Indiana Small Estate Affidavit PDF: $100,000 Limit, Filing, and Vehicles

The Indiana small estate affidavit PDF is available from three official sources: Indiana Legal Help publishes a general-purpose fillable form,¹ the state forms portal hosts State Form 54985 for wages and financial accounts,² and the BMV posts Form 18733 for vehicles and watercraft.³ Any form that includes the six statements required by Indiana Code 29-1-8-1(b) works, so the template matters less than the substance. The affidavit lets a distributee collect a deceased person’s personal property, bank accounts, insurance proceeds, securities, and vehicles without opening a probate case, as long as the estate’s net value stays at or below $100,000.

Which PDF to Download

Pick the form based on what you’re trying to collect.

The Indiana Legal Help version, published by the Coalition for Court Access, is the broadest and is accepted by most counties. If you’re collecting a mix of assets, such as a bank balance plus a brokerage account plus a final paycheck, this is usually the right starting point.

State Form 54985 is oriented toward wages, benefits, and financial accounts owed to the decedent. Some employers and account custodians prefer it because the layout tracks the information they need to release funds.

BMV Form 18733 is required if a vehicle or watercraft title is involved. The BMV will not accept the general affidavit in place of its own form.

Some county courts post their own templates as well. Any of these is fine so long as it tracks the statutory requirements.

Who Can File and When

Indiana Code 29-1-8-1 sets four conditions, and all of them have to be true. Miss any one and the institution holding the asset can refuse the affidavit.

The person filing is called the affiant and must be a distributee: an heir under the decedent’s will, or under Indiana’s intestacy rules if there’s no will. The affiant swears they are authorized to collect property on behalf of all distributees named on the form.

How the $100,000 Limit Is Calculated

Start with the total value of everything that would pass through probate. Subtract what was owed against it, such as a car loan, plus reasonable funeral expenses. If the result is $100,000 or less, you qualify.⁴

Assets that bypass probate don’t count toward the cap. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary, a payable-on-death bank account, and property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship all transfer outside probate. Only assets with no automatic transfer mechanism go into the calculation.

If the net figure exceeds the threshold by any amount, the affidavit will not work and the estate needs a formal probate case. Overstating or understating the value is perjury, a Level 6 felony in Indiana.⁵

What the Affidavit Cannot Transfer

The statute covers personal property, debts owed to the decedent, stocks, and similar financial instruments. It does not transfer real estate. A house or land held solely in the decedent’s name needs a separate probate proceeding or a transfer-on-death deed recorded before death. A perfectly prepared affidavit will not move a deed.

When the decedent owned both personal property under $100,000 and real estate, you can still use the affidavit for the personal property and open a limited probate case for the real property.

Filling Out and Notarizing the Form

Gather the following before you sit down with the PDF:²

The decedent’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of death, and last address.
Asset details precise enough to identify what you’re claiming: institution name and account number for bank accounts, year, make, model, and VIN for vehicles, and identifying information for securities.
The name, current address, and share of the estate for every distributee.

Accuracy matters more than most people expect. Banks regularly reject affidavits where the account number is wrong or the balance listed does not match their records. If you aren’t sure of a balance, call the institution first; most will confirm it once you verify your identity and relationship to the decedent.

Every statement on the affidavit is made under oath. Sign it in front of a notary public, who will administer the oath and notarize the document. Indiana caps notary fees by statute, so notarization typically costs under $10.

Presenting the Affidavit

Deliver the notarized affidavit directly to whoever holds the asset: a bank, credit union, brokerage, employer owing a final paycheck, or insurance company paying a death benefit to the estate. The statute requires these entities to release the property or pay the debt on receipt of a properly completed affidavit.⁴

Bring a certified copy of the death certificate. Most institutions require one even though the statute does not list it as a condition. Some also ask for government-issued ID. Having both ready avoids a second trip.

Refusals are uncommon when the form is correct, properly notarized, and the 45-day waiting period has clearly passed. If an institution refuses a valid affidavit, you may need to go to court to compel release.

Vehicles and Watercraft

Titles for vehicles and watercraft follow a shorter timeline. You only need to wait five days after the date of death, not 45.⁴ The vehicle affidavit must be signed by the distributees of the estate rather than by one person acting for everyone.

Take BMV Form 18733, a certified death certificate, and the existing title if you have it to any Indiana BMV branch.³ The same $100,000 cap and the no-personal-representative rule still apply.

Debts and Taxes You Still Have to Handle

Using the affidavit does not erase what the decedent owed. When you collect assets through the affidavit, you are responsible for paying legitimate creditors out of those assets before distributing anything to heirs. Indiana law sets a priority order for claims, with administrative costs and reasonable funeral expenses at the top and general unsecured claims at the bottom.⁶ Handing funds to family while ignoring a known creditor creates personal liability for the affiant.

Taxes don’t disappear either. The decedent’s final personal income tax return (Form 1040) must be filed for the year of death; a surviving spouse can file jointly for that year. If the estate itself earns $600 or more in gross income after the date of death, someone needs to file IRS Form 1041 for the estate.⁷ That $600 threshold is easy to cross if a savings account sits untouched for a few months.

Inherited assets do receive a stepped-up cost basis equal to fair market value on the date of death.⁸ Stock the decedent bought for $5,000 that was worth $12,000 at death has a new basis of $12,000 in your hands, which eliminates capital gains tax on the appreciation during the decedent’s lifetime.

1
Indiana Legal Help. Affidavit for Transfer of Assets Without Administration
2
Indiana Department of Workforce Development. State Form 54985 – Small Estate Affidavit ($100,000)
3
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Indiana State Form 18733 – Affidavit for Transfer of Certificate of Title for a Vehicle / Watercraft Without Administration
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-8-1 – Small Estates; Payment Upon Presentation of Affidavit; Vehicle or Watercraft; Securities; Insurance Death Benefit; Safe Deposit Box; Digital Asset
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-1 – Perjury
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 29-1-14-9 – Classification of Claims; Preferences
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025)
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 (12/2025), Basis of Assets