Required for attorneysAttorneys must e-file estate and guardianship cases through an Indiana certified e-filing provider. On paper: Self-represented filers are not required to e-file.
Self-represented filing
This court requires an attorneyAn attorney must file the initial pleadings that open an estate, and a personal representative or guardian of an estate may not proceed without counsel unless the court approves.
Instructions to GuardianThe guardian's signed instructions, filed when letters are ordered issued.
Departments
Clerk1-812-435-5160 · 1 Northwest Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Room S240 · Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-4:30 PMThe Clerk of the Courts keeps the county's court records. Estate and guardianship pleadings are filed in the offices of the Superior Court's Probate Division, where deputized court staff sign and receipt filings for the clerk.
About the court
Estates, guardianships and trusts are heard in Division IV (Juvenile and Probate) of the Vanderburgh Superior Court, not the Vanderburgh Circuit Court. Probate staff review each filing for completeness and return one that does not comply with the local rules.
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 Vanderburgh County, probate runs through the Superior Court, Probate Division at 825 Sycamore Street, Civic Center Courts Building, Evansville. The court sits in the Judicial District 26. The same Judicial District 26 also serves Gibson, Posey and Warrick.
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 Vanderburgh County
What probate costs in Vanderburgh 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 Superior Court, Probate Division at 825 Sycamore Street, Civic Center Courts Building, Evansville. The court is part of the Judicial District 26.
Procedures at this court that affect cost: A supervised estate files its inventory within 60 days of appointment; an unsupervised estate may certify that one has been prepared; An estate open past one year reports why it cannot close; No fee is paid from a supervised estate without a prior written court order.
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 Superior Court, Probate Division
Probate cases in Vanderburgh County, Indiana are filed at the Superior Court, Probate Division. The court sits in the Judicial District 26.
Beside the filing office, the court lists a separate line for Clerk.
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.
These are specific requirements for filing probate in this county. Following these guidelines will help avoid delays or rejected filings.
Before You File
An estate believed to be insolvent is opened as a supervised estate.
Notice of the hearing on a petition to determine insolvency goes to all interested parties, including the Vanderburgh County Assessor, every claimant and every reasonably ascertainable creditor.
The personal representative qualifies before the county clerk and files signed Instructions when letters are ordered.
An Indiana resident appears before the Vanderburgh County Clerk and a non-resident before any county clerk, unless the court waives it. The opening petition gives the personal representative's name, address, year of birth and phone number, and the personal representative signs and verifies every inventory, petition and accounting.
A petition to sell real estate in a supervised estate needs a written opinion of fair market value made within one year.
The opinion may come from a licensed Indiana real estate appraiser or broker, unless it was filed with the inventory. A final decree vesting real estate in heirs is recorded in every other Indiana county where the property sits.
Filed with the opening petition at the Superior Court, Probate Division: 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 Vanderburgh County
In Indiana a death is registered locally, and in Vanderburgh County certified copies of the death certificate are issued by Vanderburgh 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
Vanderburgh County · Vanderburgh 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 Vanderburgh County are recorded with the County Recorder at 1 Northwest Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Room 231, Evansville, IN 47708. Phone: 1-812-435-5215. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM.
The County Recorder charges $25 flat, regardless of page count.
Vanderburgh 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 Vanderburgh County firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Superior Court, Probate Division, 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.
Evansville estate and probate attorney serving Vanderburgh County and nearby Newburgh, Mount Vernon, and Princeton. Bradley J. Salmon counsels on probate and non-probate assets and litigates contested estates: will and trust contests, breach of fiduciary duty, claims against estates, and guardianship disputes. Nearly 40 years in practice.
Evansville firm practicing since 1952, administering wills and trusts across Vanderburgh, Gibson, Posey, and Warrick counties. Handles the full arc of estate and trust administration: inventory and valuation of assets, selling or partitioning real property, paying debts, distributing inheritances, filing tax returns, and filing reports with the probate court and the State of Indiana.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
Evansville riverfront firm (20 NW First Street, Vanderburgh County), established on the riverfront in 1943. Guides fiduciaries and beneficiaries through probate and trust administration, and handles estate and gift tax planning, wills and trusts, powers of attorney and advance directives, and charitable giving. Six attorneys practice in the estate group.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 3 more
Jasper and Evansville practice serving southern Indiana, led by John Collins, a Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyer since 2013. Work covers estate and trust administration -- representing personal representatives, trustees and beneficiaries -- plus will and trust contests, creditor claims against estates, elder law and Medicaid planning, and farm and business succession.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
Fort Wayne office of Gutwein Law, opened when Jeanne E. Longsworth brought her practice to the firm, serving Allen County. Longsworth, an attorney and CPA, concentrates on estate, probate and trust administration alongside estate planning and business succession; the firm also handles trust and estate litigation.
Vincennes firm led by Knox County native Tanner Bouchie, frequently representing clients in Knox, Daviess, Sullivan, Greene, Pike, and Dubois counties. Handles wills, trusts and estates and guardianship arrangements for loved ones, alongside business formation, real estate, and family law. Clients book appointments online and meet remotely.
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.
