How to File a Guardianship Petition in Indiana

When Guardianship Becomes the Only Option

If your parent has lost cognitive capacity and never executed a Power of Attorney or Advance Directive, the probate court may be the path to legal authority for finances and other matters not covered by Indiana's health-care decision-maker hierarchy. No amount of family consensus or good intentions gives you the right to manage their finances without court approval, although health-care decisions may be governed by the statutory hierarchy.

Indiana's guardianship process under IC § 29-3 is deliberate — it's designed to protect the rights of the person alleged to be incapacitated. That means paperwork, hearings, and deadlines. Here's how the filing process works from start to finish.

Step 1: Determine the Correct Court

You file the guardianship petition in the circuit or superior court of the county where your parent currently lives. If they've been moved to a hospital or temporary facility in a different county, the petition still goes to their county of residence — not the county where the facility is located.

Each county's probate division has its own local rules on top of the statewide IC § 29-3 requirements. Marion County, Hamilton County, and Allen County all have specific formatting and scheduling requirements that can trip up filers who only follow the state statute. Check the clerk's website or call the probate clerk's office for local filing instructions before you prepare your petition.

Step 2: Obtain the Physician's Report

Before you file anything, you need a physician's evaluation. The court requires a completed Physician's Report (State Form 45670 or a county-specific variant) from a licensed physician who has personally examined your parent within three months of your filing date.

The report must document:

• The specific cognitive and physical diagnoses
• The severity of impairment
• Whether your parent is totally or partially incapable of making personal and financial decisions
• A medical opinion on whether less restrictive alternatives (like a Power of Attorney or Supported Decision-Making agreement) would be sufficient

If your parent refuses to see a doctor, you can request a court-ordered examination after filing the petition. But this adds time — plan on the evaluation delay extending your timeline by several weeks.

Step 3: Prepare the Petition

The verified Petition for Guardianship is the core document. It must include:

• Your parent's name, age, and address
• The specific reason you're seeking guardianship (total or partial incapacity)
• Whether you're seeking guardianship of the person, the estate, or both
• A complete list of your parent's known blood relatives and their addresses (the court may require this information for notice and the petition)
• A description of your parent's assets and income (for guardianship of the estate)
• Your qualifications to serve as guardian
• A statement that less restrictive alternatives have been considered and are insufficient

The petition must be verified — meaning you sign under penalty of perjury that the statements are true. Many counties have local forms available through the clerk's office or on the Indiana Judiciary website.

Step 4: File and Pay

File the petition with the clerk of the court. The standard filing fee is $177.00 across Indiana counties. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you can request a fee waiver by filing an Indigency Affidavit — the court will evaluate your financial situation and may waive or reduce the fee.

The court distinguishes between two case types:

• GU (Guardianship): Standard petitions for ongoing guardianship of the person, estate, or both. These are entered into Indiana's public Guardianship Registry.
• GM (Guardianship Miscellaneous): Used for single-transaction protective proceedings or confidential health disclosures under IC § 29-3-4. These stay off the public registry.

Step 5: Serve Notice

After filing, you must give notice of the petition and hearing through Indiana's E-filing System or by first-class postage-paid mail to required parties whose whereabouts can be determined after reasonable inquiry:

• The alleged incapacitated person (your parent)
• Your parent's spouse and adult children, or parents if there are no adult children
• Any person serving as guardian for, or having care and custody of, your parent
• Any person known to you to be serving as your parent's attorney-in-fact under a durable Power of Attorney
• Any other person the court directs

The notice must include a copy of the petition. Indiana's general notice statute does not impose blanket personal service on the parent; it specifies the notice methods above, subject to local court procedures. The court may also appoint a guardian ad litem — an independent attorney who represents your parent's interests and reports back to the court on whether guardianship is appropriate.

Step 6: Attend the Hearing

The court holds a formal evidentiary hearing where you must prove your parent's incapacity by clear and convincing evidence — a higher standard than the "preponderance" used in most civil cases. You'll need to present:

• The physician's report
• Testimony about your parent's daily functioning and decision-making capacity
• Evidence that less restrictive alternatives were considered
• Your plan for managing your parent's care and finances

Your parent has the right to attend the hearing, to have their own attorney, and to contest the petition. If they can't afford counsel, the court may appoint one.

If the court grants the petition, it issues Letters of Guardianship — the legal document that gives you authority to act. For guardianship of the estate, you'll generally also need to post a bond calculated from the aggregate guardianship property and one year's estimated income, less property the guardian cannot sell, convey, or encumber without a court order, and file a comprehensive asset inventory within 90 days.

The Full Timeline

From physician's evaluation to Letters of Guardianship, expect the standard process to take 60 to 90 days. Contested cases or those requiring a court-appointed evaluation can take longer. Emergency temporary guardianship under IC § 29-3-3-4 can be granted in days, but it's capped at 90 days and requires proving immediate, irreparable danger — see our guide to emergency guardianship in Indiana.

Total costs typically range from $3,000 to $10,000 or more, including the $177 filing fee, attorney fees, physician evaluation fees, bond premiums, and guardian ad litem fees. For a detailed cost breakdown, see cost of guardianship in Indiana.

Avoiding Guardianship Entirely

Guardianship is a last resort. If your parent still has the cognitive capacity to sign legal documents — even with early-stage dementia — a Durable Financial Power of Attorney and Healthcare Representative Appointment can provide the same authority without court involvement, at a fraction of the cost. The Indiana Power of Attorney & Guardianship Kit covers both tracks: voluntary planning documents for parents who can still sign, and the guardianship petition checklist for families who've passed that window.

See more Indiana guides →