Sec. 14. (a) Property may be held or registered in beneficiary form by including in the name in which the property is held or registered a direction to transfer the property on the death of the owner to a beneficiary designated by the owner.

     (b) Property is registered in beneficiary form by showing on the account record, security certificate, or instrument evidencing ownership of the property:

Terms Used In Indiana Code 32-17-14-14

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(1) the name of the owner and, if applicable, the estate by which two (2) or more joint owners hold the property; and

(2) an instruction substantially similar in form to “transfer on death to (insert name of beneficiary)”.

An instruction to “pay on death to (insert name of the beneficiary)” and the use of the abbreviations “TOD” and “POD” are also permitted by this section.

     (c) Only a transferring entity or a person authorized by the transferring entity may place a transfer on death direction described by this section on an account record, a security certificate, or an instrument evidencing ownership of property.

     (d) A transfer on death direction described by this section is effective on the death of the owner and transfers the owner’s interest in the property to the designated beneficiary if:

(1) the property is registered in beneficiary form before the death of the owner; or

(2) the transfer on death direction is delivered to the transferring entity before the owner’s death.

     (e) An account record, security certificate, or instrument evidencing ownership of property that contains a transfer on death direction written as part of the name in which the property is held or registered is conclusive evidence, in the absence of fraud, duress, undue influence, lack of capacity, or mistake, that the direction was:

(1) regularly made by the owner;

(2) accepted by the transferring entity; and

(3) not revoked or changed before the owner’s death.

As added by P.L.143-2009, SEC.41. Amended by P.L.6-2010, SEC.31.

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