptions for debtor property live in IC 34-55-10-2, with dollar amounts adjusted every six years by the Department of Financial Institutions. These protections are limited and source-specific.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
$25,000 (fixed statutory amount; not indexed for inflation) - The surviving spouse of a decedent domiciled in Indiana at death is entitled to a $25,000 allowance from the estate. If there is no surviving spouse, the decedent's children who are under 18 at the time of death divide the same allowance equally. Indiana calls this the survivor's allowance; it serves the role that separate homestead, exempt-property, and family allowances play in other states.