IC 29-1-6
    Chapter 6. Construction of Wills, Renunciation of Interests, andDetermination of Heirship

IC 29-1-6-1
Construction of wills; rules
    Sec. 1. In the absence of a contrary intent appearing in the will,wills shall be construed as to real and personal estate in accordancewith the rules in this section.
    (a) Any estate, right, or interest in land or other things acquired bythe testator after the making of the testator's will shall pass as if titlewas vested in the testator at the time of making of the will.
    (b) All devises of real estate shall pass the whole estate of thetestator in the premises devised, although there are no words ofinheritance or of perpetuity, whether or not at the time of theexecution of the will the decedent was the owner of that particularinterest in the real estate devised. Such devise shall also pass anyinterest which the testator may have at the time of the testator's deathas vendor under a contract for the sale of such real estate.
    (c) A devise of real or personal estate, whether directly or in trust,to the testator's or another designated person's "heirs", "next of kin","relatives", or "family", or to "the persons thereunto entitled underthe intestate laws" or to persons described by words of similarimport, shall mean those persons (including the spouse) who wouldtake under the intestate laws if the testator or other designated personwere to die intestate at the time when such class is to be ascertained,domiciled in this state, and owning the estate so devised. Withrespect to a devise which does not take effect at the testator's death,the time when such class is to be ascertained shall be the time whenthe devise is to take effect in enjoyment.
    (d) In construing a will making a devise to a person or personsdescribed by relationship to the testator or to another, any personadopted prior to the person's twenty-first birthday before the death ofthe testator shall be considered the child of the adopting parent orparents and not the child of the natural or previous adopting parents.However, if a natural parent or previous adopting parent marries theadopting parent before the testator's death, the adopted person shallalso be considered the child of such natural or previous adoptingparent. Any person adopted after the person's twenty-first birthday bythe testator shall be considered the child of the testator, but no otherperson shall be entitled to establish relationship to the testatorthrough such child.
    (e) In construing a will making a devise to a person described byrelationship to the testator or to another, a person born out ofwedlock shall be considered the child of the child's mother, and alsoof the child's father, if, but only if, the child's right to inherit from thechild's father is, or has been, established in the manner provided inIC 29-1-2-7.
    (f) A will shall not operate as the exercise of a power ofappointment which the testator may have with respect to any real or

personal estate, unless by its terms the will specifically indicates thatthe testator intended to exercise the power.
    (g) If a devise of real or personal property, not included in theresiduary clause of the will, is void, is revoked, or lapses, it shallbecome a part of the residue, and shall pass to the residuary devisee.Whenever any estate, real or personal, shall be devised to anydescendant of the testator, and such devisee shall die during thelifetime of the testator, whether before or after the execution of thewill, leaving a descendant who shall survive such testator, suchdevise shall not lapse, but the property so devised shall vest in thesurviving descendant of the devisee as if such devisee had survivedthe testator and died intestate. The word "descendant", as used in thissection, includes children adopted during minority by the testator andby the testator's descendants and includes descendants of suchadopted children. "Descendant" also includes children of the motherwho are born out of wedlock, and children of the father who are bornout of wedlock, if, but only if, such child's right to inherit from suchfather is, or has been, established in the manner provided inIC 29-1-2-7. This rule applies where the parent is a descendant of thetestator as well as where the parent is the testator. Descendants ofsuch children shall also be included.
    (h) Except as provided in subsection (m), if a testator in thetestator's will refers to a writing of any kind, such writing, whethersubsequently amended or revoked, as it existed at the time ofexecution of the will, shall be given the same effect as if set forth atlength in the will, if such writing is clearly identified in the will andis in existence both at the time of the execution of the will and at thetestator's death.
    (i) If a testator devises real or personal property upon such termsthat the testator's intentions with respect to such devise can bedetermined at the testator's death only by reference to a fact or anevent independent of the will, such devise shall be valid and effectiveif the testator's intention can be clearly ascertained by taking intoconsideration such fact or event even though occurring after theexecution of the will.
    (j) If a testator devises or bequeaths property to be added to a trustor trust fund which is clearly identified in the testator's will andwhich trust is in existence at the time of the death of the testator,such devise or bequest shall be valid and effective. Unless the willprovides otherwise, the property so devised or bequeathed shall besubject to the terms and provisions of the instrument or instrumentscreating or governing the trust or trust fund, including anyamendments or modifications in writing made at any time before orafter the execution of the will and before or after the death of thetestator.
    (k) If a testator devises securities in a will and the testator thenowned securities that meet the description in the will, the deviseincludes additional securities owned by the testator at death to theextent the additional securities were acquired by the testator after thewill was executed as a result of the testator's ownership of the

