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Indiana Transfer on Death Deed
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Indiana Transfer on Death Deed

An Indiana transfer on death deed passes real estate to a beneficiary outside probate under IC 32-17-14-11, and is void unless recorded before death.

By Settled Editorial

An Indiana transfer on death deed names who receives your real estate when you die, and the property passes to that person outside probate. You keep full ownership while you live, you can cancel the deed at any time, and the deed is void unless it is recorded with the county recorder before your death under IC 32-17-14-11.

Indiana authorizes the document in the Transfer on Death Property Act, IC 32-17-14, in force since July 1, 2009. People call it a TOD deed, a beneficiary deed, or a transfer on death deed, and every name points to the same Indiana instrument. Indiana uses a true statutory transfer on death deed, not the Lady Bird deed some other states rely on. The owner holds the whole property during life, and the named grantee beneficiary gets nothing until the owner dies.

This guide covers one tool. For the full menu, read how to avoid probate in Indiana. For what happens when property does go through court, see the Indiana probate guide, or start at the Indiana probate hub for the local court path after a death.

What an Indiana Transfer on Death Deed Does

A transfer on death deed names the person, people, or trust that will receive your real property at your death. While you are alive, the deed changes nothing about your ownership. You still hold title, and you can sell, mortgage, or re-deed the property without asking anyone. When you die, title passes to the beneficiary you named by operation of law, outside probate.

FeatureHow it works in Indiana
What it transfersReal property such as a house, land, or a condo
When it takes effectAt the owner's death, never before
ProbateThe property passes outside probate
Owner's control during lifeFull: sell, mortgage, revoke at will
Recording pathCounty auditor endorsement, then the county recorder where the property sits
RevocableYes, at any time before death

IC 32-17-14-11 sets out the two working parts. The deed must be executed by the owner or the owner's legal representative, and it must be recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where the real property is situated before the owner dies. The statute is blunt about the second part: a transfer on death deed that is not recorded before death is void. A deed signed and left in a drawer transfers nothing.

Two points in the same section make the deed easy to set up. No money needs to change hands, and you do not have to hand the deed to the beneficiary, because IC 32-17-14-11(c) drops both the consideration and the delivery requirement. You can also name a trust as the beneficiary, whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable. If you are weighing the two routes, compare a living trust, which handles every asset class rather than one parcel at a time.

You Keep Full Control While You Are Alive

Recording a transfer on death deed hands nothing to the beneficiary during your life. Under IC 32-17-14-15, the beneficiary has no rights in the property before the owner's death, and the beneficiary's signature is not required for any transaction involving the property. You can sell the home, refinance it, or cancel the deed without the beneficiary's permission. Many owners never tell the beneficiary the deed exists.

If you sell the property while you are alive, the beneficiary designation ends on its own. IC 32-17-14-16(h) says a lifetime transfer of the owner's interest, with or without payment, terminates the designation for the property transferred.

How to Record a Transfer on Death Deed in Indiana

Here is the path from blank page to recorded deed:

  1. Pull your current recorded deed and copy the exact legal description. Use that description, not just the street address.
  2. Name your beneficiary, and name an alternate in case your first choice dies before you.
  3. Use transfer on death wording. The statute suggests language in substance like "(owner's name) conveys and warrants (or quitclaims) to (owner's name), TOD to (beneficiary's name)" under IC 32-17-14-11(f).
  4. Sign the deed before a notary, the way you would sign any Indiana deed.
  5. Take the signed deed to the county auditor first. IC 32-17-14-11(i) makes the auditor's endorsement under IC 36-2-11-14 and IC 36-2-9-18 a requirement for recording, so the recorder will turn away a deed the auditor has not stamped.
  6. Record the endorsed deed with the county recorder in the county where the property sits, before death.
  7. Keep a copy with your estate papers and tell your beneficiary where to find it.

A deed recorded the day before death still works. A deed recorded the day after does not work at all.

One more wrinkle arrived in 2025. For deeds executed after June 30, 2025, IC 32-17-14-11(j) lets the deed carry a warning that the owner's homeowners insurance covers the transferred property only for a limited period after death under IC 27-1-13-18. The deed stays valid without the warning, but the point behind it is real: a beneficiary who inherits a house through a TOD deed should line up insurance on it quickly.

How Co-Ownership Changes the Outcome

Indiana spells out what happens when the owner does not hold title alone, and the answers surprise people. IC 32-17-14-11(e) sets the rules:

  • Married couples holding as tenants by the entirety. A TOD deed signed by one spouse alone is void. Both spouses must join in the deed, and while both are alive, changing or revoking the designation also takes both signatures under IC 32-17-14-16(b).
  • Joint tenants with rights of survivorship. A TOD deed recorded by one joint tenant severs the joint tenancy and converts it to a tenancy in common. That is a real change in ownership with consequences beyond the deed itself, so co-owners should decide together.
  • Survivorship still wins first. When one of several joint owners dies, the property belongs to the surviving owners under IC 32-17-14-15. The beneficiary takes only at the death of the last owner holding the interest.
  • Life estate holders. An owner whose interest is a life estate measured by the owner's own life cannot pass it by TOD deed. The conveyance is void.

