Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Re: Sister passed with no will

If your sister's property was valued at more than $25,000, someone will need to be appointed personal representative to administer the estate, pay creditors and distribute the property to those entitled (parents & siblings or nieces & nephews if siblings are deceased). Your mortgage company did not bother to tell you that you need to get good title to the real estate to either keep it or sell it (now or in the future) and the way this is done is by probating the estate or filing an affidavit of survivorship if the entire property owed by the decedent (real estate, furnishings, vehicle, cash, deposits in bank) is less than $25,000. You need to contact a local attorney to probate the estate. The heirs are not liable for the debts, but the property is before it gets to them, and there will be inheritance tax to be paid.

Re: Sister passed with no will

If your sister was a resident of Indiana and died without a will, and she had no surviving children, grandchildren or spouse, then her siblings (and the children of predeceased siblings) will inherit. One of you needs to open an estate so you can administer the real property. You can learn more about the property by contacting the township assessor's office and then by looking up the deed at the county recorder's office. The public servants in those offices will probably cheerfully help you. You should confer with a local attorney about opening the estate. If you do not know an attorney you like, then contact the county bar association for a referral.