If you’ve been named personal representative of a loved one’s estate, the house is often the biggest and most time-consuming piece. Our team helps you price, prepare and sell it, working alongside your attorney so the sale fits the probate process.
✔ Reviewed by Janet Giles-Schultz, Principal Broker · MIBOR member · Updated October 2026
Quick Answer
In Indiana, the court-appointed personal representative sells an estate home. In an unsupervised estate they can sell without a separate court order; in a supervised estate a court order is generally needed unless the will grants a power of sale. Our team prices, prepares and markets the home and coordinates with the estate attorney.
If you’ve been named personal representative of a loved one’s estate, the house is often the biggest and most time-consuming piece to settle. Our team at Your Realty Link helps personal representatives across Indianapolis and Central Indiana price, prepare and sell estate homes, working alongside your attorney so the sale fits the probate process. We’ll be patient, clear and organized, and we’ll keep every heir informed.
Note: We are real estate professionals, not probate attorneys. Everything below is general information about Indiana law; your estate attorney is the right person to advise on your situation.
The court appoints a personal representative (an executor if there’s a will, an administrator if there isn’t) and issues “letters” that prove that person’s authority. The personal representative takes possession of the estate’s real estate, keeps paying the taxes, keeps the home in repair, and may insure it (IC 29-1-13-1). The personal representative, not the individual heirs, signs the listing and the deed. How the sale works depends on whether the estate is supervised or unsupervised.
Unsupervised administration is available when the heirs or beneficiaries agree, the estate is solvent, and the court finds the personal representative qualified. A will can also authorize it. In an unsupervised estate, the personal representative can sell real estate at a public or private sale without a separate court order (IC 29-1-7.5-2, IC 29-1-7.5-3).
Supervised administration keeps the court more involved. Unless the will grants a power of sale, the personal representative petitions the court and gives notice to heirs and lienholders, and the court issues an order to sell. In a private sale, the price can’t be below the fair market value on record, and the court may require an appraisal (IC 29-1-15-2, IC 29-1-15-11, IC 29-1-15-13, IC 29-1-15-14). We build that court step into the listing plan from day one.
Your attorney decides when it makes sense to list. Time on the market depends on the home, its condition and the season.
If the house came to you directly instead (through a transfer on death deed or joint ownership), see selling an inherited house in Indiana. For the broader estate picture, see estate home sales.
Often, yes. Once you have letters, a personal representative in an unsupervised estate can sell without a separate court order, and a supervised estate can sell after the court approves it. Your attorney will advise you on timing around creditor claims.
In a supervised estate, generally yes, unless the will grants a power of sale. In an unsupervised estate, no separate court order is required to sell real estate.
No. Many estate homes sell as-is. Indiana's seller's disclosure form statute doesn't apply to sales by a personal representative administering an estate (IC 32-21-5-1), though other disclosure rules may still apply, so ask the estate's attorney.
Creditors generally have three months from the first published notice to file claims, and estates are expected to close within about a year of appointment. Supervised estates add a court step. We'll map a realistic timeline with you and your attorney.
Estate administration in Marion County is heard in Marion Superior Court, Court D08, at the Community Justice Campus, 675 Justice Way, Indianapolis.
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk with an Indiana attorney about your situation.
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