Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act, Indiana Code chapter 32-17-14, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and on the owner’s death the property “passes by operation of law to the beneficiary”. Indiana Code section 9-17-3-9 separately allows a transfer on death beneficiary on a vehicle title.
How Indiana handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act is codified at Indiana Code chapter 32-17-14. It replaced the earlier Uniform Act on Transfer on Death Securities, which was repealed in 2009, and it lets property, including a security, be registered in beneficiary form with a direction to transfer it on the owner’s death to a named beneficiary. Only the firm holding the account, or a person it authorizes, may place the transfer on death direction, so the firm’s own forms and terms control how it is done. |
| Effect on the will and probate | A transfer on death transfer is effective with or without consideration and is not subject to the requirements for a will or for probating a will. On the owner’s death the property passes by operation of law to the beneficiary rather than under the will. If no beneficiary survives the owner, the property belongs to the owner’s estate unless a substitute beneficiary was named. |
| Changing the beneficiary | Before the owner’s death the beneficiary has no rights in the property because of the designation, and the beneficiary’s signature or agreement is not required for any transaction relating to the property. An owner may revoke or change the designation during life, and a later designation revokes an earlier one unless it says otherwise. The source says: “revoke or change a beneficiary designation at any time”. Where owners hold jointly with survivorship, a change needs the agreement of each living owner, and a will cannot change the designation unless the designation itself allows it. |
| Vehicle titles | Indiana allows an owner or owners to obtain a certificate of title that conveys the vehicle on death to one or more transfer on death beneficiaries, under Indiana Code section 9-17-3-9. The title is worded in substance as an owner transfers on death to a named person and must be signed by the owner or owners. The source says: “designating a transfer on death beneficiary is not testamentary”. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles says the designation can be added at purchase or by applying for a new title, and the owner must sign and date the transfer on death line on the face of the title. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see Indiana transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Indiana, see Indiana probate cost, and for Indiana’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Indiana estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
What changed recently
Public Laws 2-2024, 99-2024 and 6-2025 amended parts of chapter 32-17-14 that deal with transfer on death deeds and direct transfers rather than the securities registration provisions.
Related: Indiana probate cost, how Indiana taxes retirement income, Indiana estate and inheritance tax, Indiana transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- IC 32-17-14, Transfer on Death Property Act (Indiana Code 2026): https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_17/Chapter_14.pdf
- IC 9-17-3, Expiration, Replacement, and Transfer of Certificates of Title (Indiana Code 2026): https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_17/Chapter_3.pdf
- Titles: Transfer on Death: https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/transfer-on-death
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.