Montgomery County Probate Venue
Montgomery County does not have a separate local probate court page. The State Court Structure Map and Montgomery local rules place all probate actions or proceedings with Montgomery Superior Court II. That court is part of the county's trial-court system at the courthouse in Crawfordsville, while the Clerk of the Circuit Court remains the records and filing counter for probate case files, copies, and certified documents.
Superior Court II also handles several related case types, including civil, domestic relations, collection, small claims, traffic, and ordinance matters. Probate is important to separate from those other case types because estate and guardianship files often include documents that may not be viewable online even when the case itself appears in MyCase.
The Montgomery Superior Court II page is the local court source for the room, judge, phone, and general case-type role tied to Montgomery County probate records.
Superior Court II is the local court venue identified for Montgomery County probate records.
The court page helps confirm that probate research should focus on Superior Court II and the Clerk's records counter.
Montgomery Superior Court II
Judge: Hon. Daniel Petrie
100 E Main St., Room 303
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
765-364-6455
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Clerk: Sondra Sixberry
100 E Main St., Room 102
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
765-364-6430
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Montgomery Probate Terms
Probate files use terms that can be hard to read without context. The words below appear often in estate and guardianship records, and they affect who may ask for copies, who can sign papers, and which court orders matter most.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- A person named in a will to carry out estate duties after appointment by the court.
- Intestate
- The condition of dying without a valid will, which sends property through Indiana succession rules.
- Guardianship
- A court case appointing a person to act for a minor or protected adult.
- Conservatorship
- A term often used for financial protection of a person's property, though Indiana records may use guardianship language.
- Letters
- Court-issued proof that a personal representative or guardian has authority to act.
Search Montgomery County Probate Records
Indiana MyCase can show non-confidential probate or guardianship case data when the case is indexed for public access. Search by case number when possible. If the case number is unknown, search by a decedent, petitioner, personal representative, guardian, or interested-party name. Date of birth is less useful in probate work because it may not be recorded for all parties and can exclude records when the portal has no matching DOB field.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options or Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Number | Text | Optional | Use a known estate or guardianship case number in MyCase. |
| Party Last Name / Business Name | Text | Conditional | Search decedent, petitioner, personal representative, guardian, or interested party where indexed. |
| First / Middle / DOB | Text/date | Conditional | DOB may not be recorded in probate and can narrow results too far. |
| Court | Dropdown | Optional | Limit to Montgomery Superior Court II if the option is available. |
| Case Type | Dropdown | Optional | Use probate, estate, or guardianship categories if available. |
| Status / File Date | Dropdown/date | Optional | Filter open or closed cases and filing date ranges. |
- Search Indiana MyCase by case number if it is known.
- Use party-name search for a decedent, petitioner, personal representative, guardian, or business name.
- Filter by Montgomery Superior Court II or probate case type only after broad searches return too many results.
- Open the case and review the court, case number, status, parties, event history, hearings, and available documents.
- Contact the Clerk if a will, order, letters, or accounting is not linked online.
Note: A missing document link in MyCase means the document is not online; it does not always mean the document is confidential.
Montgomery Probate Record Contents
Probate records can include estate petitions, will filings, orders admitting a will, letters testamentary, letters of administration, inventories, creditor notices, claims, accountings, objections, hearings, final distribution papers, and closing documents. Guardianship files can include petitions, guardian appointments, reports, accountings, restricted medical or personal details, and orders about a protected person's care or finances.
Indiana public-record guidance says wills are not usually available online, but they may be available in the clerk's office if filed. Certified copies of wills, letters, estate orders, and guardianship orders should be requested from the clerk in the county where the case is heard. For Montgomery County, that means the Clerk's Office at the courthouse.
The Montgomery small claims and forms page is not a probate packet, but it shows how local court forms and linked self-help resources are organized through county court pages.
Local form pages help show the filing environment that probate users may encounter at the courthouse.
Because no Montgomery probate packet was located, users should confirm estate-specific form needs with the Clerk or counsel.
Montgomery Probate Fee References
No Montgomery-specific probate filing-fee page was located in the official research. Probate filing fees should be checked against the Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual and confirmed with the Clerk before filing. This matters because estate, guardianship, copy, certification, and other court costs can differ by case type and document need.
| Probate item | Amount or reference |
|---|---|
| Estate or probate filing fee | Use Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual; confirm with Clerk |
| Guardianship filing fee | Use Indiana Trial Court Fee Manual; confirm with Clerk |
| Certified copy of will or estate order | Confirm current copy and certification cost with Clerk |
| Letters testamentary or administration copy | Confirm with Clerk before requesting |
| Older or non-digitized estate file search | Confirm search and copy handling with Clerk |
Restricted Montgomery Probate Records
Some probate-related records are public, but not all documents are open online. Guardianship files may involve minors, protected adults, medical facts, financial account data, or reports that are restricted under court access rules. Adoption records are confidential in Indiana and are not searched as ordinary probate records. Juvenile records also have strict confidentiality limits.
Indiana juvenile confidentiality law appears in Indiana Code Title 31, Article 39, and the Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records exclude many sensitive records from public access. If a probate case concerns a minor or protected person, expect narrower public access and possible proof-of-authority requirements before copies are released.
Indiana juvenile-record law is one reason some guardianship-related Montgomery County probate records are not fully public.
That restriction context helps explain why MyCase and clerk access can differ for probate and guardianship matters.
Certified Montgomery Probate Copies
Certified probate copies are often needed to transfer property, close accounts, prove a personal representative's authority, handle insurance claims, or show guardianship authority. The online case record may help identify the correct case number and document title, but the certified copy itself comes from the Clerk. Requesters should provide names, case number if known, document type, copy count, contact details, and payment method instructions.
When a will or estate file is older, the case may not be fully digitized. Direct clerk contact is the fallback channel for older files, courthouse-only documents, and records that are public but not linked in MyCase. Marriage, divorce, and name-related probate questions may also overlap with Montgomery County marriage and divorce records, but the probate case file remains a separate court record.