Quitclaim Deed After Divorce in Indiana

A Divorce Decree Does Not Transfer Property Title

This is the fact that surprises most people: your divorce decree awards the house to one spouse, but it does not actually move the title. The county recorder's office still shows both names on the deed until someone files new paperwork. And until the title transfer is recorded, the departing spouse technically retains an ownership interest — which creates problems for refinancing, selling, or claiming the homestead deduction.

The standard mechanism for moving real estate ownership between divorcing spouses in Indiana is a quitclaim deed.

Indiana Quitclaim Deed Requirements

Under IC 32-21-1-15, an Indiana quitclaim deed must include specific statutory language. The core formula is: "[Grantor] quitclaims to [Grantee] [legal description of the property] for [consideration]."

Beyond the statutory language, the deed must contain:

• Full legal names of the grantor (departing spouse) and grantee (retaining spouse)
• The complete legal description of the property — not the street address, but the lot, block, and subdivision description or metes-and-bounds description from the original deed
• The county where the property is located
• A notarized signature — the grantor must sign in front of a licensed notary public
• The Indiana redaction statement: "I affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that I have taken reasonable care to redact each Social Security number in this document, unless required by law. This instrument was prepared by [printed name]."

Format matters. Indiana recording rules limit sheets to no more than 8.5" x 14" and impose specific margin rules. Check with your county recorder's office before filing.

The Sales Disclosure Form (State Form 46021)

Indiana requires a Sales Disclosure Form for virtually all real property transfers, including divorce-related conveyances. Under IC 6-1.1-5.5-2(a), a transfer pursuant to a court order qualifies as a conveyance document that triggers the disclosure requirement.

The good news: under IC 6-1.1-5.5-4, there is no filing fee for divorce-related property transfers. You still have to complete and submit the form — the fee exemption is not a filing exemption.

Complete the Sales Disclosure Form and take it to the county assessor's office for verification and stamping before recording the deed. The assessor checks it against the property tax records, stamps it, and returns it to you. You then file the stamped form and the notarized quitclaim deed together at the county recorder's office.

The Condition 8 Classification

When completing the Sales Disclosure Form, the transfer type matters. Divorce-related property transfers fall under Condition 8 — a transfer pursuant to a court order or decree. Selecting the correct condition code identifies the court-ordered transfer and supports the exemption from the Sales Disclosure filing fee.

Recording Fees

The recording fee for a quitclaim deed in Indiana is a flat $25 for the first page. Marion County charges $27.50. Additional pages cost extra. These fees apply regardless of the property's value.

Preserving the Homestead Deduction

Indiana's homestead property tax deduction can save the owner thousands of dollars annually. When ownership changes hands through a divorce deed transfer, the retaining spouse must ensure the homestead deduction carries over. The safest approach is filing the quitclaim deed and the Sales Disclosure Form simultaneously — a gap between the deed recording and the disclosure filing can create an administrative window where the homestead deduction drops off.

If you receive a supplemental tax bill after recording the deed, contact the county auditor's office immediately to verify that the homestead deduction was preserved. You may need to file a new homestead deduction application (State Form 5473) if the county assessor's system treated the deed transfer as a new ownership event.

What Happens After Recording

Once the county recorder stamps and files the deed, the grantee is the sole legal owner on the public record. This recorded deed is what you will provide to your mortgage lender if you are refinancing, and it is the document that establishes sole ownership for future sale transactions.

Keep the original recorded deed in a safe place — you will need it for refinancing, and it serves as proof of ownership if questions arise later.

The Full Property Transfer Workflow

The Indiana After-Divorce Checklist includes a real property transfer tracker that walks through the entire sequence — from obtaining the legal description, to notarizing the deed, to filing with the assessor and recorder — with the specific fee schedule and form numbers for each step.

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