Indiana Deceased Tenant Estate and Landlord Coordination Packet
INDIANA DECEASED TENANT ESTATE AND LANDLORD COORDINATION PACKET
Before use: IC 32-31-1-23(a) applies when the landlord knows a tenant died while the sole occupant of a dwelling unit under a lease. It gives a qualifying tenant representative access at a reasonable time to remove the tenant's property and addresses deposit and unearned rent otherwise owed. It does not itself terminate the lease or authorize a landlord to dispose of the property. Confirm representative priority and written acceptance. An heir's or specified other person's limited authority ends under subsection (e) when the statutory actor knows an estate personal representative has been appointed.
Identity, priority and lease record
| Fact or statutory gate | Supporting record and result |
|---|---|
| Sole occupant under lease and death known to landlord | [LEASE / OCCUPANCY / DEATH RECORD / DATE] |
| First priority: tenant designation in writing delivered to landlord | [DOCUMENT / DELIVERY / NAME] |
| Second: tenant designation in written lease | [LEASE TERM / NAME] |
| Third: attorney in fact named during tenant's lifetime | [POWER OF ATTORNEY / NAME] |
| Fourth: temporary guardian or guardian of person | [ORDER / NAME] |
| Fifth: tenant's heir | [RELATIONSHIP / EVIDENCE / NAME] |
| Sixth: probate-court appointee on petition | [ORDER / CONDITIONS / NAME] |
| Competing representative or later appointed estate personal representative | [COURT / CASE / NOTICE / RESOLUTION] |
| Lease end, possession, deposit and unearned-rent records | [DOCUMENTS / DATES / AMOUNTS] |
A. Tenant representative: written acceptance and access request
Date: [__/__/____] To landlord: [NAME / ADDRESS]
I, [NAME], accept appointment as the tenant's representative under IC 32-31-1-23(d) for deceased tenant [NAME] of [UNIT ADDRESS]. I qualify in the statute's priority order as ☐ written designee whose document was delivered to the landlord ☐ written lease designee ☐ attorney in fact named during the tenant's lifetime ☐ guardian ☐ heir ☐ probate-court appointee. My evidence is [DOCUMENTS ATTACHED]. If I am court-appointed, I will comply with [ORDER CONDITIONS]. My mailing address, phone and email are [DETAILS].
I request reasonable access at [DATE / TIME] or [ALTERNATE] to remove the deceased tenant's personal property from the unit and elsewhere on the premises. I will prepare and sign an inventory if requested. Please identify any higher-priority representative, competing claim, or appointed estate personal representative of whom you are aware before handoff. This limited role does not itself establish general probate authority or decide personal liability for rent.
Please send the lease, deposit and unearned-rent accounting to my written mailing address above. Payment is limited to amounts the tenant would otherwise have been entitled to under IC 32-31-3-12. We will determine lease termination and possession separately.
Representative signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Written delivery proof: [METHOD / DATE / RECIPIENT]
B. Landlord: notification and reasonable-access arrangement
Date: [__/__/____] To tenant representative: [NAME / ADDRESS]
I know of the death of [TENANT NAME], who was the sole occupant under the lease for [UNIT], based on [RECORD / DATE]. I notify you of the death under IC 32-31-1-23(a)(1). Your claimed representative basis is [DESIGNATION / LEASE / POWER / GUARDIANSHIP / HEIR / PROBATE ORDER], with written acceptance received on [DATE]. I checked higher-priority and competing claims on [DATE / RESULT].
I offer reasonable access to remove the tenant's property on [DATE / TIME] or [ALTERNATE]. ☐ Please prepare and sign an inventory of removed property. ☐ I will provide an inventory to sign at handoff. Please send any change in estate appointment or mailing address in writing. This access arrangement does not decide lease termination or title to disputed items.
Landlord signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Delivery record: [METHOD / DATE / PROOF]
C. Property handoff receipt and accounting
Access date: [DATE / TIME / UNIT]. Representative: [NAME / PRIORITY / WRITTEN ACCEPTANCE / ID]. Landlord: [NAME].
| Item | Identification and condition | Removed or remains |
|---|---|---|
| [ITEM] | [DETAIL / PHOTO] | [STATUS] |
| [ITEM] | [DETAIL / PHOTO] | [STATUS] |
Inventory prepared and signed: [YES / COPY / DATE]. Keys and possession status: [DETAIL / DATE]. Competing or newly appointed estate actor: [CHECK / RESULT]. If a qualifying dispute remains, obtain the probate court's decision before contested handoff.
| Deposit and rent item | Evidence and amount |
|---|---|
| Security deposit held | [RECEIPT / AMOUNT] |
| Proposed deductions under IC 32-31-3-12 and -13, each itemized | [LEDGER / PHOTOS / AMOUNT] |
| Unearned rent to which tenant otherwise entitled | [LEASE / PAYMENT / AMOUNT] |
| Balance for qualified representative | [CALCULATION / PAYMENT / DATE] |
Rental-agreement termination date: [DATE / BASIS]. Possession delivered: [DATE / PROOF]. Occupancy termination: [DATE / PROOF]. Written mailing address supplied: [DATE / ADDRESS]. Review IC 32-31-3-12's forty-five-day termination-and-possession clock and § 3-14's separate forty-five-day occupancy itemization clock. Itemized notice with estimated cost for each damaged item and the proposed assessment, plus a check or money order for any refund, mailed: [DATE / METHOD / PROOF].
Representative signature: ____________________ Landlord signature: ____________________ Date: [__/__/____]
This receipt records custody and accounting only; it does not authorize disposal of any property left behind.
About this template
- Last updated
- October 3, 2026
- Citations checked
- October 3, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Indiana
- Category
- Landlord & Tenant
Legal authority
- IC 32-31-1-23
- IC 32-31-3-12
- IC 32-31-3-13
- IC 32-31-3-14
Landlord-tenant paperwork governs who can stay in a property, on what terms, and what happens when something goes wrong. Leases, notices to quit, security deposit demands, and habitability complaints all have state and often city-specific requirements for timing, content, and service. Getting the paperwork right is what makes an eviction actually succeed or a security deposit actually come back, because judges regularly dismiss cases over small procedural mistakes.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on October 3, 2026.
IC 32-31-1-23(a) (checked October 3, 2026): "If a landlord knows of the death of a tenant who, at the time of death, was the sole occupant of the dwelling unit under a lease"
IC 32-31-1-23(a)(1) (checked October 3, 2026): "shall notify a tenant's representative of the death"
IC 32-31-1-23(a)(2) (checked October 3, 2026): "shall give the tenant's representative access to the premises at a reasonable time to remove any personal property from the unit and other personal property of the tenant elsewhere on the premises"
IC 32-31-1-23(a)(3) (checked October 3, 2026): "may require the tenant's representative to prepare and sign an inventory of the property being removed"
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