2023 Indiana Code › Title 29. Probate › Article 1. Probate Code › Chapter 7. Probate and Grant of Administration › 29-1-7-16.5. Notice of Will; Contest of Will Within 90 Days

Sec. 16.5. (a) A testator or a testator's agent at the testator's direction may send a written notice under this section to the following:
(1) Any person named as a beneficiary in the testator's will.
(2) Any person who would be entitled to inherit from the testator under IC 29-1-2-1 if the testator died intestate on the date the notice is received.
(3) Any person who the testator wishes to bar from contesting the validity of the testator's will under this chapter.
(b) If a testator's will includes a provision exercising a power of appointment, the testator or the testator's agent acting at the testator's direction may send a written notice that complies with this section to the following:
(1) Any person named in the exercise of the power of appointment as a beneficiary.
(2) Any person who would be entitled to receive property for which the testator exercises the power of appointment if the testator failed to validly exercise the power of appointment.
(3) A trustee of a trust holding property subject to the power of appointment.
(4) A person the testator wishes to be bound to the validity of the exercise of the power of appointment under the testator's will.
(c) A testator or a testator's agent must send a written notice under this section to a recipient described in subsection (a) in accordance with Rules 4.1 through 4.6 of the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure.
(d) A written notice under this section must include the following:
(1) A copy of the testator's will.
(2) The name and address of each person to whom the testator has sent the written notice.
(e) A person who wishes to contest the validity of the will must file a proceeding to contest the will within ninety (90) days after the receipt of the notice, unless the testator dies before the ninety (90) day period has elapsed.
(f) Transmission of notice under this section to a recipient at the recipient's last known address is prima facie evidence that notice was received, unless controverted by competent evidence to the contrary. A person is deemed to have received a written notice under this section if the written notice was sent to any person who under IC 29-1-1-20 may represent and bind that person.
(g) A person who receives a written notice under this section and wishes to contest the will or the testator's exercise of a power of appointment must file a proceeding in the court that would have subject matter jurisdiction of the testator's will, as a separate cause of action, not later than ninety (90) days after the person's receipt of the written notice.
(h) A proceeding to contest filed under subsection (g) must name the following persons, if the persons exist or are living, as party defendants:
(1) The testator.
(2) The testator's spouse.
(3) Any person who would be entitled to inherit under IC 29-1-2-1 if the testator died intestate on the date of the written notice sent under this section.
(4) Beneficiaries named or who are discernable as part of a class identified in the will.
(5) The primary personal representative nominated in the will.
(6) Any person who was sent a written notice under this section.
(i) A proceeding filed under subsection (g) must allege at least one (1) of the following:
(1) The will does not meet the requirements for the execution of a valid will under IC 29-1-5-3 or IC 29-1-21-4.
(2) The testator was of unsound mind at the time the will was executed.
(3) The will was unduly executed.
(4) The will was executed under duress or was obtained by fraud.
(5) Any other objection to the validity of the will, the probate of the will, or the testator's exercise of a power of appointment.
(j) If:
(1) a testator resided in Indiana at the time of death;
(2) a notice sent under subsection (c) was received by a person;
(3) ninety (90) days or more have passed after the person received the notice before the testator's death; and
(4) the person did not file a will contest under this section within ninety (90) days after the person's receipt of the notice;
that person is barred from filing a proceeding under section 17 of this chapter or under this section. That person may not seek relief as a co-plaintiff or intervenor in a proceeding commenced by another person under section 17 of this chapter or this section.
(k) If the testator dies before the end of the ninety (90) day period under subsection (e), the bar and limitation set forth under subsection (g) do not apply to the testator's will that was disclosed under subsection (d), and section 17 of this chapter applies to a will contest after the entry of an order admitting a will of the testator to probate.
(l) If the ninety (90) day period described in subsection (e) has not expired as of the date of the death of the testator, the bar and limitation under subsection (g) do not apply to the testator's will that was disclosed in the written notice.
(m) The failure of a testator to use the procedures or adhere to the requirements of this section may not be offered or cited as evidence that a will is not valid.
(n) Nothing in this section precludes a testator who provides a written notice under this section from executing a later will or codicil, but the written notice sent with respect to an earlier will or a proceeding under this section has no effect on a determination of the validity of the later will or codicil.
(o) Nothing in this section shall be construed as abrogating the right or cutting short the time period for a spouse to seek an elective share under IC 29-1-3-1.
As added by P.L.38-2023, SEC.3.