Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 29-1-7-4 (2026)

Petitions; hearing

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaInd. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Sec. 4. (a) Any interested person or a personal representative named in the will may petition the court having jurisdiction of the administration of the decedent's estate:

(1) to have the will of such decedent, whether the same is written or is unwritten, is in his possession or not, is lost, destroyed, or without the state, probated;

(2) for the issuance of letters testamentary to the executor named in said will for the administration of said estate;

(3) for the appointment of an administrator with the will annexed if no executor is designated in said will or if the person so designated is not qualified, dead, or refuses to serve; or

(4) for the appointment of an administrator for the estate of any person dying intestate.

(b) A petition for probate may be combined with a petition for the issuance of letters testamentary, or as administrator with the will annexed, and a person interested in the probate of a will and in the administration of the estate may petition for both.

(d) No notice of the filing of, and hearing on, the petition described in this section shall be given to or served upon any person. If the petition described herein is filed in term time, it shall be heard forthwith by the court, and if filed in vacation, it shall be heard by the judge of said court if present, or in his absence by the clerk of the said court.

(e) If:

(1) an interested person petitions for the appointment of an administrator for the estate of a person dying intestate; and

(2) a petition to dissolve the marriage of the decedent and the decedent's spouse is pending in an Indiana court or the court of another state at the time of the decedent's death;

the court may not appoint the decedent's spouse to be the administrator of the decedent's estate.

(f) Subsection (e) does not apply to a petition for appointment of an administrator for the estate of a person dying intestate if the application of subsection (e) is waived in an agreement signed by each person, except a person who is incapacitated or a minor, who is eligible for a distribution from the decedent's net estate under IC 29-1-2-1. A waiver may be submitted to the court at any time before the appointment of an administrator.

Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.704. As amended by P.L.182-1999, SEC.1.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2023 · leading case: Indiana Farmers Mut. Ins. v. Richie, 707 N.E.2d 992 (Ind. 1999).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Indiana Farmers Mut. Ins. v. Richie, 707 N.E.2d 992 (Ind. 1999). · cites it 4× “The majority in the Court of Appeals held that Richie’s claim was barred, reasoning that (1) Richie’s petition was not effective to open Smith’s estate because, after the statute of limitations had expired, he was not an “interested person” with standing to open the estate under…”

Farm Credit Servs. of Mid Am. v. Est. of Decker, 624 N.E.2d 491 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 4× “Ind. Code §§ 29-1-7-4 ; 29-1-1-3. FCS took no such action to protect its interest.”

Indiana Farmers Mut. Ins. v. Richie, 694 N.E.2d 1220 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 8× “Under Indiana Code Section 29-1-7-4, "[a]ny interested person .”

Gatlin Plumbing & Heating, Inc. v. Est. of Yeager, 921 N.E.2d 18 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “I.C. § 29-1-7-4. Thus, as the trial court correctly noted, Gatlin could have opened an estate as an "interested party," but failed to do so.”

Matter of Est. of Wilson, 610 N.E.2d 851 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “Whether Ind.Code 29-1-7-4 is unconstitutional. We affirm.”

Pope ex rel. Smith v. Pope, 701 N.E.2d 587 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 29-1-7-4 (only “interested person” may petition for appointment of administrator).”

State Ex Rel. Fam. & Soc. Servs. Admin. v. Est. of Roy, 963 N.E.2d 78 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “I.C. § 29-1-7-4(a). This means that anyone having a claim against a deceased individual may petition to have an estate opened.”

Est. of Hunter ex rel. Hunter v. Young, 802 N.E.2d 1015 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “Appellees observe that pursuant to Indiana Code Section 29-1-7-4(a), "[aluy interested person .”

Davis v. City of Indianapolis (S.D. Ind. 2023). · cites it 2× “, Ind. Code § 29-1-7-4 . Defendants argue that even if Ms.”

Jason Tye Myers v. Charles R. Deets III, Deets & Kennedy, & Great Am. Ins. Grp. (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “1997); see also Ind. Code § 29-1-7-4 (a) (any interested person may petition court for appointment of administrator for estate of person who died without will).”

State of Indiana ex rel. Fam. & Soc. Servs. Admin. v. Est. of Phillip Roy (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “1(b) would provide an incentive to delay the opening of an estate until that time passed.”

— Ind. Code § 29-1-7-4(a) — 3 cases

State Ex Rel. Fam. & Soc. Servs. Admin. v. Est. of Roy, 963 N.E.2d 78 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). “I.C. § 29-1-7-4(a). This means that anyone having a claim against a deceased individual may petition to have an estate opened.”

Est. of Hunter ex rel. Hunter v. Young, 802 N.E.2d 1015 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). “Appellees observe that pursuant to Indiana Code Section 29-1-7-4(a), "[aluy interested person .”

State of Indiana ex rel. Fam. & Soc. Servs. Admin. v. Est. of Phillip Roy (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). “1(b) would provide an incentive to delay the opening of an estate until that time passed.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.