Estate planning is not just for retirement or substantial wealth. It is an opportunity to decide how you would like to provide for the people who matter to you and what should happen to your property after your death.
A will can be an important starting point, whether you are raising children, own a home, have family heirlooms, or want to leave property to someone outside your immediate family. In Indiana, a person generally must be at least 18 and of sound mind to make a will.1
What Happens without a Will?
When you die without a valid will, Indiana's intestacy laws generally determine who inherits your probate property: property that passes through your estate rather than through a separate transfer arrangement. Those rules may not match your wishes.2
For example, a surviving spouse does not necessarily inherit the entire probate estate when the deceased spouse also leaves children. Additional rules apply to certain blended families. The absence of a will does not mean the state automatically receives your property; Indiana law first identifies eligible family members who may inherit.2
A family tradition alone may not ensure that a treasured heirloom goes to a particular child or grandchild. A properly drafted will can identify the intended recipient of property passing under the will.
What Can Your Will Accomplish?
Your will can identify beneficiaries, make specific gifts, and direct who receives the remainder of your probate estate. It can also nominate a personal representative, sometimes called an executor, to administer the estate. That person must qualify and be appointed before acting in that role.3
A gift under a will is not necessarily paid or delivered immediately at death. Estate administration may involve collecting assets, addressing debts and expenses, and distributing property under the will and applicable law.3
Your choices must also account for legal protections, including a surviving spouse's right to elect against a will and protections for certain children born or adopted after the will was signed.2
A Will Does Not Control Every Asset
Some property may pass outside your will. Examples include life insurance and retirement benefits with valid beneficiary designations, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, and property owned with a right of survivorship. The applicable account, policy, ownership arrangement, and law determine the transfer. 4
Changing your will generally does not change those arrangements. Review your beneficiary designations and ownership records alongside your will so they work together. For example, Indiana law does not permit a will or trust to revoke or modify a transfer-on-death deed.4
Planning for Minor Children
Parents can use a will to nominate a guardian to be considered if a guardianship becomes necessary. The nomination is not an automatic appointment: the court considers the child's best interests and other requirements under Indiana law.5
It is also worth deciding who should manage a child's inheritance. The person you prefer to care for your child may not be the same person you would choose to manage money. Discuss both responsibilities, and possible backup choices, with your attorney.
Using a Trust to Manage an Inheritance
A will can establish a testamentary trust that takes effect at death. A trust is a legal arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages property for beneficiaries according to the trust's terms. Assets passing into a testamentary trust under your will ordinarily remain subject to estate administration; creating the trust does not, by itself, avoid probate.3,6
For example, your will could direct a trustee to hold $50,000 for your child, use the funds for qualifying education expenses, and distribute any remaining balance at a specified age. The terms should also address what happens if the child does not attend college or dies before the final distribution.
The key distinction is an outright gift versus a gift held in trust. An outright gift generally places the property under the beneficiary's control once it is properly distributed and the beneficiary can legally manage it. A trust can provide ongoing management and tailored distribution instructions, subject to applicable law.6
Providing for Pets
Your planning can include identifying a willing caregiver and arranging funding for your pet's care. Indiana permits a trust to provide for an animal that is alive during the trust creator's lifetime. An attorney can help you decide whether a pet trust fits your circumstances. 7
What About Taxes?
Indiana currently imposes neither an inheritance tax nor a state estate tax. Federal estate taxes and income-tax obligations may still matter, depending on your circumstances. A trust does not automatically reduce taxes; its tax treatment depends on how it is structured and funded. Consider its management benefits, costs, and tax consequences together.8
Making a Valid Will
A will must be properly executed, not just written. A conventional written Indiana will generally requires the testator's signature and at least two witnesses, following the required procedures. Having a notary acknowledge a signature alone does not replace those witness requirements.1
An attorney can help tailor the document to your circumstances and arrange proper execution. After signing, keep the original in a secure location and tell a trusted person where it can be found.
Review Your Plan as Life Changes
Review your estate plan after marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a death in the family, a move to another state, or a significant change in property or finances. A review does not always require a new will, but it can identify instructions that no longer fit.
Divorce affects provisions in an existing Indiana will that favor a former spouse, but it does not replace a complete estate-plan review. Beneficiary designations should be reviewed separately. You can generally revise or replace a will while you have the required legal capacity, but changes must follow applicable formalities. Do not rely on handwritten edits to an existing will.1,4
Do Not Overlook Incapacity Planning
A will addresses matters after death; it does not authorize someone to manage your finances or make medical decisions while you are living. A financial power of attorney and a health-care advance directive address different needs. The latter can identify a health-care representative and communicate your treatment preferences. Discuss these documents as part of your overall plan.9
Start with a Plan That Fits Your Life
A useful estate plan begins with your family, your property, and your goals. Before meeting with an attorney, consider who should receive your property, who could handle estate responsibilities, and whether anyone inheriting from you would benefit from ongoing financial management.
Contact Podlaski LLP to discuss your will or trust-planning needs and available services and fees. Thoughtful planning today can give your loved ones clearer instructions when they need them.
Podlaski LLP 110 E. Berry St., Suite 101, Fort Wayne, IN 46802
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This article provides general information about Indiana law, not legal or tax advice for a particular situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult an attorney about your circumstances.
Legal Sources
Indiana Code (2026) and agency guidance reviewed September 22, 2026.
- Capacity, execution, and changes to a will. Indiana Code 29-1-5-1, 29-1-5-3, 29-1-5-6, and 29-1-5-8 (age and capacity, signatures and witnesses, revocation, and divorce).
- Intestacy and family protections. Indiana Code 29-1-2-1 and 29-1-2-4; Indiana Code 29-1-3-1 and 29-1-3-8 (statutory inheritance, spousal election, and certain after-born or adopted children).
- Personal representatives and estate administration. Indiana Code 29-1-10-1; Indiana Code 29-1-13-1 and 29-1-17-1 (appointment, collection and management of property, and distribution).
- Transfers outside a will. Indiana Code 32-17-14-16(g), (l); Indiana Code 32-17-11-18 through 32-17-11-21; IRS, Retirement Topics - Beneficiary (beneficiary designations and nonprobate account transfers).
- Guardianship nominations. Indiana Code 29-3-5-4 (parental requests, nominations in a will, and the child's best interests).
- Trusts and testamentary planning. Indiana Code 30-4-1-1 and 30-4-1-2; Indiana Code 30-4-2-1 and 30-4-2-12 (trust definitions, written terms, and lawful purposes). See also source 3 for estate administration.
- Pet trusts. Indiana Code 30-4-2-18 (trusts for care of an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime).
- Tax considerations. Indiana Department of Revenue, Departmental Notice 44; IRS, Estate Tax; IRS, About Form 1041 (Indiana tax repeal, federal estate tax, and income-tax reporting for estates and trusts).
- Incapacity planning. Indiana Code 30-5; Indiana Department of Health, Advance Directives Resource Center (financial powers of attorney and the health-care advance-directive framework under Indiana Code 16-36-7).
