How to Fill Out Indiana Executor of Estate Forms: Petition, Bond, Letters

To be appointed executor in Indiana, you file a Petition for Probate and Appointment of Personal Representative with the probate court in the county where the deceased person last lived. The court checks that you meet the statutory qualifications, administers an oath, requires a bond if one applies, and then issues Letters Testamentary — the sealed document proving your authority to collect assets, pay debts, and distribute the estate.¹ A will generally must be submitted within three years of the death,² so the clock matters.

Who Can Be Appointed

Indiana disqualifies anyone under eighteen, anyone found mentally incapacitated (physical illness alone does not disqualify), and anyone convicted of a felony. The court can also refuse to appoint someone it finds “unsuitable” given the particulars of the estate.³

The felony bar is not absolute. A court weighing whether to appoint a convicted felon looks at how long ago the conviction occurred, the nature of the crime, whether the offense has since been reclassified or the conviction expunged, and whether the will or the beneficiaries acknowledged the conviction.⁴

If You Live Outside Indiana

Non-residents can still serve, with extra steps. You file a written acceptance of the appointment, designate a resident agent in Indiana to receive legal notices on your behalf, and post a bond. The bond must at least equal the probable value of the estate’s personal property plus estimated rents and profits, and cannot exceed the estate’s probable gross value. If the court later grants unsupervised administration, it may reduce or waive that bond.⁴

When You Can Skip Probate

Not every estate needs this petition. If the total value of the deceased person’s assets is $100,000 or less, Indiana lets you transfer property using a small estate affidavit instead of opening a probate case. That path avoids the petition entirely. If the estate is larger or heirs are in dispute, the full petition process below applies.

What Goes in the Petition

Get the form from the Clerk of the Court in the county where the deceased last lived. Many county clerks post downloadable versions, and some provide filing packets with instructions. The death certificate is the most reliable source for the facts the form asks for.

Decedent’s full legal name, date of death, and last residential address. The address fixes which county court has jurisdiction.
Names and current addresses of all heirs and beneficiaries, whether taking under the will or by intestate succession. The court uses this list to send required notices; leaving someone off creates problems later.
A reasonable estimate of the estate’s value — personal property and real estate at current market value, not purchase price. This figure influences bond and whether unsupervised administration is available.
Whether a will exists, the date it was signed, and whether you are the person it names as executor. Without a will, you petition for appointment as administrator instead.
Whether you are asking for supervised or unsupervised administration.

You sign under penalties for perjury. Check spelling carefully; mistakes mean corrective filings.

Supervised or Unsupervised Administration

You pick one in the petition, and it changes how much court involvement follows.

Supervised administration requires the court to approve most significant actions, including selling real estate, paying claims, and distributing property. It takes longer and means more hearings, but adds oversight when heirs disagree or the finances are complicated.

Unsupervised administration lets you handle most tasks without going back to court for permission. The court may grant it if the estate is solvent, you are qualified to serve, and all heirs or beneficiaries freely consent after understanding what unsupervised administration means. If the will itself authorizes unsupervised administration, individual heir consent is not separately required; only solvency and your qualification matter.⁵ The court can revoke unsupervised status later if supervision would better protect creditors or beneficiaries.

Filing the Petition

Indiana uses a statewide electronic filing system. Attorneys must file through IEFS. Self-represented filers are encouraged to e-file but may still bring paper documents to the probate court clerk, who converts them to electronic records.⁶

The base court filing fee for a probate case is $120.⁷ Local court costs and e-filing service charges may add to that, so confirm the total with the clerk’s office before filing. File the original will (if one exists) and a certified copy of the death certificate with the petition.

A will must generally be presented for probate within three years of death. After that, it cannot be admitted, with one narrow exception: if no estate proceeding was ever opened and an asset is still titled in the deceased person’s name, the will can be presented at any time solely to transfer that asset.²

Oath, Bond, and Letters Testamentary

Once the court reviews and approves the petition, you take an oath before the clerk or another officer authorized to administer oaths, swearing to carry out your duties according to Indiana law. No oath, no letters.⁸

For unsupervised estates, a bond is not automatic. The court orders one only if the will calls for it or the court decides a bond is necessary to protect creditors and heirs; if ordered, the court sets the amount.⁹ Non-resident personal representatives face the separate mandatory bond described above.

With the oath on file and any required bond posted, the clerk issues Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration if there was no will). The sealed letters are conclusive proof of your authority to act for the estate until the court revokes or supersedes them, and that authority covers the deceased person’s personal and real property within Indiana.¹

Ask for Several Certified Copies

Request multiple certified copies from the clerk when the letters are issued. Banks, brokerages, title companies, and government agencies each want their own copy before releasing funds or transferring property. One copy will not get you far.

What Starts the Day You Get Letters

Appointment is the beginning, not the end. Two obligations have early deadlines you should know about before you file.

You must publish a notice of the estate’s opening in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the court sits, once a week for two consecutive weeks, and file proof of publication with the clerk within thirty days. Known creditors — including anyone named in the petition — must also be individually notified through the court’s e-filing system or by first-class mail, and creditors you discover within one month after the first publication must be notified too.¹⁰

Within two months of your appointment, you must prepare a verified inventory of the probate estate’s assets at fair market value, noting any liens, and categorized by type (real estate with legal description, household goods, securities, bank accounts, and so on). In an unsupervised estate, you can certify to the court that the inventory has been prepared and is available rather than filing a copy; the court can still request it.¹¹

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-10-4 – Letters; Evidence of Authority
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 29 Probate 29-1-7-15.1
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-10-1 – Letters Testamentary; Letters of General Administration; Persons to Whom Granted; Order; Qualifications
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 29 Probate 29-1-10-1
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 29 Probate 29-1-7.5-2
6
Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure – Rule 87 Electronic Filing
7
Indiana General Assembly. Court Fees Imposed in Civil, Probate, and Small Claims
8
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-10-3 – Letters; Issuance; Conditions
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-7.5-2.5 – Personal Representative’s Bond
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 29 Probate 29-1-7-7
11
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 29 Probate 29-1-7.5-3.2