State District 44 Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, will serve as vice-chair of the Probate Code Study Commission during the summer and fall to help shape policy for the 2021 legislative session.

As vice-chair, Koch and the commission are tasked with studying needed changes to the probate code, the trust code and any other statute affecting the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, probate jurisdiction, trust or fiduciary.

When Indiana’s part-time legislature is not in session, lawmakers serve on interim study committees that meet to review issues designated by the General Assembly during the prior legislative session.

Study committee topics are assigned by the bipartisan Legislative Council, comprised of 16 voting members — eight from the Senate and eight from the House of Representatives.

Senate District 44 includes all or parts of Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Lawrence and Monroe counties.