Indiana: Revocable Living Trust Creation Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Indiana uses its own Trust Code in article 30-4 rather than the Uniform Trust
Code. Ind. Code § 30-4-1-1 defines a trust as a fiduciary relationship in which the
trustee holds title for a beneficiary and permits the same person to be trustee
and beneficiary subject to the merger rule.

Settlor capacity and intent

Ind. Code § 30-4-2-10 gives a revocable-trust settlor the same capacity standard as
a testator. Under § 29-1-5-1, a person of sound mind generally must be at least
18, with a narrower exception for a younger member of the armed forces or U.S.
or allied merchant marine.

Intent is expressed through definite written terms. Section 30-4-2-1 requires
the property, trustee identity and interest, beneficiary identity and interest,
and trust purpose to be ascertainable with reasonable certainty.

Creation method and effective time

Indiana does not recognize an ordinary oral trust. Section 30-4-2-1 requires
signed written evidence of the terms and expressly recognizes creation by
exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee.

Under § 30-4-2-2, the named trustee's signature conclusively establishes
acceptance. Exercising powers or performing duties presumptively accepts the
trust, while timely written rejection avoids the office and its liability.

Trust property and funding

The written terms must identify the trust property with reasonable certainty,
and § 30-4-2-6 says the trustee takes title limited to what is needed to perform
the trust.

Section 30-4-2-1(d) rejects a universal nominal-dollar requirement. A present
or future, vested or contingent right to receive estate proceeds, life-insurance
benefits, retirement-plan benefits, or IRA proceeds can supply the corpus.
That rule does not make signing the trust sufficient to retitle every existing
asset.

Beneficiary and purpose

Section 30-4-2-1 recognizes a beneficiary ascertainable now or in the future
and a trustee's valid power to select from an indefinite class. The written
terms must also make the beneficiary's interest and trust purpose reasonably
certain.

Under § 30-4-2-12, trust terms may not require a criminal, tortious, or
public-policy-contrary act. A separable prohibited term is invalid without
necessarily invalidating the rest of the trust.

Trustee eligibility and same-person roles

Ind. Code § 30-4-2-11 requires a natural-person trustee to be at least 18, of sound
mind and good moral character, and able to take, hold, and deal with property.
A corporate trustee needs both property-holding power and power to act as
trustee.

A settlor is not subject to a separate disqualification in the cited trustee
qualification rule. A beneficiary is not disqualified from serving. Ind. Code
§ 30-4-1-1 and § 30-4-2-8 permit combined roles unless one person holds both title and the
entire beneficial interest as sole trustee and sole beneficiary; a separate
contingent or vested beneficiary prevents that complete merger.

Instrument, signature, witness, and notary

Section 30-4-2-1 allows written evidence bearing the settlor's signature, the
authorized agent's signature, or a qualified adult's signature at the settlor's
direction and in the settlor's direct physical presence. The directed signer
cannot be a named trustee, settlor relative, beneficiary, or power holder, and
the writing must contain the required signer statements. Ind. Code § 30-4-2-1.5
separately states that a valid nonwill trust must be written and signed by the
settlor or attorney-in-fact; both current provisions should be considered when
choosing a paper execution route.

Indiana's electronic-trust chapter supplies a separate route. Ind. Code
§ 30-4-1.5-3 requires the instrument to be initially created and maintained as
an electronic record containing the creator's electronic signature and its date
and time, and it defines acceptable identity-verification evidence. Ind. Code
§ 30-4-1.5-4 permits a compliant electronic inter vivos trust with no witness or
notary acknowledgment, but the electronic record, signature, identity, timing,
and preservation rules in chapter 1.5 still matter. A generic PDF signature
statement does not by itself recite all those safeguards.

A deed follows different law. Ind. Code § 32-21-1-13 requires a written conveyance
signed by the grantor and containing an acknowledgment or proof.

Revocability default and reserved power

For a trust instrument executed after June 30, 2005, § 30-4-3-1.5 makes the
trust revocable unless its terms expressly say it is irrevocable. The statute
does not apply that default to older instruments.

The settlor may use the trust's method. If no method exists or it is not
expressly exclusive, a qualifying later will or codicil works, as does another
signed writing manifesting clear and convincing evidence of intent.

If the trust was created or last amended electronically, § 30-4-1.5-6 adds
electronic and paper signature routes and, in specified circumstances,
permanent deletion or directions to a custodian to render the record unreadable
and nonretrievable.

Registration, recording, and third-party effect

Ind. Code § 30-4-6-4 generally says the trustee need not file the trust instrument
and the court may not require it unless the trust terms expressly direct
continuing jurisdiction, subject to the section's stated specialized
exceptions.

Section 30-4-4-5 permits an optional certification for a third person. A person
without knowledge that the representations are wrong may rely on it, and a
good-faith transaction may be enforced against trust property as if its
representations were correct.

For a home, the deed is separate. Ind. Code § 32-21-3-3 limits an unrecorded deed's
effect against outsiders without notice. Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1 requires recording
in the recorder's office where the land is located and gives priority by time
of recording.

What trips people up

Indiana requires a writing. This is not an oral-trust state for the
ordinary express trust covered here.

Electronic signing has its own chapter. Indiana expressly permits an
electronic inter vivos trust without witnesses or notarization, but only within
the record, signature, identity-verification, and preservation framework of
chapter 30-4-1.5.

A future-benefit corpus is not universal funding. The statute can validate
a trust whose only corpus is a right to later proceeds, but an existing home,
account, or other titled asset still needs its own transfer.

Common questions

Can my beneficiary also serve as trustee?

Yes, if otherwise qualified. Complete merger is the limit: one person cannot
hold title as sole trustee and also own the entire beneficial interest without
another vested or contingent beneficiary interest.

Does the trustee have to sign to accept?

A signature conclusively establishes acceptance, but it is not the only route.
Exercising trustee powers or performing duties presumptively accepts the trust.

Must I file the trust with an Indiana court?

Generally no. Section 30-4-6-4 bars routine filing unless the trust expressly
directs continuing court jurisdiction, subject to its specialized exceptions.

Statutes and sources

• Ind. Code chs. 30-4-1, -1.5, and -2 — scope, mandatory writing, definite
  terms, capacity, property, beneficiaries, trustee roles, and electronic
  execution. Official 2026 creation chapter
  (accessed July 30, 2026).
• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-3-1.5 and 30-4-1.5-6 — revocability and paper or
  electronic revocation/amendment routes. Official 2026 revocation chapter
  (accessed July 30, 2026).
• Ind. Code §§ 30-4-4-5 and 30-4-6-4 — certification and ordinary no-filing
  rule. Official 2026 third-party chapter
  (accessed July 30, 2026).
• Ind. Code § 29-1-5-1 — will-making age and sound-mind standard.
  Official 2026 probate chapter
  (accessed July 30, 2026).
• Ind. Code §§ 32-21-1-13, 32-21-3-3, and 32-21-4-1 — deed execution,
  recording effect, county, and priority. Official 2026 conveyance chapter
  (accessed July 30, 2026).