Indiana Deed Forms for Real Estate Transfers

Indiana real estate is transferred using a deed. A deed is a legal document that transfers property from the current owner or owners (grantors) to one or more new owners (grantees). We support the following Indiana deed forms:

Three Indiana deed forms defined by their warranty of title:

1. General Warranty Deed Form – Provides an absolute warranty of title that covers any title defects, including those that arose before the grantor acquired the property.
2. Special Warranty Deed (Limited Warranty Deed Form) – Provides a limited warranty of title that only covers the period when the grantor owned the property. The warranty does not cover anything that may have arisen from the acts of owners that preceded the grantor. This type of deed may be called a special warranty deed or a limited warranty deed.
3. Quit Claim Deed Form – Provides no warranty of title. The grantee takes the property “as is” and bears the risk of any title defects.

Indiana law also recognizes two deed forms that are defined by their probate avoidance features. Each of the following deed forms can transfer property automatically at an owner’s death:

1. Transfer on Death Deed Form – A popular deed form that is specifically authorized by Indiana law to transfer property to designated beneficiaries upon the death of an owner. Until the owner’s death, the owner retains broad control over the property, including the right to revoke the deed or change beneficiaries without notifying the beneficiary.
2. Life Estate Deed Form – An older, common-law deed form that reserves a life estate in the original owner (who becomes a life tenant) and leaves the property to other owners (called remainder beneficiaries) on the death of the life tenant. The life tenant cannot sell or otherwise deal with the property without the consent of the remainder beneficiaries.

Forms of Co-Ownership of Indiana Real Estate

A deed may convey property to multiple grantees. There are three ways that multiple owners can hold tile to Indiana real estate:

• Tenants in Common – Each owner has an undivided interest in the property. On the death of an owner, his or her interest will pass to his or her probate estate. Probate is usually required to transfer the property after the deceased owner’s death.
• Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship – Similar to tenants in common in that each owner has an undivided interest in the property, but with a survivorship feature. On the death of an owner, his or her interest passes to the surviving owners automatically, without the need for The last living owner owns the entire property.
• Tenants by the Entirety – A form of joint ownership that includes survivorship rights, but is only available to a married couple. The couple is treated as a single economic unit. Neither spouse can convey the property without the consent of the other spouse, and the property is not available to the creditors of any one spouse. Tenants by the entirety is usually the preferred form of ownership for a married couple.

The last two forms of co-ownership—joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy by the entirety—depend on a person’s lifetime and thus only apply if all of the owners are people. If any owner is a trust or business, the owners will hold title as tenancy in common.

How to Transfer Indiana Real Estate

Transferring Indiana real estate usually involves four steps:

1. Locate the prior deed to the property. The prior deed is the best source of important legal information, including how owner’s names are worded, the manner in which joint owners hold title, and a legal description of the property.
2. Create the new deed. Our Deed Generator makes it easy to create a deed. Our software collects information and walks you through the decisions you must make, then creates a deed that matches the choices you made in the interview.
3. Sign the new deed. The deed must be signed by the grantors (signatures must be notarized).
4. Record the original deed. The deed should be recorded in the real property records of the county recorder’s office in the county where the property is located. Code Ann. § 32-21-2-11.

The deeds created by our Deed Generator come with a set of customized instructions (Next Steps) that explain the process in more detail.