Indiana Executor and Estate Kit: the $100,000 Small Estate Route After 45 Days, First Month Checklist and Estate Ledger

Who it is for

Whoever is settling the estate of someone who lived in Indiana. Handed to the bank or other holder. Presented to the person holding the property; the statute doesn't call for a court filing.

Not the right fit if

The person didn't live in or own property in Indiana, or a will contest or family dispute means you need an estate attorney. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• Sources, checked November 2026: Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Indiana (Nolo); Indiana Code 29-1-8-1 (copy posted by Cass County, in.gov); Indiana State Form 54794, Small Estate Affidavit (Indiana Public Retirement System, R10 / 6-26); Affidavit for Transfer of Assets Without Administration, Clark County Clerk of Courts, Indiana (09/2023, PDF); Justia (statute text) (secondary source): IC 29-1-8-3, Summary procedure (2025 Indiana Code, Justia); Legislative Update: Probate and property matters, May 14, 2021 (Indiana Office of Court Services); Wills (trial court publication, Indiana Office of Court Services); Order 20S-MS-237, Emergency Procedures for the Witnessing of Wills (Indiana Supreme Court, 2020); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Indiana (Nolo); FindLaw Codes (secondary source): IC 29-1-5-1 (FindLaw Codes, current as of January 1, 2026).
• All 11 Indiana facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.

What is inside

• Indiana small estate route. The gross probate estate, less liens, encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses: $100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022; $50,000 for deaths from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2022; $25,000 before. The affidavit isn't available for real estate; title can pass by recording a passage of title (or devolution) affidavit with the county recorder (Nolo's summary). Real estate has its own affidavit or petition. Named on the official pages: Summary procedure (IC 29-1-8-3). 45 days. Forty-five days after the death; five days for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to transfer a vehicle or watercraft title. It depends on the route. The statute doesn't use the word notarized. The Clark Circuit Court's affidavit form (09/2023) ends with an affirmation under penalties of perjury and has no notary block, while some holders' own forms, like the state retirement system's, must be notarized. Handed to the bank or other holder. Presented to the person holding the property; the statute doesn't call for a court filing. Small Estate Affidavit (State Form 54985). Named in Nolo's summary as Indiana's small estate affidavit; holders can also have their own, like the state retirement system's State Form 54794. Summary procedure (IC 29-1-8-3): When the gross probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is no more than $100,000 (deaths after June 30, 2022) plus administration costs and reasonable funeral expenses, the personal representative of an unsupervised estate may distribute it without notice to creditors and then file a closing statement (2025 Indiana Code on Justia).
• How a Indiana will had to be signed. Two attesting witnesses, physically present with the testator, per the Indiana Supreme Court's 2020 order on witnessing wills (citing IC 29-1-5 and 29-1-21). A self-proving clause may be built into or attached to a will (2021 law). The summary we read doesn't say who takes it. Not recognized, per Nolo's Indiana page. A witness who inherits risks forfeiting the gift (Nolo, citing Ind. Code 29-1-5-2).
• Indiana estate ledger (Excel). Assets, debts, payments and distributions; it compares the countable assets with $100,000, picking the figure for the date of death, dates day 45 after the death and sends real estate to its own procedure.
• First 30 days, tracker and letters. The first month in order with day 45 marked, a documents and accounts tracker, and plain letters to a bank, a utility and Social Security.