Hearing and notice; final distribution; unknown heirs;
intermediate account
Sec. 6. (a) Upon the filing of any account in a decedent's estate,
hearing and notice thereof shall be had as set forth in this section.
(b) If the account is for final settlement the court or clerk shall set
a date by which all objections to such final account and petition for
distribution must be filed in writing and the clerk shall give notice to
all persons entitled to share in the final distribution of said estate that
a final report has been filed and will be acted upon by the court on
the date set unless written objections are presented to the court on or
before that date. The personal representative shall at the time said
account is filed furnish to the clerk the names and addresses of all
persons entitled to share in the distribution of the residue of said
estate, whose names and addresses are known to the personal
representative or may by reasonable diligence be ascertained as set
forth in the personal representative's petition for distribution,
together with sufficient copies of said notice prepared for mailing.
The clerk shall send a copy of said notice by ordinary mail to each of
said parties at least fourteen (14) days prior to such date. Said parties
or their attorney of record may waive the service by mail of this
notice and where there is an attorney of record, service upon said
attorney shall be sufficient as to the parties represented by said
attorney. Neither a notice nor a hearing is required if all persons
entitled to share in the final distribution of the estate waive the
service of notice by mail and consent to the final account and petition
for distribution without a hearing.
(c) If a person entitled to share in the distribution of the residue
of the estate is unknown or cannot be located, the personal
representative may give notice by one (1) publication in a newspaper
of general circulation, published in the county in which the
administration is pending. The deadline for filing an objection is
fourteen (14) days before the hearing date. The notice shall state that
objections to the final account and petition for distribution must be
filed in writing before the hearing date.
(d) If the account is intermediate, but the personal representative
has therein petitioned the court that said account be made final as to
the matters and things reported in said account, the same procedure
as to hearing and notice shall be followed as in the case of a final
account.
(e) If the account is intermediate and the personal representative
makes no request that said account may be made final as to the
matters and things reported in said account, the court may order such
notice as the court deems necessary or approve the same ex parte and
without notice. Every such intermediate account approved without
notice shall be subject to review by the court at any time and shall
not become final until the personal representative's account in final
settlement is approved by the court.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.1606; Acts 1955, c.258, s.8; Acts
1975, P.L.288, SEC.35.) As amended by P.L.118-1997, SEC.24;
P.L.252-2001, SEC.24; P.L.1-2002, SEC.125.
Last modified: May 27, 2006