Married couples whose assets are held jointly, are likely to have their assets automatically transferred to their surviving spouse upon death. Real estate held in both names, joint bank accounts, and personal property are some items that are transferred from the deceased spouse to the surviving spouse relatively easily.
Sometimes a spouse will have an account or a vehicle in his or her name only. The size of the account or the value of the vehicle impacts what steps need to be taken to transfer the property to their heirs.
In Indiana, if probate assets (property that passes through a Will) total less than $50,000.00, then the property can be transferred to the decedent’s heirs through a Small Estate Affidavit. This process is significantly less expensive and time consuming than administering a probate estate through the Court.
To transfer a certificate of title without administration see “Transferring a Title” Form 18733: https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/title-forms/
Indiana Legal Help (IndianaLegalHelp.org) provides free assistance with small estates forms: https://indianalegalhelp.org/court-forms/forms-small-estate/
If you need assistance with an Estate that is more than $50,000.00, if you are uncertain if the estate qualifies as a small estate, or if you need assistance with the small estate forms, we can help.