Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: in Indiana, an estate can skip administration using a small-estate affidavit when the gross probate estate is $100,000 or less — but that route covers personal property only. A house in the deceased person’s sole name does not pass by affidavit whatever the estate is worth, and that single fact decides most Indiana cases.
The affidavit route, and its limit
Indiana’s small-estate affidavit sits at Ind. Code §29-1-8-1, raised to $100,000 for deaths after June 30, 2022 (it was $50,000). There is a waiting period of 45 days after death before the affidavit can be presented. The ceiling is measured on the gross probate estate — only the assets that would have gone through probate in the first place, so a 401(k) with a living named beneficiary is not counted against it.
The real-estate problem
The affidavit does not transfer real property. If the house is titled in the deceased person’s sole name, the affidavit cannot move it, and the estate needs an administration to clear title even if everything else about it is small and uncontested. If the house was held jointly with right of survivorship, or by transfer-on-death deed, or in a funded trust, it is outside probate already and the question does not arise.
What probate costs in Indiana if it is required
Indiana sets no percentage schedule. Compensation for both the personal representative and the attorney is “just and reasonable” under Ind. Code §29-1-10-13. Many county courts publish local guideline schedules, but those are county practice, not statute — so the answer genuinely varies by county, and a guideline is a starting point for negotiation rather than a price. The full arithmetic is on Indiana probate cost.
The order to work through it
List what the deceased owned and how each item was titled. Remove everything with a living named beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a trust holding it. If what remains is personal property worth $100,000 or less, the affidavit is available after 45 days. If real property remains in sole name, plan on an administration.
The general rule: when probate is required. Thresholds elsewhere: small estate limits by state.
Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; fee statutes change and a court retains the final say on what is reasonable.