How much does probate cost in Indiana?
5 Aug 2026
Indiana publishes no percentage for the attorney and none for the personal representative. What it does fix is the clerk: a $120.00 probate costs fee, and $177.00 once the statutory add-ons are counted.
Both fees are whatever the court deems just and reasonable, allowed at final settlement with interim allowances available on application. The will decides the representative’s pay first, and it binds unless a written renunciation is filed before qualifying. Offering a will for probate is free on its own. There is no bond unless the will provides for one or the court finds one necessary. The creditors’ notice runs two weeks, and every claim dies nine months after the death whatever the notice said.
IC 33-37-4-7 — Indiana Code 2026, published by the Indiana General Assembly · Verified 10 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Indiana sets no percentage on either professional fee, so there is no schedule to work. What the calculator can give you is the counter figure, which Indiana builds out of one probate fee and seven separate add-ons.
| Probate costs fee, each action under IC 29 or IC 30 | $120.00 |
| Document storage fee | $5.00 |
| Automated record keeping fee | $20.00 |
| Public defense administration fee | $5.00 |
| Judicial insurance adjustment fee | $1.00 |
| Judicial salaries fee | $20.00 |
| Court administration fee | $5.00 |
| Pro bono legal services fee | $1.00 |
| Counter total to open an Indiana estate | $177.00 |
| Offering a will for probate, on its own | no fee |
| Attorney | just and reasonable |
| Personal representative | just and reasonable |
No section prints $177.00. The statutory probate costs fee is $120.00, and every add-on above sits in its own section of a different chapter. They come to $57.00, and we show the build-up rather than assert a total the statute never states. One fee that looks like it should apply does not: the civil action service fee attaches to a civil costs fee, which is a different charge from the probate costs fee, and it is charged per additional defendant and per garnishee in any event.
Four filings are expressly free: a petition to open a safe deposit box, an inheritance tax return, a closing statement for a small estate, and offering a will for probate at all — so long as nothing beyond admitting the will becomes necessary. On a change of venue the probate costs fee is charged again by the transferring court and forwarded on.
Per-page charges are use charges rather than filing charges and are not in the counter total: $1.00 a page for documents, which a county ordinance may not exceed, and $3.00 for each certificate under seal.
Neither professional fee can be computed from an estate value in Indiana, because no percentage exists to compute. Anyone quoting you an Indiana executor percentage is quoting another state.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Indiana fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeCounsel working at the representative’s request | No statutory scheduleIndiana sets no percentage for the estate’s lawyer. An attorney doing work for the estate at the personal representative’s request is paid out of the estate whatever the court deems just and reasonable. The timing is worth knowing: the fee is normally allowed at final settlement, but at any point during administration the representative or the attorney can apply to the court for an allowance on account. Where the personal representative is also the lawyer, additional compensation may be allowed for the legal work, on top of the compensation for acting as representative. | The court, on a just-and-reasonable standard | IC 29-1-10-13 Indiana serves whole chapters as PDFs; the citation names the section · unamended since Acts 1953 c.112 s.1013 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | No schedule — the will decides firstIndiana lets the will decide first. If the will provides for the representative’s compensation, that is the full amount, and the only way out is to file a written instrument in court renouncing all claim to it before qualifying as personal representative. Where there is no will provision, or where it has been renounced, the court allows whatever it deems just and reasonable. Extra compensation may be allowed for services the job does not require, and for acting as the estate’s attorney. Payment normally comes at final settlement, with interim allowances available on application. | The will, or the court where the will is silent | IC 29-1-10-13 Same section as the attorney fee | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeOpening an estate | $120.00 by statute, $177.00 at the counterIndiana charges a flat $120.00 probate costs fee for each action filed under the probate code or the trusts code. On top of that the clerk collects a list of add-on fees set elsewhere in the code — document storage $5.00, automated record keeping $20.00, public defense administration $5.00, judicial insurance adjustment $1.00, judicial salaries $20.00, court administration $5.00 and pro bono legal services $1.00 — so $120.00 is the statutory base rather than the counter total, and the counter total is $177.00. Four filings are expressly free: a petition to open a safe deposit box, an inheritance tax return, filing a closing statement for a small estate, and offering a will for probate at all, so long as nothing beyond admitting the will becomes necessary. On a change of venue the fee is charged again by the transferring court and forwarded on. | Statute, statewide, base plus seven add-ons | IC 33-37-4-7, read with IC 33-37-5-20, -21, -21.2, -25, -26(d), -27 and -31 Total computed from the printed components | 10 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice of estate administration | Not fixed by statuteNot fixed by statute — the newspaper sets its own rate. The statute sets how often the notice runs and for how long: as soon as letters are issued, notice of the estate administration must be published in a newspaper of general circulation, printed in English, in the county where the court sits, once each week for two consecutive weeks. If the county has no newspaper, an adjacent county’s is used. A copy of the notice with proof of publication is filed with the clerk within thirty days of publication and becomes part of the estate record. Publication is not the whole job: the notice is also served on each heir, devisee, legatee and known creditor, and within one month of first publication the representative must serve any creditor reasonably ascertainable who was not named in the petition. The deadlines follow from the notice — a claim must be filed within three months of first publication or nine months after the death, whichever comes first, and a creditor served late has two months from service. Nothing filed after nine months from the death survives. | The newspaper | IC 29-1-7-7 Indiana serves whole chapters as PDFs; the citation names the section · amended through P.L.50-2025 SEC.1 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | Not required unless the will or the court requires it
|
The will, or the court on a protective finding | IC 29-1-11-1 Indiana serves whole chapters as PDFs; the citation names the section | 5 Aug 2026 |
$120.00 is the statutory fee, not the counter price. Seven add-on fees sit in a different chapter and are collected on the same filing. Sites quoting Indiana at $120.00 are quoting the probate section and stopping there.
