Transfer on death deed in Indiana

Indiana at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Indiana law

Transfer on death deed

Law

IC 32-17-14 (Transfer on Death Property Act), esp. IC 32-17-14-11, -16, -26

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

County recorder of the county where the real property is located (after county auditor endorsement)

After-death document

Affidavit under IC 32-17-14-26(b)(20) (beneficiary's affidavit giving notice of the owner's death)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

No state form

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Indiana

• What the law does. A recorded deed conveys an Indiana real property interest to a beneficiary by beneficiary designation, effective at the owner's death. It is revocable during life.
• Signing. The owner or the owner's legal representative executes the deed. To be recorded, it must carry a notarial acknowledgment or proof by a notarial officer, and the county auditor's endorsement. No witnesses are required for an acknowledged deed. Tenancy-by-the-entirety property needs the other spouse to join. An attorney in fact, guardian, or other agent may make or change a designation unless the agency document forbids it.
• Recording. The deed is void if it is not recorded with the county recorder before the owner's death. The statute sets no deadline after signing.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. The deed does not need consideration and does not need to be delivered to the beneficiary.
• Form. There is no statutory form. The statute gives sample wording: owner 'conveys and warrants (or quitclaims) to (owner), TOD to (beneficiary)'.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. The owner may revoke or change the designation before death by recording, with the county recorder, either a later deed that revokes, omits, or changes the beneficiary, or an acknowledged affidavit that does so. It is void if not recorded before death. A will, a trust, or a physical act on the recorded deed cannot revoke it. A lifetime transfer of the property ends the designation. For tenancy-by-the-entirety property, both spouses must agree while both are alive. For joint tenants with survivorship, each living owner must agree.
• Beneficiaries. Beneficiaries can be persons including individuals, entities, and revocable or irrevocable trusts. A beneficiary must survive the owner. If a beneficiary who is the owner's lineal descendant dies first, their descendants take per stirpes unless the deed says 'No LDPS'. For other beneficiaries, descendants take only if the deed adds 'LDPS' or 'and lineal descendants per stirpes'.

After the owner dies

• Document. Affidavit under IC 32-17-14-26(b)(20) (beneficiary's affidavit giving notice of the owner's death)
• Where. County recorder of the county where the real property is located (affidavit must be endorsed by the county auditor)
• Steps. The transfer happens automatically at death. The beneficiary should record an affidavit, endorsed by the county auditor. It gives the legal description, the owner's date of death, the names and addresses of surviving beneficiaries, the names of any who did not survive, and a cross-reference to the recorded TOD deed. Not filing does not undo the transfer. But until it is recorded, the beneficiaries and the owner's estate are jointly liable for property taxes starting with the year of death.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate cannot pay allowed claims and statutory allowances to the spouse and children, the beneficiary is liable to the estate up to the value received. A proceeding generally must start within nine months after death. Medicaid estate recovery reaches property passed by nonprobate transfer, including TOD transfers, and is enforced under IC 32-17-13.
• Surviving spouse. A TOD transfer may be subject to the surviving spouse and family allowances (IC 29-1-4-1). A designation of tenancy-by-the-entirety property needs both spouses, and the surviving spouse may change it after the other's death.

Good to know in Indiana

• Recording a TOD deed on a joint tenancy with right of survivorship severs the joint tenancy into a tenancy in common (IC 32-17-14-11(e)(2)). A TOD deed by a life tenant whose estate ends at their death is void (11(e)(5)).
• For deeds signed after 2025-06-30, the deed may include a statutory warning that the owner's insurance covers the property only for a limited time after death under IC 27-1-13-18. Leaving the warning out does not invalidate the deed (11(j)).
• A child born or adopted after a designation that names another child may share in the property unless the designation says otherwise (32-17-14-25(c)).

Official pages

• Indiana statute
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Indiana handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• Indiana Code 2026, Title 32 (IC 32-17-14 Transfer on Death Property Act; IC 32-17-13; IC 32-21-2-3) (read October 28, 2026)
• Indiana Code 2025, Title 12 (IC 12-15-9-0.5, -0.6 Medicaid estate recovery) (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.