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Indiana Probate Accounting
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Indiana Probate Accounting

Indiana probate accounting: the two-month verified inventory, the final account under IC 29-1-16, and closing statements for unsupervised and small estates.

By Settled Editorial

Indiana probate accounting is the financial record you keep and file to show what the estate collected, what you paid out, and what is left to distribute. A supervised estate closes with a verified final account that the court reviews and approves (IC 29-1-16). An unsupervised estate closes with a closing statement and a written account to the distributees instead (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

This duty comes with the job. You manage someone else's property for the heirs, the beneficiaries, and the creditors, so you owe them an honest, documented account. Clean records also protect you. They show you paid claims in the right order and handed out only what the estate could support.

Use this guide with the Indiana executor duties guide for the full task list, the Indiana creditor claims guide for the three-month claim bar, and the Indiana probate timeline for how these filings line up over the life of the estate. This is general information, not legal advice.

Your Administration Type Sets How You Account

Before you plan any account, confirm how the estate is being administered, because the filing rules split three ways.

Under supervised administration, the probate court reviews your bookkeeping. You close the estate by filing a verified final account with three schedules, then you petition the court to settle and allow it and to order distribution (IC 29-1-16-2, IC 29-1-16-5).

Under unsupervised administration (IC 29-1-7.5), you handle routine acts without ongoing court orders. You still account, but you close by filing a closing statement and giving a written account to the distributees whose interests are affected (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

For a small estate, one whose gross probate value less liens does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars for a death after June 30, 2022, you can use the summary procedure and close with a short closing statement (IC 29-1-8-3, IC 29-1-8-4).

The math and the paperwork look alike across the three tracks. What changes is who reviews the account and how you close.

Start With the Verified Inventory

Every later account measures against the inventory, so it comes first. Within two months after your appointment, unless the court grants longer, you prepare a verified inventory of the decedent's probate estate (IC 29-1-12-1). The inventory lists each item at its fair market value as of the date of death and states any known liens and charges.

Indiana groups the property into set categories: real property, household goods, corporate stock, notes and other written evidence of debt owed to the decedent, bank accounts and money, and other personal property (IC 29-1-12-1). You may hire a disinterested appraiser for any asset whose value is open to reasonable doubt, and you name that appraiser on the inventory next to the item.

You do not always file the inventory with the court. You furnish a copy to interested persons who ask for it, unless you filed the original with the court (IC 29-1-12-1). Build a worksheet as you go. For each asset, record the title or account number, the date-of-death value, any lien, and where you got the figure. Those numbers set the base for the account, so getting them right saves rework.

The Verified Final Account

Indiana centers on one account at the close, not a yearly filing. You close the estate as promptly as you can, and the final account is due within one year of your appointment unless the court extends it for good cause (IC 29-1-16-2).

You file a verified account. You may file one at any time before final settlement, and you must file one when you petition for final settlement, when your letters are revoked, when you ask to resign, or when the court directs it (IC 29-1-16-3). If the estate runs long, you can file an intermediate account along the way and ask the court to make it final as to the matters reported in it (IC 29-1-16-6).

What Goes in the Account

Indiana sets the shape of the account by statute. It covers a stated period and holds three schedules (IC 29-1-16-4):

  • Property chargeable to you. The amount the estate is accountable for, measured from the inventory.
  • Payments, charges, losses, and distributions. Everything that went out, including debts paid, expenses, and any losses.
  • Property on hand. The balance left at the end of the period, if any.

When you file the account, you also file receipts for the disbursements made during that period (IC 29-1-16-4). If you cannot produce a receipt, the court may let you prove the payment another way, and it may accept a certified public accountant's certificate in place of receipts. Save proof for every dollar in and every dollar out from your first day in office.

Your compensation and any attorney fees show up on the payment side. Indiana pays a personal representative what the court finds just and reasonable rather than a fixed percentage (IC 29-1-10-13), which the Indiana executor duties guide walks through.

Notice, Hearing, and Distribution

A supervised estate does not close quietly. Once you file the final account and a petition for distribution, the court sets a deadline for written objections, and that deadline falls at least fourteen days before the hearing (IC 29-1-16-6).

