Indiana proceedings supplemental: an ex parte order, twenty days' notice, and six months before your house can be sold
Indiana procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Indiana's collection machinery is not a writ. It is proceedings supplemental to execution — a motion filed in the same case, granted without notice to you, that summons you to court to answer about your property.
Two numbers frame it. The hearing must be set not less than twenty days after service. And real estate cannot be sold on execution until six months have elapsed since the lien attached.
The six-month wait on real estate
Ind. Trial Rule 69(A):
Execution sales. Process to enforce a judgment or a decree for the payment of money shall be by writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise and except as provided herein. Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, real estate shall not be sold until the elapse of six [6] months from the time the judgment or execution thereon becomes a lien upon the property. The sale of real estate shall be conducted under the same rules and the same procedures applicable to foreclosure of mortgages, including subdivision (C) of this rule, without right of redemption after the sale but subject to the judgment debtor's right to care for and remove crops growing at the time the lien attached as in the case of mortgage foreclosure.
| Instrument | writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise |
| Real estate sale | not until six months from when the lien attached |
| Overrides | "Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary" |
| Sale procedure | the same as mortgage foreclosure |
| Redemption after the sale | none |
| Preserved | the debtor's right to care for and remove growing crops |
The six months run from when the lien attached, not from the date of the writ. So the clock may already have been running for some time before a sale is noticed.
The trade is stark: you get half a year, and then no redemption at all once the sale happens. States that allow post-sale redemption give a second chance; Indiana gives the time up front instead.
The rest of 69(A) removes some traditional protections. The officer conducting the sale need not offer the property "in any particular order, in parcels, or first offer rents and profits" — though real and personal property must be sold separately. And "Execution upon any property shall not suspend the right and duty to levy upon other property", so a pending levy on one asset does not shield the others.
Liens on property you acquire later
Rule 69(B):
Judgment and execution liens on after-acquired property. In the case of property acquired by the debtor after prior judgment or execution liens have been perfected, such liens shall share pro rata with each other without further levy.
Where several creditors already hold perfected liens and you then acquire property, they share it pro rata — and "without further levy", so no one has to race to the courthouse to attach it.
The usual first-in-time priority does not apply to after-acquired property in Indiana.
Opening proceedings supplemental
Rule 69(E) sets out what the creditor must allege:
Proceedings supplemental to execution. Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, proceedings supplemental to execution may be enforced by verified motion or with affidavits in the court where the judgment is rendered alleging generally: (1) that the plaintiff owns the described judgment against the defendant; (2) that the plaintiff has no cause to believe that levy of execution against the defendant will satisfy the judgment; (3) that the defendant be ordered to appear before the court to answer as to his nonexempt property subject to execution or proceedings supplemental to execution or to apply any such specified or unspecified property towards satisfaction of the judgment; and, (4) if any person is named as garnishee, that garnishee has or will have specified or unspecified nonexempt property of, or an obligation owing to the judgment debtor subject to execution or proceedings supplemental to execution, and that the garnishee be ordered to appear and answer concerning the same or answer interrogatories submitted with the motion.
The allegations are pleaded "generally" — a low bar. Limb (2) is the only one that asks for any judgment about the facts, and it asks only that the creditor has no cause to believe ordinary execution will satisfy the judgment.
The motion may name a garnishee and reach either property held for you or an obligation owing to you, and may attach interrogatories for the garnishee to answer.
The order comes without notice to you
The same subdivision continues:
If the court determines that the motion meets the foregoing requirements it shall, ex parte and without notice, order the judgment debtor, other named parties defendant and the garnishee to appear for a hearing thereon or to answer the interrogatories attached to the motion, or both. The motion, along with the court's order stating the time for the appearance and hearing or the time for the answer to interrogatories submitted with the motion, shall be served upon the judgment debtor as provided in Rule 5, and other parties and the garnishee shall be entitled to service of process as provided in Rule 4. The date fixed for appearance and hearing or answer to interrogatories shall be not less than twenty [20] days after service.