Offering a will for probate costs nothing on its own. The fee attaches when further proceedings become necessary. A will admitted with nothing else required is free.
How the Indiana sources are linked. The Indiana General Assembly publishes the Code a whole chapter at a time as a PDF rather than a section at a time, so each link above downloads or opens the chapter and the citation names the section to find within it. That is the publisher’s own behaviour, not a broken link. Every figure was read from the Indiana Code 2026 compilation.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Petition to open a safe deposit box — $0.00. Inheritance tax return — $0.00. Closing statement for a small estate — $0.00.
- You may not have to pay at all. Offering a will for probate carries no fee unless further proceedings become necessary.
- Documents — $1.00 per legal or letter size page, including a page only partly covered with writing. A county legislative body may adopt its own schedule by ordinance but may not exceed that figure.
- Certificate under seal, authenticating a copy of any record, paper or transcript — $3.00 each. Preparing or recording a transcript of judgment to become a lien on real estate — $3.00.
- Change of venue — the probate costs fee is charged again by the transferring court and forwarded on with the case.
- Depositing a will with the clerk carries its own fee, which sits outside the fee chapter and is not stated on this page.
- Where the personal representative is also the estate’s attorney, additional compensation may be allowed for the legal work on top of the compensation for acting as representative.
IC 33-37-4-7(c); IC 33-37-5-1; IC 33-37-5-3; IC 33-37-5-4; IC 29-1-10-13 — Indiana Code 2026 · Verified 10 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Indiana
- If the will names a fee, it can bind you
- In Indiana, an executor who accepts without renouncing is held to it. Where the will provides for the representative’s compensation, that provision is the full amount unless a written instrument renouncing all claim to it is filed in court before qualifying as personal representative. Miss that moment and the will’s figure stands, however far below a just-and-reasonable allowance it falls.
- You can be paid before the estate closes
- Compensation is normally allowed at final settlement, but at any point during administration the representative or the attorney can apply to the court for an allowance on account. In a long administration that changes the cash position of the estate rather than the total bill.
- The $120.00 is not what you hand over
- The probate costs fee is $120.00. Seven separate add-on fees, each in its own section of a different chapter, are collected on the same filing and come to $57.00. The counter figure is $177.00. One fee that looks like it should apply does not: the civil action service fee attaches to a civil costs fee, which is a different charge, and it runs per additional defendant and per garnishee.
- Nine months is the wall
- A claim must be filed within three months of first publication or nine months after the death, whichever comes first. A creditor served late gets two months from service. Nothing filed more than nine months after the death survives, whatever the notice said or when it ran.
- The State can be a creditor you have to find
- For a decedent aged 55 or over who died on or after 30 June 2018, the State Medicaid unit counts as a reasonably ascertainable creditor. It must therefore be served within one month of first publication like any other creditor you can find.
- No bond is the starting point
- A personal representative is not required to bond unless the will provides for one, or the court finds — on its own motion or on an interested person’s petition — that a bond is necessary to protect creditors, heirs, legatees or devisees. How the amount is fixed when a bond is ordered sits in sections we have not read, so this page does not state it.
- Vehicles move faster than everything else
- A motor vehicle or watercraft title can be transferred five days after the death, provided no personal representative is contemplated — forty days sooner than the general affidavit route.