described securities and are securities of any of the following types:
        (1) Securities of the same organization acquired because of anaction initiated by the organization or any successor, related, oracquiring organization, excluding any security acquired byexercise of purchase options.
        (2) Securities of another organization acquired as a result of amerger, consolidation, reorganization, or other distribution bythe organization or any successor, related, or acquiringorganization.
        (3) Securities of the same organization acquired as a result of aplan of reinvestment.
Distributions in cash before death with respect to a describedsecurity are not part of the devise.
    (l) For purposes of this subsection, "incapacitated principal"means a principal who is an incapacitated person. An adjudication ofincapacity before death is not necessary. The acts of an agent withinthe authority of a durable power of attorney are presumed to be foran incapacitated principal. If:
        (1) specifically devised property is sold or mortgaged by; or
        (2) a condemnation award, insurance proceeds, or recovery forinjury to specifically devised property are paid to;
a guardian or an agent acting within the authority of a durable powerof attorney for an incapacitated principal, the specific devisee has theright to a general pecuniary devise equal to the net sale price, theamount of the unpaid loan, the condemnation award, the insuranceproceeds, or the recovery.
    (m) A written statement or list that:
        (1) complies with this subsection; and
        (2) is referred to in a will;
may be used to dispose of items of tangible personal property, otherthan property used in a trade or business, not otherwise specificallydisposed of by the will. To be admissible under this subsection asevidence of the intended disposition, the writing must be signed bythe testator and must describe the items and the beneficiaries withreasonable certainty. The writing may be prepared before or after theexecution of the will. The writing may be altered by the testator afterthe writing is prepared. The writing may have no significance apartfrom the writing's effect on the dispositions made by the will. If morethan one (1) otherwise effective writing exists, then, to the extent ofa conflict among the writings, the provisions of the most recentwriting revoke the inconsistent provisions of each earlier writing.
    (n) A will of a decedent who dies after December 31, 2009, andbefore January 1, 2011, that contains a formula referring to:
        (1) the unified credit;
        (2) the estate tax exemption;
        (3) the applicable credit amount;
        (4) the applicable exclusion amount;
        (5) the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption;
        (6) the GST exemption;
        (7) the marital deduction;        (8) the maximum marital deduction;
        (9) the unlimited marital deduction;
        (10) the inclusion ratio;
        (11) the applicable fraction;
        (12) any section of the Internal Revenue Code:
            (A) relating to the:
                (i) federal estate tax; or
                (ii) generation-skipping transfer tax; and
            (B) that measures a share of:
                (i) an estate; or
                (ii) a trust;
            based on the amount that can pass free of federal estate taxesor the amount that can pass free of federalgeneration-skipping transfer tax law; or
        (13) a provision of federal estate tax or generation-skippingtransfer tax law that is similar to subdivisions (1) through (12);
refers to the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer taxlaws as they applied with respect to estates of decedents onDecember 31, 2009.
    (o) Subsection (n) does not apply to a will:
        (1) that is executed or amended after December 31, 2009; or
        (2) that manifests an intent that a contrary rule apply if thedecedent dies on a date on which there is no then applicablefederal estate or generation-skipping transfer tax.
    (p) If the federal estate or generation-skipping transfer taxbecomes effective before January 1, 2011, the reference to January1, 2011, in subsection (n) shall refer instead to the first date on whichthe tax becomes legally effective.
    (q) Within three (3) months following the latest to occur of the:
        (1) decedent's death;
        (2) fiduciary's appointment; or
        (3) enactment of this subsection;
the personal representative under a will to which subsection (n)applies shall give written notice regarding the affected beneficiary ofthe right to commence a proceeding under subsection (r) and to thepresent income beneficiary of any trust created under the will, of theexistence of this statute, and the beneficiary's right to commence aproceeding under subsection (r).
    (r) The personal representative of an affected beneficiary undera will described in subsection (n) may initiate a proceeding todetermine whether the decedent intended that a formula described insubsection (n) be construed with respect to the law as it existed afterDecember 31, 2009. A proceeding under this subsection must becommenced within nine (9) months after the death of the testator orgrantor.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.601; Acts 1967, c.77, s.1; Acts 1973,P.L.287, SEC.4.) As amended by P.L.152-1987, SEC.10;P.L.118-1997, SEC.12; P.L.238-2005, SEC.8; P.L.6-2010, SEC.6.

