Title 29, PROBATE

Sec. 13. (a) When a will is offered for probate, if the court finds that the testator is dead and that the will was executed in all respects according to law, it shall be admitted to probate as the last will of the deceased, unless objections are filed as provided in section 16 o…

Sec. 14. When proved as herein provided, every written will, if in the custody of the court, shall have endorsed thereon or annexed thereto a certificate by the court of such order of probate, which certificate shall give the number and page of the will record where it is recorde…

Sec. 15.1. (a) When it has been determined that a decedent died intestate and letters of administration have been issued upon the decedent's estate, no will shall be probated unless it is presented for probate: (1) before the court decrees final distribution of the estate; or (2)…

Sec. 15.2. (a) This section applies to real property subject to section 15.1(b) of this chapter, if the personal representative sells the real property to: (1) satisfy a lien of record in the county in which the real property is located; (2) pay costs of administration; or (3) us…

Sec. 16. Prior to the admission of a will to probate, written objections to its probate alleging that such objections are not made for vexation or delay may be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the probate of the will by any interested person. No notice of the filing of…

Sec. 16.5. (a) A testator or a testator's agent at the testator's direction may send a written notice under this section to the following: (1) Any person named as a beneficiary in the testator's will. (2) Any person who would be entitled to inherit from the testator under IC 29-1…

Sec. 17. Except as provided in section 16.5 of this chapter, any interested person may contest the validity of any will in the court having jurisdiction over the probate of the will within three (3) months after the date of the order admitting the will to probate by filing in the…

Sec. 17.5. (a) The court, in its discretion and upon application of any party instituting an action under section 16 or 17 of this chapter, may permit the contest of two (2) or more wills if there is prima facie evidence that: (1) the decedent suffered from an irreversible medica…

Sec. 18. (a) When an action is brought to contest the validity of any will as provided in this article, notice is served upon the defendants in the same manner as required by the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure. (b) A contesting party shall also serve a copy of the complaint on …

Sec. 19. At the time of filing a verified complaint under section 17 of this chapter, the plaintiff in the action, or some other person on the plaintiff's behalf, shall file a bond with sufficient sureties in an amount approved by the court, conditioned for the due prosecution of…

Sec. 2. The probate of a will and the administration of the estate shall be considered one (1) proceeding for the purposes of jurisdiction. The entire proceeding and the administration of a decedent's estate is a proceeding in rem. This section applies to proceedings under IC 29-…

Sec. 20. In a suit: (1) objecting to the probate of a will under section 16 of this chapter; or (2) testing the validity of a will after probate under section 17 of this chapter; the burden of proof is upon the contestor. Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.720. As amended by Acts 1982…

Sec. 21. If such determination be against the validity of such will or the competency of the proof, the court shall refuse or revoke the probate thereof; but if it be in favor of the validity and due execution of such will, probate thereof shall be admitted or ratified. Formerly:…

Sec. 22. Whenever the probate of any will shall be revoked as herein provided, the clerk of the proper court shall record such revocation in the record of wills and probate thereof and attest the same. Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.722.

Sec. 23. (a) When a person dies, the person's real and personal property passes to persons to whom it is devised by the person's last will or, in the absence of such disposition, to the persons who succeed to the person's estate as the person's heirs; but it shall be subject to t…

Sec. 24. Except as provided in IC 29-1-13-2, no will is effective for the purpose of proving title to, or the right to the possession of, any real or personal property disposed of by the will, until it has been admitted to probate. Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.724; Acts 1975, P.…

Sec. 25. (a) Any will that has been proved or allowed in any other state or in any foreign country, according to the laws of that state or country, may be received and recorded in this state: (1) before the deadlines imposed by section 15.1(g) of this chapter, unless the will is …

Sec. 26. Such will shall be duly certified under the seal of the court or officer taking such proof; or a copy of such will and the probate thereof shall be duly certified under the seal of his court or office by the clerk, prothonotary or surrogate who has the custody or probate…

Sec. 27. Such will or copy, and the probate thereof, may be produced by any person interested therein to the court of the county having jurisdiction in which there is any estate on which the will may operate; and if said court shall be satisfied that the instrument ought to be al…

Sec. 28. No will executed in this state and proved or allowed in any other state or country, shall be admitted to probate within this state unless executed according to the laws of this state. Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.728.