Indiana’s limit depends on when the person died, not when you file
The limit depends on the date of death, not on when you file. For deaths after 30 June 2022, the limit is $100,000.00. For a death after 30 June 2006 and before 1 July 2022 it is $50,000.00, and for a death before 1 July 2006, $25,000.00. The route is an affidavit, not a court case: forty-five days after the death, anyone holding the deceased’s personal property or owing them money must hand it over to a distributee who presents a complying affidavit.
- The ceiling is measured on the gross probate estate wherever located, after taking off liens, encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses. It is not a gross-estate figure, and an estate that looks too large from the outside can fall inside it.
- The affidavit must state that forty-five days have passed, that no application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or granted anywhere, and who each distributee is and what share they take.
- Vehicles are quicker and separate: a motor vehicle or watercraft title can be transferred five days after the death, provided no personal representative is contemplated.
- Filing a closing statement for a small estate carries no court fee.
Check the date of death before using any Indiana figure. Three ceilings are live at once, and the one that applies is set by when the person died, not by when the affidavit is signed or presented.
IC 29-1-8-1 — Indiana Code 2026 · amended through P.L.151-2022 SEC.1 · Verified 5 Aug 2026
Check your own estate against the Indiana route →
Three tools, in the order most people need them
Indiana probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Indiana?
There is no percentage. If the will provides for the representative’s compensation, that is the full amount unless a written renunciation is filed in court before qualifying. Otherwise the court allows whatever it deems just and reasonable. Extra compensation may be allowed for services the job does not require and for acting as the estate’s attorney, and interim allowances can be applied for during the administration rather than waiting for final settlement.
Does Indiana set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. An attorney doing work for the estate at the personal representative’s request is paid out of the estate whatever the court deems just and reasonable. The section has not been amended since 1953. Where the representative is also the lawyer, additional compensation may be allowed for the legal work on top of the compensation for acting as representative.
What does it cost to file for probate in Indiana?
One hundred and seventy-seven dollars at the counter. The probate costs fee itself is one hundred and twenty dollars, and seven statutory add-on fees are collected on the same filing: document storage, automated record keeping, public defense administration, judicial insurance adjustment, judicial salaries, court administration and pro bono legal services, coming to fifty-seven dollars. Offering a will for probate on its own is free, as is filing a small-estate closing statement, an inheritance tax return, or a petition to open a safe deposit box.
Does an executor need a bond in Indiana?
Not by default. A personal representative is not required to file a bond unless the will provides for one, or the court finds, on its own motion or on the petition of an interested person, that a bond is necessary to protect creditors, heirs, legatees or devisees. The section does not say how the amount is fixed where a bond is required.
Does Indiana have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, and the limit turns on the date of death. For a death after the thirtieth of June 2022 the ceiling is one hundred thousand dollars, measured on the gross probate estate less liens, encumbrances and reasonable funeral expenses. Earlier deaths use fifty thousand or twenty-five thousand dollars. Forty-five days must have passed and no personal representative may be pending or appointed anywhere. A vehicle or watercraft title can be transferred five days after the death.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The Indiana General Assembly publishes the Code a whole chapter at a time as a PDF, so each citation below names the section to find within the chapter. All text was read from the Indiana Code 2026 compilation.
- Attorney fee — IC 29-1-10-13 iga.in.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · chapter PDF · unamended since Acts 1953 c.112 s.1013 · annual statutory re-check
- Personal representative’s compensation and the renunciation rule — IC 29-1-10-13 iga.in.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · same section as the attorney fee · annual statutory re-check
- Probate costs fee and the free filings — IC 33-37-4-7 iga.in.govVerified 10 Aug 2026 · amended by P.L.106-2025 SEC.5 · annual statutory re-check
- The seven add-on fees — IC 33-37-5-20, -21, -21.2, -25, -26(d), -27 and -31 iga.in.govVerified 10 Aug 2026 · whole chapter read at source · the judicial salaries fee is shown at its terminal band, which is the printed endpoint of the phase-in · counter total computed from the printed components
- Publication and the claim deadlines — IC 29-1-7-7 iga.in.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · amended through P.L.50-2025 SEC.1 · annual statutory re-check
- Bond — IC 29-1-11-1 iga.in.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · IC 29-1-11-5 and 29-1-11-6, which govern the amount, were not read
- Small-estate affidavit and its date-of-death bands — IC 29-1-8-1 iga.in.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · amended through P.L.151-2022 SEC.1 · on the re-check calendar
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Indiana. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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