Perry County Probate Records Overview
Probate venue in Perry County is the Probate Division of Perry Circuit Court. The research did not locate a standalone official Perry probate court page. Perry local rules and the state court structure map instead show one court of record: Perry Circuit Court. That means probate records should be searched in Indiana MyCase and requested from the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk when a public document is not online.
Perry County probate records may include estate cases, wills filed for probate, guardianships, trusts, inventories, creditor notices, orders appointing personal representatives, accountings, sale or distribution orders, and final closing orders. Adoption records should not be treated as ordinary public probate files. Indiana Title 31 gives adoption records special confidentiality rules, and guardianship files may contain medical, financial, minor, or protected personal information.
Probate Division of Perry Circuit Court
2219 Payne Street
Tell City, IN 47586
Court: 812-547-7048
Clerk: 812-547-3741
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Central
Perry County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that are easy to misread in a case search. A brief definition check helps separate an estate file from a guardianship, a trust matter, or a request for certified copies. These words may appear in the case caption, docket entries, orders, or clerk notes.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Executor
- A person named to carry out a will; Indiana orders may also use personal representative.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, so property passes under state law.
- Guardianship
- A court case appointing a person to handle care or decisions for a minor or protected adult.
- Conservatorship
- A protective financial role; local records may use guardianship or protective proceeding terms.
- Inventory
- A filing that lists estate property or assets under court administration.
Search Perry County Probate Records
Start with Indiana MyCase. Search by the estate name, decedent's last name, case number, or party name. If the court dropdown offers Perry Circuit Court, selecting it can reduce statewide results. File-date filters may help when the filing year is known. MyCase is useful for public case information, but the official record and certified copies come from the clerk.
- Search by case number if one is known from an estate notice, attorney letter, or prior court paper.
- Search by party name or decedent name when the case number is not known.
- Use the Perry Circuit Court filter if the MyCase court list provides it.
- Review public docket entries for appointment orders, inventories, notices, accountings, and closing orders.
- Call the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk if a document is not linked or a certified probate copy is needed.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyCase search mode | Tab | Yes | By Case, By Party, or By Attorney. |
| Estate or decedent name | Party text | Usually | Use last name when no case number is known. |
| Case number | Text | No | Use exact number; wildcard only at the end. |
| Court | Dropdown | No | Select Perry Circuit Court if available. |
| Category | Filter | No | Use civil or probate-related category if exposed. |
| File date | Date range | No | Helpful for estates filed in a known period. |
Perry County Estate Case Records
A probate case usually starts when a person with standing files an estate, guardianship, trust, or related petition in Perry Circuit Court through the clerk. Estate filings often identify the decedent, heirs or beneficiaries, nominated personal representative, any will, estimated assets, and the authority requested from the court. The court may issue orders appointing a representative, admitting a will, setting notice, approving an inventory, addressing creditor claims, authorizing a sale, approving distribution, or closing the estate.
The Indiana Access to Public Records Act title is assigned in the manifest as a probate page source because public-record access applies when probate filings are not otherwise confidential.
Access rules do not make every probate paper available online; they provide the legal framework for asking the clerk for public records.
Perry County Probate Fees
The research did not locate a Perry-specific probate filing-fee page or court-copy fee schedule. The safest content path is to say what was found and direct users to the clerk before filing or ordering copies. Perry local rules do provide transcript fee limits for indigent transcripts, and those are included because they are official local fee facts.
Before mailing a probate filing or copy request, confirm the current fee, accepted payment form, and whether the clerk needs extra copies for service or return. A request for an estate document should name the decedent or protected person, the case number if known, the filing year, the document requested, and whether the copy must be certified. Those details help the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk separate an estate, guardianship, trust, or older archived matter from similar names in the court index.
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Probate filing fee | Not located | Confirm with the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Certified probate copy | Not located | Confirm copy and certification fees before ordering. |
| Transcript, indigent maximum | $4.50/page | Perry local rule LR62-AR00-5. |
| Minimum transcript fee | $40 | Perry local rule LR62-AR00-5. |
Restricted Perry County Probate Records
Probate case information is generally court-record information unless a filing or case type is confidential. Guardianship files may include medical records, financial details, minor information, personal identifiers, or protected adult information. Those details may be redacted or excluded from online access under Indiana court access rules. Adoption is governed by Indiana Title 31 and should be treated as confidential unless a statute or court order allows release.
Older probate files or documents that are not linked in MyCase require clerk contact. The clerk can explain whether the record is public, whether a copy is available, and whether certification can be issued. The clerk cannot advise whether someone should open an estate, contest a will, ask for guardianship, or challenge a filed accounting.
Federal bankruptcy can overlap with estate assets, but bankruptcy records are not Perry County probate records. The manifest assigns the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana as a federal boundary source.
Use the federal bankruptcy court for bankruptcy dockets and Perry Circuit Court for local estate and guardianship files.
Perry County Probate Court Boundaries
Some disputes involving estates may lead to a separate federal case, but that does not move the Perry County probate file out of the local court. Federal civil cases for Perry County are in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. PACER, federal CM/ECF, and the federal district court are separate from Indiana MyCase and the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk.
A local estate docket, will filing, guardianship order, or certified probate copy still comes from Perry Circuit Court and its clerk unless the requested record is part of a separate federal action.