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This Indiana Small Estate Affidavit Form or Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property is pursuant to Indiana Code Section 29-1-8.
It can be used when the deceased’s estate is worth less than $25,000 and there has been no executor appointed or a probate case filed. It can be used to claim a share of the estate, to claim a debt owed to the deceased, or to claim an insurance death benefit.
When can I use this affidavit?
You must wait 45 days after the date of death to complete this affidavit and submit it to the office.
You must also notify all heirs in writing that you are completing the affidavit. It must be notarized by an Indiana notary public. The notary public will confirm your identity and witness your signature, but this does not establish that you are a true heir to the estate.
How to Write
- Enter the county.
- Enter your full legal name.
- Enter your mailing address.
- Enter your residence address (this may be the same).
- Enter the names, relationships, addresses, and shares of the estate due for all the heirs.
- Enter the name of the deceased.
- Enter the date of death.
- Attach a copy of the death certificate.
- Take this affidavit to an Indiana notary public. The notary public will verify your identity (usually through a government-issued identification document such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID), witness your signature, enter the date, and apply his or her seal.
Present this affidavit to the person, bank, corporation, or entity who is currently in possession of the assets or who owes a debt to the deceased in order to claim your share.
Things to Remember
- If a motor vehicle or watercraft (as defined in IC 9-13-2-198.5) is part of the estate, nothing in this section shall prohibit a transfer of the certificate of title to the motor vehicle if five (5) days have elapsed since the death of the decedent and no appointment of a personal representative is contemplated. A transfer under this subsection shall be made by the bureau of motor vehicles upon receipt of an affidavit containing a statement of the conditions required by subsection (b)(1) and (b)
