Simplified route
$100,000
Small-estate affidavit (dispensing with administration); usable 45 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsIndiana estate administration
Indiana probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $100,000
That figure applies to deaths on or after July 1, 2022. Indiana sets this ceiling by the decedent’s date of death, so an earlier death is measured against a different amount.
In Indiana, estates up to $100,000 (deaths from July 2022) can use the small-estate route; executor pay is whatever the court finds reasonable (IC 29-1-10-13); and claims are due three months after notice to creditors is first published; all but government claims close nine months after death at most. Indiana dispenses with administration for qualifying personal-property estates by affidavit after 45 days; county Circuit or Superior Courts exercise probate jurisdiction.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Indiana simplified probate route
Up to $100,000; usable 45 days after death. Source: IC 29-1-8-1.
Small-estate affidavit (dispensing with administration)No combined Indiana probate total
The Circuit/Superior Court with probate jurisdiction filing charge is statewide: $177 (Filing Fees/Costs for Probate Cases). Executor pay is reasonable compensation (IC 29-1-10-13), not a rate. Each side in full: Indiana probate filing cost and Indiana executor fees.
Screen a specific Indiana estate with the calculators on the small-estate page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
$177
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: IC 29-1-10-13.
The will controls unless renounced; otherwise the court allows compensation it deems just and reasonable. Additional compensation may be allowed for attorney services and services not required of a personal representative.
IC 29-1-10-13, Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-10 (Indiana General Assembly).
The section’s own words
The personal representative, when no compensation is provided in the will, or when he renounces all claim to the compensation provided in the will, shall be allowed such compensation for his services as the court shall deem just and reasonable. Additional compensation may be allowed for his services as attorney and for other services not required of a personal representative.
Creditor deadline
Multiple triggers
IC 29-1-14-1 (Indiana General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsIndiana decision map
The four facts that change the Indiana route
Each Indiana answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Indiana answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small-estate affidavit (dispensing with administration) |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. |
| What is the amount screen? | $100,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2022 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 45 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | $177 is the recorded statewide amount. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- This state's counted value depends on liens and encumbrances, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on funeral expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- This state's counted value depends on administration expenses, which this calculator does not collect, so treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- Indiana measures eligibility on the gross probate estate LESS liens, encumbrances, funeral expenses and administration expenses (Ind. Code § 29-1-8-1). This calculator does not collect the funeral or administration expense figures, so it cannot compute the exact net value the $100,000 test applies to - treat any eligibility result as provisional.
- The Indiana section cited here gives no separate deadline for creditors who receive actual notice or one that runs from appointment, and its exceptions mean the claim rules cannot be reduced to a single deadline.
Continue
What Indiana courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexIndiana Judicial Branch formsIndiana Judicial Branch
- Fee scheduleIndiana Trial Court Fee Manual (PDF)Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Office of Court Services
- Self-help centreIndiana Self-Service Legal CenterIndiana Judicial Branch
- Court resourceIndiana Courts and Clerks Offices directoryIndiana Judicial Branch
- Official formState Form 54985, Affidavit for Transfer of Assets Without AdministrationState of Indiana
Official form with limited agency-specific use; confirm suitability with the holder/court.
Limits on court material
- Indiana probate jurisdiction is exercised by the Circuit or Superior Court identified for the county; use the judiciary directory.
Indiana primary sources
Each rule on the Indiana pages comes from one of these 5 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
IC 29-1-8-1, Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-8.
Executor compensation rule
IC 29-1-10-13, Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-10.
Creditor deadline rule
IC 29-1-14-1, Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 29-1-14.
Court cost rule
IC 33-37-4-7, Indiana Code 2025, Chapter 33-37-4.
Court cost rule
Filing Fees/Costs for Probate Cases, Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Indiana source list · how sources are checked · report a correction