Probates

[Kquanisha Dixon]

Hello everyone, I am new to REI and have no prior experience. Im going through the process of looking at a few probates here in Indianapolis, IN. I was told to look in my local recorder paper for notice of administration for the public estates of the deceased. I did that and was able to use the case number that was attached with the estate to research through the my state's website for probate case records. From there I was able to find out who is the attorney and PR. Mind you, the cases are recent the oldest being from September 2015. Now here are my questions:

-I noticed on some of the probate records that they had petitioners on there, what does that mean?

-I took a step further and researched the deceased's name on my state's county tax assessors website and was given addresses for some. Are the addresses listed on the tax assessor's website mean that it is the deceased's actual property? Would it just be for the most recent property and not for any others?

-I know that I will have to go to the courthouse to locate the files, but what exactly would I look for in regards to locating any real property that they may have?

-Since the deaths have been recent (September and November 2015), and it is to my understanding that it takes about 3-6 months for the probate process to close, how should I go about contacting the PR? Should I contact/send a letter to the attorney as well?

What do you suggest, given that I am a newbie? I know this is the more challenging niche of real estate investing which makes me more determined to master it...