3.3 Indiana Property Rights and Ownership

Sole and Co-Ownership

Tenancy in severalty is ownership by one person (or one entity) — full control, no survivorship, and the interest passes through the owner's estate at death. When two or more people hold title, Indiana recognizes three co-ownership forms, and the default matters on the exam.

Tenancy in common (the default)

If a deed conveys to two people without survivorship language, Indiana presumes a tenancy in common. Shares may be unequal (e.g., 70/30), each cotenant may sell or mortgage their own share, and a deceased cotenant's interest passes to their heirs, not the other owner.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship

Indiana requires the deed to expressly state the right of survivorship (e.g., "as joint tenants with right of survivorship"). It requires the four unities — time, title, interest, possession. On a joint tenant's death, the share passes automatically to the survivors and bypasses probate. If one joint tenant sells, the buyer becomes a tenant in common with the others.

Tenancy by the entireties

Reserved for married couples at the time of conveyance. Neither spouse can unilaterally convey or partition, survivorship is automatic, and — the heavily tested feature — a creditor of only one spouse generally cannot force a sale to satisfy that spouse's individual debt. Divorce converts it to a tenancy in common.

Key Point: "To Alex and Jordan" with no survivorship words = tenancy in common. Add "with right of survivorship" and it becomes a joint tenancy; if Alex and Jordan are married, it can be a tenancy by the entireties.

Marital Property: Equitable Distribution

Indiana is NOT a community-property state. At divorce a court divides the marital estate by equitable distribution — a fair division based on factors such as each spouse's contribution, economic circumstances, and conduct in dissipating assets. The statute starts from a presumption of an equal split but the court may deviate. Property a spouse owned before marriage can still be brought into the pot. This is a common trap: do not pick "community property" or "automatic 50/50."

Adverse Possession (IC 32-21-7) — The Indiana Tax Twist

Indiana applies the standard five common-law elements PLUS a statutory tax-payment requirement, and the period is 10 years.

The tax-payment rule is what makes Indiana adverse possession unusually difficult — most encroachers never pay the disputed parcel's taxes, so their claim fails even after a decade of use. A narrow statutory exception exists for adjoining government or tax-exempt entities.

Correction vs. older study notes: Some materials say "10 years with color of title or longer without." In Indiana the limitations period is 10 years for the possessory claim; color of title is not what shortens it — the decisive added element is paying the taxes.

Easements

An appurtenant easement involves two parcels: the dominant tenement (which benefits, e.g., a right to cross a neighbor's driveway) and the servient tenement (which is burdened). It transfers automatically with the dominant parcel even if a later deed forgets to mention it. An easement in gross has no dominant parcel — a utility company's right to run power lines is the textbook example. Easements are terminated by merger (one owner buys both parcels), release, abandonment, or expiration of purpose.

Homestead Protections

Distinguish two different "homestead" concepts the exam blurs:

• Bankruptcy/creditor homestead exemption (IC 34-55-10-2): protects up to $22,750 of equity in the personal residence per debtor (married couples filing jointly can double it); the amount is adjusted periodically and is set through March 1, 2028. It does not stop a mortgage lender or the county tax collector.
• Property-tax homestead deductions: the standard homestead deduction plus a supplemental deduction reduce the assessed value of an owner-occupied primary residence; additional relief exists for seniors and disabled veterans. These cut the tax bill, not creditor exposure.