Sec. 29. In all cases of foreign wills and testaments heretofore admitted or hereafter to be admitted to probate, or which have been or may be offered for record and filing in any county of this state, any person interested in the estate of the testator may contest such will or t…

Sec. 3. (a) After the death of a person, the person having custody of the decedent's will: (1) may; or (2) shall, upon written demand by the personal representative or upon court order; deliver the will to the court which has jurisdiction of the administration of the decedent's e…

Sec. 3.1. (a) This section applies whether it is: (1) known; or (2) unknown; whether a testator is living. (b) As used in this section, "depositor" refers to a person who deposits a will with the circuit court clerk under this section. (c) As used in this section, "will" refers t…

Sec. 4. (a) Any interested person or a personal representative named in the will may petition the court having jurisdiction of the administration of the decedent's estate: (1) to have the will of such decedent, whether the same is written or is unwritten, is in his possession or …

Sec. 4.5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and section 4 of this chapter, each petition or other document that a personal representative files in the court with: (1) a written consent to the petition or other document; or (2) a written waiver of notice of proceedings in t…

Sec. 5. A petition for the probate of a will and for the issuance of letters testamentary or for the appointment of an administrator with the will annexed, or for the appointment of an administrator, shall state: (1) the name, domicile, and date of the death of the decedent, and …

Sec. 6. (a) At any time after the issuance of letters, any person interested in the estate may serve upon the personal representative, or upon his attorney, and file with the clerk of the court where the proceedings are pending with a written admission or proof of such service, a…

Sec. 7. (a) As soon as letters testamentary or of administration, general or special, supervised or unsupervised, have been issued, notice of the estate administration shall be published. (b) The notice required under subsection (a) shall be published in a newspaper of general ci…

Sec. 7.5. (a) A personal representative shall exercise reasonable diligence to discover the reasonably ascertainable creditors of the decedent within one (1) month of the first publication of notice under section 7 of this chapter. (b) A personal representative is considered to h…

Sec. 8. Whenever there is any doubt that the person whose estate is to be administered is dead, the court, upon application of any interested person, may direct the personal representative to make search for the alleged decedent in any manner which the court may deem advisable, i…

Sec. 9. Before a written will shall be admitted to probate, the will shall be proved by one (1) or more of the subscribing witnesses, or if all of them are dead, out of the state, or have become incapacitated for any reason since attesting the will, then the will shall be admitte…

Sec. 1. (a) Unless the court finds that a bond is unnecessary and enters an order to that effect, or unless the appointed guardian is a bank or trust company (as defined in IC 28-1-1-3), a guardian must execute and file a bond relating to the duties of the guardian's office. Unle…

Sec. 2. (a) The following requirements apply to all bonds on which the guardian is primary obligor: (1) Unless otherwise provided by the terms of the bond, sureties are jointly and severally liable with the primary obligor and with each other. (2) By executing the bond, the suret…

Sec. 3. (a) Letters of guardianship, temporary or otherwise, shall be issued to the person entitled to receive them when: (1) the guardian, if an individual, has filed bond if required and taken and subscribed before the clerk or any other officer authorized to administer oaths, …

Sec. 4. By accepting appointment, a guardian and the guardian's attorney submit personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the guardianship. As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.

Sec. 5. (a) A guardian shall take possession of the guardianship property, title to which shall remain in the protected person subject to the right of the guardian to possess and dispose of the property as provided by law. (b) The interest of the protected person in guardianship …

Sec. 6. (a) Letters are evidence that the guardian has all, and the protected person does not have any, rights to possess and dispose of the guardianship property. An order terminating a guardianship is evidence that the protected person has all, and the guardian does not have an…

Sec. 7. A court may not appoint a person to serve as the guardian or permit a person to continue to serve as a guardian if the person: (1) is a sexually violent predator (as described in IC 35-38-1-7.5); (2) was at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the offense and w…