You serve notice on everyone entitled to share in the distribution, at their known addresses or the addresses you can find with reasonable diligence. You send that notice through the Indiana courts e-filing system or by first class mail at least thirty days before the hearing (IC 29-1-16-6). If a person entitled to the residue is unknown or cannot be located, you can give notice by one newspaper publication.

You can skip the notice and hearing only when everyone entitled to share waives mailed notice and consents to the account and distribution (IC 29-1-16-6). Do not distribute before the account covering that distribution has cleared. Paying an heir too early can leave you personally liable for a later valid claim. When the estate is ready, you distribute under the probated will, or with no will under the Indiana intestate succession rules.

Court approval of your account carries weight. Once the court approves it, you and your sureties are released from liability for the administration during that accounting period, subject to appeal and the court's power to vacate its orders. The court can also disapprove an account and surcharge you for a loss caused by a breach of duty (IC 29-1-16-8).

Closing an Unsupervised Estate

An unsupervised personal representative closes without a court audit of the account, but the accounting duty stays. You may file a closing statement no earlier than three months after the first published notice to creditors (IC 29-1-7.5-4). That timing tracks the claim window, because creditors are barred three months after the first published notice (IC 29-1-14-1). See the Indiana creditor claims guide for how that bar runs.

In the closing statement you verify that you published and gave notice to creditors, fully administered the estate by paying claims, expenses, and any death taxes, recorded a personal representative's deed for any real estate, and distributed the assets. You send a copy of the statement to the distributees and to known creditors, and you give a written account of your administration to the distributees whose interests are affected, unless they waive it in writing (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

If no proceeding involving you is pending three months after you file the closing statement, your appointment ends and the estate closes by operation of law (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

The Small Estate Summary Closing

A small estate skips the creditor-notice step. If the gross probate estate less liens and encumbrances does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars for a death after June 30, 2022, plus the costs of administration and reasonable funeral expenses, you can distribute the assets to the people entitled to them without giving notice to creditors (IC 29-1-8-3).

You then file a verified closing statement. It states that the estate met the dollar limit, that you fully administered it by distributing to the right people, and that you sent a copy to the distributees and known creditors and gave a written account to the distributees whose interests are affected (IC 29-1-8-4). The Indiana probate timeline shows where this shorter path fits.

Protecting Yourself as Personal Representative

Open a separate estate account on day one. Run every estate dollar through it and never mix estate money with your own. This one habit is what keeps an account clean.

Save a receipt for every disbursement. Indiana wants receipts filed with a supervised account, and you may have to prove a payment another way if a receipt is missing (IC 29-1-16-4). Keep proof for each payment from the start.

Date each entry. Note when you collected a receipt, when you paid a bill, and when you distributed. A clear timeline settles most account questions.

Track the deadlines. The verified inventory is due within two months of appointment (IC 29-1-12-1), and the final account is due within one year unless the court extends it (IC 29-1-16-2). The Indiana probate timeline lays these out in order.

Ask the court clerk about procedure, not strategy. The clerk can tell you what a filing must contain and how to submit it, but cannot advise you on what to do in your situation. For that, a licensed Indiana attorney is the right resource.

Common Questions

What is a probate account in Indiana?

It is the record you file showing the property charged to you, the payments and distributions you made, and the balance on hand, split into three schedules (IC 29-1-16-4). A supervised estate closes with a verified final account the court approves; an unsupervised estate closes with a closing statement (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

When is the final account due in Indiana?

You close the estate as promptly as possible, and the final account cannot run past one year from your appointment unless the court finds good cause to extend it (IC 29-1-16-2).

Do I have to file receipts with my account?

Yes, for a supervised account. You file receipts for the disbursements made during the accounting period, and if you cannot produce a receipt, the court may let you prove the payment another way or accept a certified public accountant's certificate (IC 29-1-16-4).

How does accounting work in an unsupervised estate?

You skip the court-audited account and close with a verified closing statement, filed no earlier than three months after the first published notice to creditors. You still give a written account to the distributees whose interests are affected (IC 29-1-7.5-4).

Can beneficiaries object to my account?

Yes, in a supervised estate. After you file the final account and petition for distribution, interested persons have until at least fourteen days before the hearing to file written objections, and you serve notice at least thirty days before the hearing (IC 29-1-16-6).

This guide is general information about Indiana estate accounting and closing. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the probate court clerk or a licensed Indiana attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 18, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Indiana can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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