Standard processing in Indiana takes 60 daysIndiana Department of Health - Division of Vital RecordsVerified Oct 15, 2026View source. A funeral home's order at the time of death usually arrives first.

Indiana sets a statutory order for who controls the disposition of remains: individual granted authority in a power of attorney or health care power of attorney, or a health care representative, then surviving spouse, then surviving adult child, or a majority of the surviving adult childrenIC 29-2-19-17Verified Sep 10, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written documentIC 29-2-19Verified Sep 10, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.

Indiana imposes a 48-hour minimum waiting periodIC 23-14-31-36Verified Sep 10, 2026View source before cremation. Authorization comes from the authorizing agent highest in the IC 23-14-31-26(a) priority order (13 subdivisions — IC 29-2-19-17's first 11 levels plus an indigent/state-or-township agent and a catch-all). A crematory authority may not cremate until it holds a cremation authorization form signed by that agent, a completed burial transit permit, and a copy of the death certificate or, where the death came under the coroner's authority, a coroner release (IC 23-14-31-27(a)).

Indiana allows estates valued at $100,000IC 29-1-8-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less to use the Small Estate AffidavitIC 29-1-8-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, which avoids full probate administration. The Small Estate Affidavit is presented directly to the bank, employer, or other holder of the property — it is not filed with a court. The waiting period is 45 daysIC 29-1-8-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death.