Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Indiana County
Union County, Indiana
Liberty and Indiana's smallest county - from Liberty's role as the county seat of Indiana's smallest county by land area (Union County covers just 163 square miles, making it the most compact county in Indiana, yet it maintains a full set of county government services in the small city of Liberty) to the county's Whitewater River valley setting (the East Fork of the Whitewater River runs through Union County's gently rolling terrain near the Ohio border, draining farmland that supports corn, soybean, and some livestock production in this quiet southeast Indiana county).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Union County Sheriff’s Office – 106 E. Union Street, Liberty, IN 47353 | (765) 458-5194; Sheriff Jeff Adams.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-101/44 serve Liberty, the county seat, about 5 miles west of the Ohio state line.
Notes: Union County was created January 5, 1821, from parts of Fayette, Franklin, and Wayne counties (a fact directly reflected in the county’s name), organized effective February 1, 1821. The county seat moved to Liberty, a more central location, in 1824.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Union County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, Liberty, IN (built 1890-1891, Richardsonian Romanesque rock-faced ashlar stone, architect George W. Bunting, with an arched entrance and four-story clock tower; National Register of Historic Places since 1987; part of the Liberty Courthouse Square Historic District).
Notes: Union County is one of Indiana’s least populated counties, with a strongly preserved rural, agricultural character. Whitewater Memorial State Park, home to Indiana’s fourth-largest lake, is a major regional recreational draw alongside the nearby Brookville Reservoir.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Union County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via unioncounty.in.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Union County Public Library (Liberty) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Whitewater Memorial State Park (Indiana’s fourth-largest lake) and Brookville Reservoir are the county’s premier recreational attractions, offering boating, fishing, hiking, and birdwatching.
Notes: The genuine scale of Whitewater Memorial State Park’s lake – Indiana’s fourth-largest – is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Union County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via unioncounty.in.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via unioncounty.in.gov; Union County Sheriff’s Office, (765) 458-5194, for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Union County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via unioncounty.in.gov.
NOTES: Union County is the eighty-first county completed in Indiana’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine scale of Whitewater Memorial State Park’s lake – Indiana’s fourth-largest – is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Union County
Union County is southeast Indiana’s smallest county – compact in geography and population, Union County maintains a traditional Indiana county seat government in Liberty while the Whitewater River valley’s rolling terrain supports a quiet agricultural economy near the Indiana-Ohio border.
Liberty (the county seat, population ~1,900) is Union County’s governmental and commercial hub, a small county seat serving one of Indiana’s least populous counties in the Whitewater River valley near the Ohio state line.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Union County Assessor at 26 W. Union Street, Liberty, IN 47353, phone 765-458-5361. IN assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Union County Circuit Court at 26 W. Union Street, Liberty, IN 47353, phone 765-458-6121, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
26 W. Union St., Liberty, IN 47353
(765) 458-5464
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
26 W. Union St., Liberty, IN 47353
(765) 458-5464
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Union County Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Union County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Union County Circuit Court 26 West Union Street, Liberty, IN 47353 (765) 458-5934
Union County is Indiana’s smallest county by area (excluding Ohio County’s population edge), on the Ohio/Indiana border in the state’s east-central region.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Indiana has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code – probate is governed by Indiana Code Title 29. Indiana offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the gross probate estate (less liens, encumbrances, and funeral expenses) is $100,000 or less. Available 45 days after death. The affidavit must be signed and recorded with the county recorder’s office before a personal representative is appointed. No court filing is required.
Devolution of Real Estate Affidavit – a separate affidavit specifically for transferring real property, available 7 months after death, with no value limit on the real estate, recorded with the county recorder.
Unsupervised Administration – a simplified probate track available when the estate is solvent and all inheritors agree; fewer court appearances and filings than supervised administration.
Supervised Administration – full court oversight, used for contested, complex, or insolvent estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and for Issuance of Letters (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Appointment of Personal Representative (if intestate) with the Union County Circuit Court.
The court reviews the will for compliance with Indiana Code § 29-1-5-3 (in writing, signed by the testator, witnessed by at least 2 credible witnesses).
The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly 3 months from first publication) to file claims.
The personal representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes the estate.
File a closing statement or final accounting to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Indiana does not have a state estate or inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Union County Circuit Court.
Indiana has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit – a minimum 45-day wait; Unsupervised Administration – roughly 6-9 months if uncontested; Supervised Administration – 9-12+ months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
26 W. Union St., Liberty, IN 47353
(765) 458-5194
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
26 W. Union St., Liberty, IN 47353
(765) 458-5464
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Union County Health Dept
(765) 458-5218
IN FSSA — East Central Region
(800) 403-0864
IN Medicaid
(800) 403-0864
Reid Health (Richmond)
reidhealth.org
Fayette Regional Health System
fayetteregional.org (Connersville)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Union County Health Department – 6 W. South Street, Liberty, IN 47353 | (765) 458-5393 | Fax (765) 458-5582 | Email: [email protected].
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Liberty
Population: 7,100
Area: 163 sq mi (one of Indiana's smallest counties by area)
