Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in Indiana
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Voluntary deposit of original will or codicil, regardless of known life status (IC 29-1-7-3.1(a), (c)–(d)). |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | Any person; clerk may rely on depositor's statement of execution-time residence (IC 29-1-7-3.1(b), (d)). |
| Proper court or clerk | Circuit court clerk of county where testator lived when will was executed (IC 29-1-7-3.1(d)). |
| Envelope and filing record | Clerk seals envelope before depositor; labels date, testator and depositor details; alphabetic index (IC 29-1-7-3.1(f)). |
| Fee and receipt | $25 and receipt; mandatory or discretionary waiver in specified circumstances (IC 29-1-7-3.1(d)–(f)). |
| Custody before death | Keep sealed; envelope and will are not public records (IC 29-1-7-3.1(f)–(g)). |
| Retrieval before death | Testator or person authorized by testator's signed writing (IC 29-1-7-3.1(g)). |
| Notice after death | No notice-to-persons step specified; notice of death prevents 100-year destruction (IC 29-1-7-3.1(i)). |
| Opening and release after death | Clerk may deliver will to court with estate jurisdiction (IC 29-1-7-3.1(h); 29-1-7-3(a)). |
Requirements one by one
Deposit and custody
Under § 29-1-7-3.1(a)–(d), a person may lodge an original will, codicil, or both with the circuit court clerk where the testator lived when the document was executed. The route applies even when no one knows whether the testator is alive. The clerk may accept the depositor's statement about the testator's residence without investigating it.
Under § 29-1-7-3.1(f), the clerk seals the document in an envelope in the depositor's presence, marks the deposit date and the names of the testator and depositor plus the depositor's address, indexes by testator name, and issues a receipt. The envelope and will are not public records. During the testator's life the clerk keeps the envelope sealed (§ 29-1-7-3.1(g)).
Fee and lifetime retrieval
The ordinary fee is $25 under § 29-1-7-3.1(d). Under § 29-1-7-3.1(e), the fee is waived when qualifying supreme court program certification accompanies the will and may be waived for a depositor no longer practicing law. During life, the clerk may deliver the envelope only to the testator or someone the testator authorizes in a signed writing (§ 29-1-7-3.1(g)).
After death
If the clerk still has the will after the testator dies, § 29-1-7-3.1(h) permits delivery to the court with jurisdiction over the estate. Under § 29-1-7-3(a), a custodian may deliver a deceased person's will to that court and must do so on written demand by the personal representative or court order.
What trips people up
The proper county is fixed by where the testator lived when the will was executed, not by the depositor's address (§ 29-1-7-3.1(d)). The clerk may destroy a deposited will only if no notice of the testator's death has arrived and at least 100 years have passed since deposit (§ 29-1-7-3.1(i)).
Common questions
Can an attorney deposit a former client's will when the client's life status is unknown? Yes. Section 29-1-7-3.1(a) makes the route available even if the testator's life status is unknown, and subsection (d) allows a person to deposit the will.
Does depositing the will make it public? No. Section 29-1-7-3.1(f) expressly excludes the deposited envelope and will from public records, and subsection (g) requires sealed custody while the testator is alive.
Statutes and sources
- Ind. Code §§ 29-1-7-3(a), 29-1-7-3.1(a)–(i): current official 2026 chapter text, quoted with source URL and access date above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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