Required for attorneysAttorneys must e-file estate, guardianship and trust cases through an Indiana certified e-filing service provider. Self-represented filers may file on paper at any Lake County Clerk's office. On paper: Self-represented filers are not required to e-file.
Self-represented filing
AllowedSelf-represented filings are accepted at any Lake County Clerk's office. The estate rules are written for represented estates: the court's instructions are signed by the personal representative and the attorney, and attorneys attend every hearing.
Accepted payment
At the counterCredit card.The clerk accepts major credit cards at the counter, except American Express, with a 3% convenience fee. The name on the card must match a valid ID.
Clerk, Crown Point1-219-755-3460 · 2293 North Main Street, Courts Building, 1st Floor · Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:00 PMThe Clerk of the Lake Circuit and Superior Courts keeps the record of wills and probate proceedings. Clerk's offices in Hammond, East Chicago and Gary also take filings.
Superior Court, Civil Division Room 71-219-648-6150 · 2293 North Main Street, Building A, Room A-110Civil Division Room 7 in the Crown Point government center hears probate matters and has its own probate commissioner. Volunteer adult guardianship petitions are filed here.
Superior Court, Civil Division Room 51-219-933-2883 · 232 Russell Street, Hammond, IN 46320Civil Division Room 5 in the Hammond courthouse hears probate cases. The clerk's Hammond office is at the same address, phone 219-933-2857.
Superior Court, Civil Division Room 21-219-398-2443 · 3711 Main Street, East Chicago, IN 46312Civil Division Room 2 in East Chicago takes estate and guardianship cases. The clerk's East Chicago office is at the same address, phone 219-398-2442.
About the court
Estates may be filed in the Circuit Court in Crown Point, which has a probate commissioner, or in Superior Court Civil Division Room 7 (Crown Point), Room 5 (Hammond) or Room 2 (East Chicago). The Gary courts do not take estate cases.
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Lake County, probate runs through the Circuit Court at 2293 North Main Street, Courtroom B203, Crown Point. The court sits in the Judicial District 1.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under Indiana intestacy law when there is no will.
Most Indiana estates take 9 months to 15 months to move through this process. Creditors have 3 monthsIC 29-1-14-1, 29-1-7-7, 29-1-14-9, 29-1-14-10Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.
What Probate Costs in Lake County
What probate costs in Lake County, Indiana comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the Circuit Court at 2293 North Main Street, Courtroom B203, Crown Point. The court is part of the Judicial District 1.
Procedures at this court that affect cost: A verified inventory is due within 60 days of appointment in a supervised estate; Fees in a supervised estate need a separate petition and court approval; An estate that cannot be closed promptly needs a yearly status report.
Indiana charges $177IC § 33-37-4-7(a) (as amended by P.L.106-2025); IC §§ 33-37-5-20, -21, -21.2, -25, -26, -27, -31Verified Oct 17, 2026View source to open probate, the same in every county. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
Attorney fees in Indiana are negotiated, typically 1.8%Modeled estimate under IC 29-1-10-13 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.8%Modeled estimate under IC 29-1-10-13 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value. Flat-fee arrangements are common for straightforward estates.
Indiana allows executors 'reasonable compensation' — around 2.2%–3.8% of a $500,000 estate, judging by what the states with statutory schedules payIC 29-1-10-13 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
Indiana requires publishing notice to creditors in a local newspaper, and the estate pays for it.
Probate in Indiana typically runs 9 months to 15 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the Circuit Court
Probate cases in Lake County, Indiana are filed at the Circuit Court. The court sits in the Judicial District 1.
Beside the filing office, the court lists separate lines for Probate Commissioner, Circuit Court, Clerk, Crown Point, Superior Court, Civil Division Room 7, and Superior Court, Civil Division Room 5.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
Indiana has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not availableIC 29-1-7-13(b) (court grants letters); IC 29-1-10-3 (clerk administers oath only)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
Each creditor claim is allowed or disallowed on Form G, filed electronically.
A claim filed within three months of the first published notice is acted on within three months and fifteen days of that notice; a later claim from a creditor who received no notice, within fifteen days of filing.
