St Joseph County Quitclaim Deed (Married Couple as Grantors) Form

Indiana reads a deed to a married couple as vesting something other than two half shares: when spouses take title together, the record presumes a tenancy by the entirety under IC 32-17-3-1, a single estate belonging to the marriage itself. This quitclaim deed is the Indiana form built for the day that estate changes hands. It recites two grantors who state that they are married to each other, carries a signature block for each spouse, and passes the couple's whole record interest to the grantee named in the deed, without warranty of title.

An Estate the Spouses Leave Only Together

Entireties ownership has one operating rule that shapes conveyancing: neither spouse alone can effectively pass or encumber the estate, a rule Indiana courts have enforced since Beneficial Mortgage Co. of Indiana v. Powers, 550 N.E.2d 793 (Ind. Ct. App. 1990). The statute answers with the same unit it presumes: under IC 32-17-3-4, a deed executed jointly by both spouses is sufficient to convey real property they hold as tenants by the entirety, as joint tenants, or as tenants in common, so the two-spouse execution this form prints covers a couple's title in whichever of those forms the vesting deed states. The presumption itself is a default rather than a straitjacket; express deed terms can vest a married couple differently, as the Indiana Supreme Court held in Underwood v. Bunger, 70 N.E.3d 338 (Ind. 2017), which is why the vesting deed, not the marriage record, is the document a completed grantor section mirrors.

What Quitclaims Means When a Couple Signs It

The operative word comes from IC 32-21-1-15, Indiana's statutory quitclaim wording, and IC 32-17-2-2 sets its measure: whatever estate the signers could pass by a deed of bargain and sale is what the release carries, with no title covenants attached. For a married couple that measure has a distinctive content. The instrument takes out of the record not merely two names but the marital estate itself, including the survivorship the spouses held between themselves in this parcel, and the grantee receives the couple's entire interest as of delivery, whatever the record shows it to be. A search for a quit claim deed for spouses or a husband and wife quitclaim form describes this instrument; its wording is the statutory one, not a warranty instrument with the covenants struck out.

Built Around the Marital Unit

The form recites exactly two grantors, identified in the instrument as married to each other, with one grantee entry. Each spouse signs above the printed name line that IC 36-2-11-16(c) requires, and each spouse takes an acknowledgment certificate, a layout the form keeps so the two can appear before a notarial officer on different days or in different states; that layout is the form's own architecture rather than a statutory command. The deed closes with the statements Indiana law places at the conclusion of a recordable conveyance, each with a labeled blank: the property tax statement address, the grantee's mailing address, the preparer statement, and the Social Security redaction affirmation of IC 36-2-11-15. Record patterns that present this configuration include parents deeding a family parcel to an adult child, spouses conveying jointly titled land under a settled agreement, and a couple moving their record interest to a relative. The form is not set up as a sole owner's deed, a deed for co-owners who are not married to each other, or an instrument executed by an entity, a trustee, or an attorney in fact; each of those patterns calls for its own signature and certificate layout.

Three County Offices, One Recording

Recording follows Indiana's county sequence. Where the transfer is for valuable consideration, the sales disclosure form of IC 6-1.1-5.5 passes through the county assessor; the county auditor endorses the deed for taxation under IC 36-2-11-14; and the recorder of the county where the land lies accepts it for the statewide twenty five dollar fee of IC 36-2-7-10, with no Indiana transfer tax added. Under IC 32-21-4-1, the recorded deed holds priority from the time of recording, the protection that stands between the grantee and any later instrument.

What the Download Contains

The package holds three pieces: the quitclaim deed as a fillable PDF meeting Indiana's format statute, a completed example documenting a married couple's conveyance recorded in Marion County, and a guide that walks the entries, both certificates, and the assessor, auditor, and recorder steps. The materials describe Indiana law in general terms; they are informational and are not legal advice.