Small Estate

This form may be helpful if you are the relative or close friend to a deceased person and are entitled to some portion of their belongings. Belongings may include but are not limited to money, personal items, vehicles, property, or other titled items. This form should not be filed with the court and should be submitted to the entities or businesses holding the deceased person’s items.

What are the qualifications?

1. The deceased person’s estate has a total value of $100,000 or less. Things that are owned jointly with someone else and assets that have a beneficiary (like life insurance) do not count toward the $100,000.
2. The person who died (the Decedent) passed away more than forty-five (45) days ago.
3. You understand that if someone else has rights to the same property, you have to pay them what they are owed.
4. You understand that any untruthful statements on this form is perjury and is punishable in court.
5. You understand that this form is not filed in court. After the form is completed, it is given to the entity (like the bank) that is holding the property.

Before Starting

We recommend you set aside 1 hour to complete all forms. Representing yourself in court should not be taken lightly, and there are many reasons why hiring an attorney is a good idea. If you do choose to represent yourself, click here for what you need to know.

Get Started

We’ve provided instructions on how to complete these forms on your own but representing yourself in court should not be taken lightly, and there are many reasons why hiring an attorney is a good idea. In fact, we suggest that even if you use the forms provided on this site that you still talk with an attorney before submitting them to a court to get the best result possible.

Complete the Small Estate form attached below. Use the instructions included in the form to complete the form.

Take the completed Small Estate Forms to the entity holding the deceased person’s items. You should contact the entity to make sure there are no additional procedures to follow in collecting the deceased person’s items.

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Representing yourself in court should not be taken lightly, and there are many reasons why hiring an attorney is a good idea. We suggest that even if you use the forms provided on this site that you still talk to an attorney before submitting the forms to a court to get the best result possible. Using the forms and legal information on this site does not make you a client of the Indiana Bar Foundation (Foundation) nor does the Foundation accept responsibility or liability for action taken by users of this information. Communication with Indiana Legal Help or the Foundation is not protected by attorney client privilege or the work product doctrine—that means information shared with Indiana Legal Help or the Foundation may be admissible in court.