Filed with the opening petition at the Circuit Court: Original will and any codicils, delivered to the court that has jurisdiction of the administration (IC 29-1-7-3); A certified copy of the death certificate is commonly requested by the court or by asset holders, but it is not an element of the petition under IC 29-1-7-5; Petition for probate of will and issuance of letters / petition for appointment, with the contents required by IC 29-1-7-5 (decedent, heirs, devisees/legatees, domicile, date of death, and the attorney who is to represent the personal representative)IC 29-1-7 (probate of wills & issuance of letters; petition contents IC 29-1-7-5); IC 29-1-10 (appointment & qualification of personal representatives); IC 29-1-7.5 (unsupervised administration)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Coroner in Lake County
In Indiana a death is registered locally, and in Lake County certified copies of the death certificate are issued by Lake County Health Department, Vital Records Division as well as by Indiana Department of Health - Division of Vital Records.
Vital Records Office Record
Local Health Department
Lake County · Lake County Health Department, Vital Records Division
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the County Recorder.
Deeds and other real property documents for Lake County are recorded with the County Recorder at 2293 North Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307. Phone: 1-219-755-3730. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM.
The County Recorder charges $25 flat, regardless of page count.
Lake County accepts electronic recording through CSC, ePN, Indecomm and Simplifile.
Indiana allows independent administrationIC 29-1-7.5-1, IC 29-1-7.5-2, IC 29-1-7.5-3Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, so the personal representative manages, pays and distributes the estate without returning to the court for approval at each step. A probate attorney earns the fee when the estate is contested, includes a business or out-of-state real estate, has unclear or insolvent debts, or when beneficiaries disagree.
Probate attorney fees in Indiana are based on reasonable compensation, billed hourly or as a flat fee. Ask a Lake County firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Circuit Court, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
Valparaiso firm serving Porter, Lake, and LaPorte counties in northwest Indiana, in practice since 1930. Handles probating a will, distribution of assets, transfer of titles, estate and trust administration, and Date of Death Affidavits, plus guardianships and conservatorships. R. Bradley Koeppen practices in probate, real estate, and estate planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipand 2 more
Northwest Indiana firm based in Schererville (Lake County), with a second office in South Bend, handling estate administration after a death as well as planning. Represents clients in contested matters including will contests and breach-of-fiduciary-duty disputes, and employs in-house accountants for estate tax planning.
Merrillville firm covering Lake and Porter County probate for Northwest Indiana families, from Gary and Hammond to Crown Point and Valparaiso. Handles supervised and unsupervised probate administration, estate inventory and distribution, personal-representative guidance, and inheritance disputes. Estate work sits alongside the firm's bankruptcy, criminal-defense, and business practice.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateHealthcare DirectivesPowers Of AttorneyWills Trusts
Schererville firm serving Lake County and Northwest Indiana (St. John, Dyer, Munster). Handles probate administration and estate settlement, adult guardianships, and elder-law/Medicaid matters, with attention to probate-avoidance review. More than 25 years of estate practice, and a free two-hour estate planning consultation.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawGuardianshipand 4 more
Crown Point firm serving Lake and Porter counties with an estate-planning and elder-law focus. The practice handles probate and trust administration alongside wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and Medicaid/nursing-home planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more
Chesterton firm in Porter County serving northwest Indiana. Its estate and trust administration work covers collecting, appraising and preserving assets, sorting out the claims and liabilities to be paid, minimizing taxes and administrative costs, and preparing and filing the required pleadings, reports and returns. Consultations are a flat $300 for up to an hour.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipand 3 more
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Data sourced from Indiana statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in Indiana
Free tools for settling an estate in Indiana: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool for Indiana.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Indiana: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 60 daysIC 29-1-12-1, IC 29-1-7.5-3.2Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 3 monthsIC 29-1-14-1, 29-1-7-7, 29-1-14-9, 29-1-14-10Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
See the Steps
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Indiana happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteInd. Code 30-4-1-1 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
Can I Self-File Probate?
Indiana has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not availableIC 29-1-7-13(b) (court grants letters); IC 29-1-10-3 (clerk administers oath only)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
Enter the estate value to see Indiana attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and the timeline.
Examples:
General information about probate costs, not legal or financial advice. Fee bases vary by state and may use gross estate, personal property, inventory value or net property after debts. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.
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See whether you can file probate yourself
Enter the estate value to see whether Indiana lets a self-represented person open probate, what the court requires, and what each route costs.
General information about filing probate without a lawyer, not legal advice. Both routes are priced by the probate cost estimator on the same estate; the attorney fee is the one line that differs. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.