How to Revoke or Change the Deed

An Indiana transfer on death deed stays revocable for as long as you live. IC 32-17-14-16 gives you two clean ways to undo or update one, and both must be recorded with the county recorder before your death:

  • Record a later deed that revokes, omits, or changes the beneficiary. A later designation revokes an earlier one unless it says otherwise.
  • Record an affidavit, acknowledged under IC 32-21-2-3, that revokes or changes the designation.

Selling the property during your life ends the designation by itself, though the deed of sale must also be recorded before your death.

Just as important is what does not work. Your will cannot revoke or change a TOD deed, and neither can a trust: IC 32-17-14-16(l) closes that door outright. Tearing up or writing on a recorded deed has no effect either, under IC 32-17-14-16(k). If your plans change, fix the deed on record rather than leaning on new will language to do the work.

If the Beneficiary Dies First

A beneficiary must survive you to take the property under IC 32-17-14-20. What happens next depends on who the beneficiary was:

  • Your child or another lineal descendant. Indiana fills the gap automatically. Under IC 32-17-14-22, the deceased beneficiary's own descendants take the share per stirpes, unless your deed says otherwise. To shut off that substitution, write "No LDPS" after the beneficiary's name.
  • Anyone who is not your descendant. The gift lapses unless your deed adds "LDPS" or "and lineal descendants per stirpes" after the name, which sends the share to that beneficiary's descendants.

Name an alternate beneficiary anyway. It keeps your intent on the face of the deed instead of resting on a statute your family has never read. If no beneficiary survives and no substitute applies, the property falls back into your estate and may pass under your will or through intestate succession.

What a Transfer on Death Deed Does Not Do

The beneficiary takes the property with its debts attached. A mortgage, home equity loan, property tax lien, or judgment lien stays with the home. Your beneficiary receives the house and the loan, not a clear title.

Estate creditors can still reach the property. Passing outside probate does not put the home beyond the estate's unpaid debts. IC 32-17-14-29 preserves creditor rights and points to IC 32-17-13, which makes the person who receives a nonprobate transfer liable for allowed claims and the statutory allowances owed to a surviving spouse and children when the probate estate runs short. The liability is capped at the value received. The Indiana creditor claims guide explains how those claims move through an estate.

Medicaid estate recovery can follow the home in Indiana. Indiana defines the recoverable "estate" broadly. IC 12-15-9-0.5 counts property conveyed through a nonprobate transfer as part of the estate, and a completed TOD transfer is a nonprobate transfer under IC 32-17-13-1. The state may claim back Medicaid paid on the recipient's behalf after age 55, enforced against nonprobate assets through the IC 32-17-13 process. Recovery waits while the home is needed by a surviving spouse, a dependent child under 21, or a blind or disabled dependent, and the state can waive claims for undue hardship. The takeaway: an Indiana TOD deed does not, by itself, protect a house from Medicaid recovery. Anyone who has received or may need long term care Medicaid should talk with an elder law attorney before recording one.

It moves only the property described in the deed. Bank accounts, vehicles, and personal property need their own payable on death or transfer on death designations, or they pass through probate.

The step-up in basis still applies. Because the home passes at death, your beneficiary takes it with a cost basis reset to its date of death value under Internal Revenue Code Section 1014. That reset can wipe out most of the capital gains tax if the beneficiary sells soon after inheriting. The guide to selling the inherited house walks through clearing title and the tax math.

When a Transfer on Death Deed Fits

A TOD deed tends to work well when:

  • you own the home alone, or you and your spouse sign together,
  • you want one person or a couple to receive it without probate,
  • you want to keep full control and the freedom to change your mind, and
  • the title is clean and your plan is simple.

Look harder at other tools when:

  • Medicaid, creditor pressure, or a blended family is in the picture,
  • several people should share the home in shifting amounts,
  • the home is headed into a living trust along with other assets, or
  • co-owners hold survivorship rights that already answer the question.

Quick Checklist

  1. Confirm how you hold title, and whether a co-owner must join the deed.
  2. Pull your current recorded deed for the exact legal description.
  3. Name a beneficiary and an alternate, and decide about LDPS wording.
  4. Sign before a notary.
  5. Get the county auditor's endorsement, then record with the county recorder before death.
  6. Keep a copy and tell your beneficiary it exists.
  7. Remember the home still carries any mortgage or lien.
  8. Review the deed after any marriage, divorce, death, or sale.

The Bottom Line

An Indiana transfer on death deed is a low-cost way to pass real estate outside probate while you keep full control during life. It runs on IC 32-17-14-11, it needs the county auditor's endorsement and the county recorder's stamp before your death, and it stays revocable until you die. It does not clear a mortgage, it does not always shield the home from estate creditors, and it does not block Medicaid estate recovery in Indiana. When co-owners, a blended family, or long term care costs are in the picture, have an Indiana attorney review the deed before you record it. A small error can quietly defeat the transfer at your death, and fixing it afterward costs far more than getting it right now.

This guide is general information about Indiana transfer on death deeds, not advice for your situation. Confirm the current statute and your county's recording steps with the county recorder and auditor, and have a licensed Indiana attorney review the deed before you sign or record it.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 18, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Indiana can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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