Indiana has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the Circuit or Superior Court (probate jurisdiction); St. Joseph County has a dedicated Probate Court. After the court grants the petition, Clerk of the court, after the court grants the petition for probate of will / appointment and the representative qualifies issues your Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Along with the petition, Indiana generally requires: Original will and any codicils (deposited/lodged with the clerk of the court) (IC 29-1-7-3.1); Certified copy of the death certificate; 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); Bond only if the will requires it or the court orders it (IC 29-1-11-1) — not required by default; Notice of administration published after letters issue (IC 29-1-7-7); served on each heir, devisee, legatee, and known creditor named in the petition.
Indiana does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.
Indiana permits self-represented filers to open an estate. E-filing is available. The Self-File Probate Assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs for Indiana.
Yes. A revocable living trust passes assets to beneficiaries without any court appointment in Indiana — no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about 15 minutes.
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Getting Appointed in IndianaIC 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 Jul 15, 2026View source
Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate)
Where you file
Circuit or Superior Court (probate jurisdiction); St. Joseph County has a dedicated Probate Court
The form that opens the estate
No statewide fill-in form · Attorney-drafted pleading
What the court issues (with a will)
Letters Testamentaryissued by Clerk of the court, after the court grants the petition for probate of will / appointment and the representative qualifies
Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.
At a glance
UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filingSelf-represented filingLocal/county forms
E-filing is required of all attorneys in every Indiana court; unrepresented litigants are not required to e-file but are encouraged to, and may open a pro se ("individual") filing account. That channel does not make the estate-opening path self-serviceable: there is no statewide fillable opening-petition form to file, IC 29-1-7-5(8) requires the petition to name the attorney who is to represent the personal representative, and the local probate rules of Marion, Hamilton, Vanderburgh, Madison, St. Joseph, Elkhart and Adams counties bar a personal representative from proceeding without counsel.
Indiana has no statewide form for opening an estate, so the controlling forms — and the controlling rules — are local. Allen County publishes a "Petition for Appointment of Personal Representative" and a "Petition for Probate of Will"; Hamilton County issues "Instructions to Personal Representative" (Form PR00-1 supervised / PR00-2 unsupervised). The opening petition itself is drafted to IC 29-1-7-5. More consequentially, the local probate rules of Marion (LR49-PR00 Rule 402.1), Hamilton (704.10), Vanderburgh (LR82-PR-4.1), Madison, St. Joseph (602.5), Elkhart (602.5) and Adams (LR01-PR00-01) counties require a personal representative to be represented by an attorney of record. Only the small-estate affidavit (IC 29-1-8) is a statewide fillable form.
BondIC 29-1-11-1 (bond of personal representative); IC 29-1-7.5-2.5 (bond in unsupervised administration)Verified Jul 15, 2026View source
Required before Letters
No
Waivable by will
Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries
No
What to file with the petition
Original will and any codicils (deposited/lodged with the clerk of the court) (IC 29-1-7-3.1)
Certified copy of the death certificate
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)
Bond only if the will requires it or the court orders it (IC 29-1-11-1) — not required by default
Notice of administration published after letters issue (IC 29-1-7-7); served on each heir, devisee, legatee, and known creditor named in the petition
Affidavit for Transfer of Assets Without Administration
State-specific notes
Two administration modes: SUPERVISED (full court oversight) and UNSUPERVISED (IC 29-1-7.5-2, which the court may grant when all interested persons join and consent and the estate is solvent, or when the will authorizes it) — both are opened by a court-granted petition with issued Letters, and Indiana has no UPC informal/registrar track. Small-estate threshold is $100,000 gross probate estate (less liens, encumbrances, and reasonable funeral expenses) for deaths after June 30, 2022, available 45 days after death (IC 29-1-8-1). Bond is the reverse of many states: not required unless the will provides for it or the court finds it necessary (IC 29-1-11-1). Outer time limit: a will "shall not be admitted to probate unless the will is presented for probate before the latest of" three years after death or the other dates in IC 29-1-7-15.1(g).
A revocable living trust passes assets to your family without this court appointment process — no petition, no Letters, no bond.
This tool provides general information about how a personal representative is appointed and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for guidance specific to your situation.Data verified 2026-07-15
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