Annual Trust Accounting Requirements in Indiana

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The annual statement is automatic but short

Indiana Code § 30-4-5-12(a) requires a trustee to deliver a written statement of accounts annually to each income beneficiary or that beneficiary's personal representative. The trust terms may provide otherwise, and an adult competent beneficiary may waive the statement in writing.

The duty sits within the ordinary-trust scope stated in § 30-4-1-1. Under § 30-4-1-4, the article and later amendments apply to older trusts subject to its four protections against changing intended rights, duties, or liabilities.

The minimum annual statement is narrower than a verified court account. It lists all receipts and disbursements since the last statement and every item of trust property held on the statement date at inventory value. Section 30-4-5-12(a) does not require current market value, a beneficiary roster, trustee addresses, or a separate distribution plan in the ordinary annual statement.

A court account uses the longer financial schedule

Under § 30-4-5-12(c), a settlor, beneficiary or personal representative, a person given advisory or supervisory power, or another person interested in administration or benefits may petition for a verified court account. The petition may be filed at any time, but without good cause the court may not require a statement more than once a year. A trustee separately is entitled to court review and settlement of the administration accounts under § 30-4-3-18(b).

Section 30-4-5-13(a) requires the court account to show the covered period, prior principal, itemized principal and income activity, closing principal and income, how the balance is invested, and both inventory and current market values. It also adds a trust-compliance statement, living-beneficiary information, possible unborn or unascertained interests, and trustee addresses. The court may demand supporting proof or accept an unqualified CPA certificate under § 30-4-5-13(b).

Continuing court supervision is opt-in

Indiana does not place every trust under continuing court supervision. Section 30-4-6-2 says that continuing jurisdiction exists only when the settlor expressly directs it in the trust terms. When that jurisdiction exists, § 30-4-5-12(d) requires the verified § 30-4-5-13 account every two years, with additional filings for good cause.

Information rights and revocable trusts need separate treatment

Section 30-4-3-6(b)(6)-(8) requires clear and accurate trust accounts. On written request, current income beneficiaries and specified next income beneficiaries may access accounting and financial records, and after irrevocability an income beneficiary or remainderman may request the trust instrument.

The trust may restrict information rights for a stated period under § 30-4-3-6(c). Even then, § 30-4-3-6(e) preserves a limited accounting demand or petition for an adult beneficiary who learns material trust information from a source other than the trustee. While a revocable settlor has capacity, however, § 30-4-3-1.3(a) makes beneficiary rights subject to the settlor's control and makes the trustee's duties exclusive to the settlor.

Delivery and legal effect depend on what happens next

Under § 30-4-6-6.5, permitted methods include first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to a last-known residence or business, or agreed electronic delivery or access. The method must be reasonably suitable and likely to result in receipt. Electronic delivery requires prior agreement or a method reasonably calculated to protect the message or nonpublic information. Section 30-4-5-12(e) supplies a receipt presumption when the trustee has mailing or delivery procedures, including agreed electronic delivery or access.

Mere receipt does not discharge the trustee. Under § 30-4-5-14(a), discharge as to an annual statement occurs only when the beneficiary or personal representative approves it in writing, and then only as to that beneficiary and disclosed matters. For a court account, responsive-pleading timing follows the Indiana Rules of Procedure and objections ordinarily must be specific under § 30-4-5-14. Under § 30-4-5-15(a), the judgment is final and binding on parties subject to the court's jurisdiction, subject to appeal.

A petition is the direct accounting remedy

The direct statutory remedy is the § 30-4-5-12(c) petition for a verified account. Under § 30-4-3-11(a)-(b), the trustee is also accountable for the trust estate and, when a reporting failure amounts to breach of trust and causes the required harm, permits recovery of loss or depreciation, trustee profit, reasonable lost profit, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the beneficiary in the breach action. The surveyed sections state no automatic monetary fine or forfeiture for a missed annual statement.

What trips people up

• Inventory value is enough for the ordinary annual statement. Current market values and the longer schedules belong to the verified court account under § 30-4-5-13.
• Indiana states no automatic final or change-of-trustee report. A termination, resignation, removal, or vacancy can lead to a voluntary or petitioned court settlement, but §§ 30-4-5-12 to -15 do not make those events independent automatic delivery triggers.
• Written approval has legal consequences. Under § 30-4-5-14(a), approving the annual statement in writing discharges the trustee as to the approving beneficiary for disclosed matters.
• Biennial court filing is not the default. It applies only when the settlor expressly chose continuing court jurisdiction under § 30-4-6-2.

Common questions

Can a beneficiary waive Indiana's annual statement?

Yes. Section 30-4-5-12(a) permits an adult competent beneficiary to waive it in writing. The section does not state a method for withdrawing that waiver, so do not assume a withdrawal rule from another state's trust code.

Does an Indiana annual trust statement need current market values?

Not the ordinary beneficiary statement. It uses inventory value under § 30-4-5-12(a). A verified court account must show both inventory and current market values of investments under § 30-4-5-13(a)(5).

Must the trustee file the annual statement in court?

No. Direct delivery to income beneficiaries is the ordinary route. Court filing arises from a qualifying petition, the trustee's request for review and settlement, or expressly directed continuing jurisdiction under §§ 30-4-5-12(c)-(d), 30-4-3-18(b), and 30-4-6-2.

Does sending the statement automatically release the trustee?

No. Section 30-4-5-14(a) ties discharge to the beneficiary's written approval, not mere receipt, and limits it to disclosed matters as to that beneficiary.

Statutes and sources

• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-1-1 and 30-4-1-4 — article scope, exclusions, and application to older trusts and amendments. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_30/Article_4/Chapter_1.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10)
• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-3-1.3, 30-4-3-6, 30-4-3-11, and 30-4-3-18 — revocable- settlor rule, records and information duties, breach liability, and trustee's court-settlement right. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_30/Article_4/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10)
• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-5-12 to 30-4-5-15 — annual and court accounting triggers, contents, approval, objections, and judgment. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_30/Article_4/Chapter_5.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10)
• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-6-2 and 30-4-6-6.5 — continuing jurisdiction and delivery methods, including agreed electronic access. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_30/Article_4/Chapter_6.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10)