Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act voids a TOD deed outright if it is not recorded with the county recorder before the owner’s death, applies different results depending on how title was held (tenancy by the entirety, joint tenancy, life estate), and was amended in 2024 and 2025 to add a statutory warning that the owner’s homeowner’s insurance may stop covering the property for the beneficiary after a set window post-death.
Unrecorded before death means void, with no exceptions listed
A transfer on death deed transfers the interest provided to the beneficiary if the transfer on death deed is: (1) executed by the owner or owner’s legal representative; and (2) recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county in which the real property is situated before the death of the owner. A transfer on death deed is void if it is not recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county in which the real property is situated before the death of the owner.
Source: Ind. Code section 32-17-14-11(a) to (b)
There is no grace period and no cure. If the county recorder does not have it on file before the owner dies, the deed has no legal effect at all.
How title was held changes what the deed actually does
If the owner’s interest in the real property is as a tenant by the entirety, the conveyance is inoperable and void unless the other spouse joins in the conveyance. If the owner’s interest in the real property is as a joint tenant with rights of survivorship, the conveyance severs the joint tenancy and the cotenancy becomes a tenancy in common. If the owner’s interest is a life estate determined by the owner’s life, the conveyance is inoperable and void.
Source: Ind. Code section 32-17-14-11(e)(1), (2) and (5)
A married couple who owns as tenants by the entirety cannot use a TOD deed unilaterally, and an owner who signs one while holding a joint tenancy with someone else actually breaks that joint tenancy, a consequence that is easy to miss.
If the beneficiary dies first, their own children can inherit the spot by default
the beneficiary’s right to a transfer on death transfer belongs to the beneficiary’s lineal descendants per stirpes who survive the owner unless the owner provides otherwise
Source: Ind. Code section 32-17-14-22(b)
Unlike states that simply let the gift lapse, Indiana defaults to passing a deceased lineal-descendant beneficiary’s share down to their own children, per stirpes, unless the owner opts out with a No LDPS notation on the deed.
Indiana recognizes this deed
LawDepot builds a Indiana transfer on death deed. Recording it before death, in the county where the property sits, is what makes it effective; the sections above name the state’s own requirements.
Create a transfer on death deed
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link, and it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
A 2025 amendment added a warning about the insurance gap after death
After the death of the owner, the owner’s insurance policy is required by IC 27-1-13-18 to cover the real property transferred for a period of time as set forth in IC 27-1-13-18(e) and IC 27-1-13-18(f). Once the period of time expires, the insurance policy may no longer cover the real property and the beneficiary of a transfer on death deed and the real property may become uninsured.
Source: Ind. Code section 32-17-14-11, subsection added by P.L.6-2025, applicable to deeds executed after December 31, 2024
This is new language, not present in the 2020 codification, and flags a real practical trap: a beneficiary who inherits through a TOD deed can end up with an uninsured house if they do not get their own policy in place before the old policy’s grace period runs out.
What a transfer on death deed does not do
- Moves one parcel, not an estate, and does not substitute for a will covering other property.
- Does not take effect until death and does not restrict the owner’s ability to sell, mortgage or revoke beforehand.
- Does not preserve the seller’s homeowner’s insurance for the beneficiary indefinitely; coverage can lapse after the statutory window in IC 27-1-13-18.
- Does not survive the owner’s death unrecorded. There is no cure period for a deed signed but not recorded before death.
Honest gaps
The 2020-codified text of section 32-17-14-11 was read directly from an Indiana Recorders Association PDF reproducing it in full. The current 2024-2025 amendments, including the new insurance-lapse warning subsection, were confirmed through FindLaw’s current mirror and cross-checked search results, because Indiana’s own iga.in.gov code site does not serve the statute text itself. A secondary source’s citation of a new county-auditor-endorsement requirement at IC 32-17-14-26 could not be confirmed and was left out.
Source note. Read from https://indianarecorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/32-17-14-11-TOD-Deeds.pdf ; https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-32-property/in-code-sect-32-17-14-11/ ; https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-32-property/in-code-sect-32-17-14-22/ on 2026-09-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits, and formalities differ from state to state; execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.