First Steps After a Death in Indiana

A medical professional must pronounce the death. If death was expected under hospice, the hospice nurse can pronounce it; if unexpected, call 911. Then choose a licensed Indiana funeral home or cremation provider to transport and care for your loved one. Indiana death registration runs through the local health officer and the funeral director under IC 16-37-3.

Lock the residence, keep utilities and insurance active, and hold off on giving away property until authority and ownership are clear. Indiana real estate passes to the heirs or devisees at the moment of death under IC 29-1-7-23, but it stays subject to the personal representative's possession and remains chargeable with the estate's claims, so it still needs to be protected.

The court needs the original signed will to admit it to probate. Also look for codicils, trust papers, a recorded transfer on death deed, other deeds, vehicle titles with a transfer on death designation, account statements, and life insurance policies. A will generally may not be admitted to probate more than three years after the death (IC 29-1-7-15.1(g)).

Certified copies are issued by the Indiana Department of Health Division of Vital Records and by the local health department in the county where the death occurred. The Department of Health encourages ordering from the local health department for faster service. The state office charges $8 for a certified death certificate and $4 for each additional copy of the same record in the same order; local fees vary. The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need, because banks, insurers, the BMV, and the court all ask for one.

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. St. Joseph County has Indiana's only separate Probate Court. Filings go to the clerk of the circuit court. Indiana has no single statewide probate court and no statewide set of numbered probate forms, so local practice matters. Start at the Indiana Judicial Branch courts and clerks directory to find the county.

Separate probate assets (solely owned, no beneficiary) from nonprobate assets such as joint survivorship accounts, beneficiary-designated accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death registrations, a recorded transfer on death deed under IC 32-17-14-11, a transfer on death vehicle title under IC 9-17-3-9, and trust property. This list decides whether the estate can use the small estate affidavit or needs a personal representative.

If the gross probate estate, wherever located, less liens, encumbrances, and reasonable funeral expenses, does not exceed the limit for the decedent's date of death, 45 days have passed since death, and no personal representative has been appointed or applied for, a distributee may collect assets by affidavit under IC 29-1-8-1 with no court filing at all. The limit is banded by date of death: $100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022, $50,000 for deaths after June 30, 2006 and before July 1, 2022, and $25,000 for deaths before July 1, 2006. A motor vehicle or watercraft title may move through the BMV after only five days on the same conditions (IC 29-1-8-1(c), BMV State Form 18733). Larger or contested estates need a personal representative.

The person named in the will petitions for probate of the will and letters testamentary; with no will, an eligible person petitions for appointment of an administrator. File with the clerk of the circuit or superior court with probate jurisdiction in the decedent's county. Bring the original will and a certified death certificate. Under IC 29-1-11-1 no bond is required unless the will directs one or the court orders one. Ask whether the estate qualifies for unsupervised administration under IC 29-1-7.5, which needs either the consent of all heirs or devisees and legatees or authorization in the will.

If the estate holds Indiana real property that may have to be sold to pay unsecured debts or administration costs, the petition for administration must be filed no later than five months after death and letters must issue no later than seven months after death (IC 29-1-7-15.1(b)). Past that window those claims generally cannot reach the real estate. Decide early whether administration is needed.

Apply for a free estate EIN from the IRS, then open a bank account in the estate's name (for example, Estate of Jane Doe). Keep estate money completely separate from personal money and keep receipts for every payment and distribution.

As soon as letters are issued, notice of administration is published in a county newspaper once each week for two consecutive weeks and served on heirs, devisees, legatees, and known creditors (IC 29-1-7-7). The date of first publication starts the three-month creditor claim period under IC 29-1-14-1(a).

Within two months after appointment, unless the court grants longer, the personal representative must prepare a verified inventory of the probate estate showing the fair market value of each item and all known liens and charges (IC 29-1-12-1). The inventory is filed with the court or furnished to interested persons who request it.

Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and address debts. Creditors must file claims with the court within three months after the first published notice of administration (IC 29-1-14-1(a)). A separate outer bar cuts off every barrable claim nine months after the date of death whether or not notice was published (IC 29-1-14-1(d)). Allowed claims are paid in the statutory order under IC 29-1-14-9.

Under IC 29-1-13-1 the personal representative has a right to take, and shall take, possession of all the decedent's real and personal property, pay the taxes on it, collect rents and earnings, and keep buildings in repair. Selling, mortgaging, or leasing estate property to pay claims, allowances, administration expenses, or taxes needs a court order unless the will grants the power to act without one (IC 29-1-15-2; IC 29-1-15-3).

Use the estate account for all estate income and expenses, and keep receipts for every transaction. Indiana imposes no estate tax and no probate tax, and its inheritance tax does not apply to deaths after December 31, 2012. Review the decedent's final federal Form 1040 and Indiana Form IT-40, federal Form 1041 and Indiana Form IT-41 if the estate earns income, and federal Form 706 only if the estate exceeds the federal exemption.