How to Get Unsupervised Probate

Video

Hi folks, it’s Andy Stautz at Stautz law. We are back today with another topic, this time probate again. And today’s topic is: “how do you get unsupervised probate administration?” 

Types of Probate: Supervised vs. Unsupervised

So to back up. Probate is the orderly administration of a a person’s affairs after they’ve died.  

It comes in a couple different flavors. There’s supervised administration. Which is where you have to go to the probate court and ask permission before you do anything. “May we sell the house, please.” You know, “may we distribute this?” “May we pay this claim?” Supervised is very court-guided. Lots of time, more expensive, a total pain. 

Unsupervised, by contrast, is… you know, you file the paperwork to get the probate estate open, the court says “OK, you’re good to go” and then you’re on your own until you basically say at the end, “Hey, Court, we’re done.” The court says “good job.”  

So unsupervised is better. I mean, if there’s no conflict, we like to do it. So I like to be able to tell my clients. You know we’re going to, we’re going to try to do this unsupervised.  

Getting Approved for Unsupervised Probate

The question is, how do you get unsupervised probate? Can anyone do it?  

And the answer is no, not anybody. There’s a specific process.  

Indiana’s Default is Supervised Probate

In Indiana, supervised probate is the default. It’s what you get unless you qualify for unsupervised. As kind of an exception, right? You need to show the court “Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’ll be able to handle this.”  

Two Ways to Get Unsupervised Probate

So there’s a specific law, it’s in the Indiana Code 29-1-7.5-2. And it says, you know, conditions for unsupervised administration. There are two ways you can do it.  

Planning for Unsupervised Administration

One, you can plan in advance. (And this is something I do on the estate planning side.) I always recommend that someone’s Will include a clause that says “I authorize unsupervised administration” because if you say that, then the court’s gonna go “OK, sure, y’know, they asked for it.” So that’s the easy way.  

Consent to Unsupervised Administration

If you forget to do that, or you don’t have a will at all, you can still get unsupervised administration, but it’s a little harder. You need the consent of everybody concerned. Basically. 

So for me as a probate attorney, I prepare these little documents that go out. They’re mailers, basically, and I have to send them to each person: you know, each potential heir, and it says “my name is John Doe. I understand that we’re trying to do an unsupervised administration here. I’m OK with that. Go ahead.” And if everybody agrees it’s good, you’re good to go.  

But if even one person says no, I don’t want to do that. You know, guess what? Supervised administration for you.  

And so I try that often. When it works, great. You know, it takes a little longer than having it pre-authorized in the Will, but it’s equally effective.  

But again, it only takes one person to say Nope we can’t do it.  

Conclusion: Get Situation-Specific Advice

So that’s kind of the two routes to get unsupervised administration. Planning ahead is great. Getting consents works too, and if you call me to talk about a probate administration or estate planning, we will talk about, you know, which version is right in your situation. This was just kind of a general explainer, not legal advice for you. So. Give me a call or book an appointment online if you want to talk more about it, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this one. Thanks and bye.