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| The court's order | issued ex parte and without notice |
| It may require | appearance at a hearing, answers to interrogatories, or both |
| Service on the debtor | under Rule 5 |
| Service on garnishees and other parties | process under Rule 4 |
| Hearing or answer date | not less than 20 days after service |
Three things follow from this.
The order is not a ruling against you. It issues on the face of the motion, before you are heard. What you receive is the motion and the order together.
You get service under Rule 5, not Rule 4. Because you are already a party, the papers may arrive by mail at your attorney or last known address — the same way an ordinary motion would. A garnishee, being a stranger to the case, gets full process under Rule 4.
Twenty days is a floor. The court may set the date further out, but not sooner.
The rule adds that "No further pleadings shall be required." There is nothing to answer. The hearing is the response.
Discovery runs both ways
Also in 69(E):
In aid of the judgment or execution, the judgment creditor or his successor in interest of record and the judgment debtor may utilize the discovery provisions of these rules in the manner provided in these rules for discovery or as provided under the laws allowing proceedings supplemental. Writs of attachment, bench warrants, and body attachments are governed by Trial Rule 64(A).
Most states give post-judgment discovery to the creditor alone. Indiana names the judgment debtor too.
That is worth using. Where a garnishee's answer or a creditor's claimed balance looks wrong, you can serve discovery rather than merely disputing it at the hearing. The ordinary discovery rules apply, so the ordinary compel practice applies to a refusal — and Indiana awards fees both ways on a compel motion without requiring any conference certificate. See the Indiana motion to compel.
The last sentence matters if you fail to appear: bench warrants and body attachments in this context are governed by Trial Rule 64(A).
Title assurance at a judicial sale
Rule 69(F) lets the court, on motion and in its discretion, order the creditor or the officer conducting any judicial sale of land to procure "a qualified title opinion or a title insurance policy". The policy must cover the purchase price, runs to all parties and to purchasers, must be available for inspection from the first notice of sale and at the sale itself, and its cost is taxed as costs and paid from the first proceeds.
One limit is expressly stated: it "shall not cover defects arising in the conduct of the sale."
Rule 69(C) applies mortgage foreclosure procedure to judicial foreclosure of all real estate liens, and requires the officer to file a record of the sale where it is not confirmed by the court.
Where this connects
If the underlying judgment is the target, Indiana's motion to correct error is optional for most appeals and mandatory for two. See Indiana's motion to correct error.
For the case itself, see the Indiana motion to dismiss — eight grounds and one free amendment if you lose — and Indiana summary judgment, with its thirty-day response deadline the court cannot extend.
How Indiana compares
| Indiana | Illinois | Ohio | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wait before a real estate sale | 6 months from the lien | — | — | none |
| Redemption after the sale | none | — | — | — |
| Collection opened by | verified motion, ex parte | — | — | writ |
| Minimum notice of the hearing | 20 days | — | — | — |
| Service on the debtor | Rule 5 | — | — | — |
| Debtor may use discovery | yes, expressly | — | — | no |
| After-acquired property liens | pro rata | — | — | — |
| Court may order title insurance | yes | — | — | no |
A short checklist
- Read the order carefully. It issued ex parte, on the motion alone, and is not a decision against you.
- Diary the appearance date. It must be at least twenty days after service, and there is nothing to file beforehand.
- Nothing needs answering — Rule 69(E) says no further pleadings are required.
- Serve your own discovery if the amount claimed or a garnishee's answer looks wrong. The rule gives you that right.
- Check when the lien attached if real estate is at risk. The six months run from then.
- Understand there is no redemption after an execution sale. The protection is the wait, not a second chance.
- Do not miss the hearing. Body attachments in proceedings supplemental run through Trial Rule 64(A).
Where these rules live
- Ind. T.R. 69 — Execution, proceedings supplemental to execution, foreclosure sales
- Ind. T.R. 64 — Seizure of person or property
- Ind. T.R. 60 — Relief from judgment or order
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and which property is exempt from execution is governed by statutes this site doesn't cover.