IC 29-1-6-2 Contest of wills; admission prevented; forfeiture of benefits
    Sec. 2. If, in any will admitted to probate in any of the courts ofthis state, there is a provision or provisions providing that if anybeneficiary thereunder shall take any proceeding to contest such willor to prevent the admission thereof to probate, or provisions to thateffect, such beneficiary shall thereby forfeit any benefit which saidwill made for said beneficiary, such provision or provisions shall bevoid and of no force or effect.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.602.)

IC 29-1-6-3
Restraint of marriage
    Sec. 3. A devise to a spouse with a condition in restraint ofmarriage shall stand, but the condition shall be void.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.603.)

IC 29-1-6-4
Repealed
    (Repealed by P.L.293-1983, SEC.2.)

IC 29-1-6-5
Construction of wills; petition
    Sec. 5. The court in which a will is probated shall havejurisdiction to construe it. Such construction may be made on apetition of the personal representative or of any other personinterested in the will; or, if a construction of the will is necessary tothe determination of an issue properly before the court, the court mayconstrue the will in connection with the determination of such issue.When a petition for the construction of a will is filed duringadministration of the estate, notice of the hearing thereon shall begiven to interested persons. If the estate has been closed prior to thefiling of such petition, notice shall be given as in civil actions.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.605.)

IC 29-1-6-6
Determination of heirship; good faith purchasers
    Sec. 6. (a) At any time during the administration of a decedent'sestate, the personal representative or any interested person maypetition the court to determine the heirs of said decedent and theirrespective interests in the estate or any part thereof. Upon the filingof the petition the court shall fix the time for the hearing thereof,notice of which shall be given to all persons known or believed toclaim or have any interest in the estate or any part thereof as heir orthrough an heir of the decedent. In addition, notice by publicationshall be given to all unknown heirs of the decedent.
    (b) Upon the hearing of the petition, heirship may be determinedby competent evidence or, if there be no objection, by affidavit. Arecord shall be made of all oral evidence, and such record and allaffidavits shall remain as part of the files in the estate proceeding.
    (c) Upon satisfactory proof the court shall make a decree

determining the heirs of the decedent and their respective interests inthe estate or any part thereof.
    (d) The decree of court as provided in subsection (c) shall beconclusive of the facts determined therein on any interested personwho has been notified personally or by mail in accordance with theprovisions of this article, subject to the right of appeal.
    (e) All acts of the personal representative which were lawful whenperformed according to the facts determined by the decree asprovided in subsection (c) shall be valid insofar as concerns therights and liability of a purchaser, lessee or other person dealing withthe personal representative for value and in good faith and insofar asconcerns a personal representative who has acted in good faith.
(Formerly: Acts 1953, c.112, s.606.) As amended by Acts 1982,P.L.171, SEC.18.

IC 29-1-6-7
Repealed
    (Repealed by P.L.1-1989, SEC.75.)