Sec. 14. (a) This section applies to the following proceedings brought in a state court concerning real estate or any interest in real estate located in Indiana:

(1) An action to:

(A) quiet or determine title to;

(B) obtain title or possession of; or

(C) partition;

real estate.

(2) An action by an executor or administrator to:

(A) sell real estate to satisfy the debts of a decedent; or

(B) enforce or foreclose a mortgage or lien on real estate.

(b) A person who institutes a proceeding described in subsection (a) may, under a circumstance set forth in subsection (c), name as a defendant any of the following individuals:

(1) A person:

(A) who may have an interest in real estate that is the subject of the proceeding; and

(B) whose name appears of record in a record concerning the real estate.

(2) A person who bears one of the following relationships to a former owner or encumbrancer of the real estate:

(A) Spouse.

(B) Widow or widower.

(C) Heir or devisee.

The person who institutes the proceeding does not have to know the name of a person described in subdivision (2).

(c) A person who institutes a proceeding described in subsection (a) may name an individual described in subsection (b) as a defendant if public records in the county in which the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding is located any of disclose the following circumstances:

(1) There is a break or hiatus in the record title of real estate.

(2) There exists:

(A) a defect in;

(B) an apparent defect in; or

(C) a cloud upon;

the title of the real estate due to a defective or inaccurate legal description of the real estate.

(3) There is no record that a grantor or mortgagor was unmarried when the deed to or mortgage on the real estate was executed.

(4) An instrument affecting the real estate, including a deed, will, or mortgage, was not properly executed.

(5) A mortgage, vendor's lien, or other lien or encumbrance affecting the real estate was not properly released.

(6) The person instituting the proceeding does not know:

(A) the name of another person who may claim an interest in the real estate based on the other person's relationship to a former owner, mortgagee, or encumbrancer of the real estate; or

(B) whether another person, including a person described in clause (A), who may have an interest in the real estate is alive or dead.

(d) The plaintiff in a proceeding described in subsection (a) may state the following in the complaint:

(1) The plaintiff asserts title to the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding against all other persons.

(2) The purpose of the proceeding is to quiet the title to the real estate.

(3) The plaintiff has named as defendants all persons whom the party knows may have a claim to or interest in the real estate.

(e) The plaintiff shall file with the complaint an affidavit that states the following:

(1) The complaint contains the names of all persons disclosed by public record by or through whom a claim or interest in the real estate may be asserted.

(2) The plaintiff does not know the following information about a person described in subdivision (1):

(A) Whether the person is alive or dead.

(B) The person's legal residence.

(C) The person's marital status.

(D) If the person is or has been married, the name or address of the person's spouse, widow, or widower.

(E) If the person is dead, whether the person has left any heirs or devisees.

(F) The name or legal residence of an heir or devisee.

(3) The plaintiff claims full and complete right and title in the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding described in subsection (a).

(4) The plaintiff intends to quiet title to the real estate through the proceeding.

(f) After the plaintiff files the complaint and affidavit, the plaintiff shall file an affidavit for publication of notice under IC 34-32-1.

(g) After the plaintiff files the affidavit for publication of notice described in subsection (f), the clerk of the county in which the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding described in subsection (a) is located shall publish notice of the following:

(1) The filing and pendency of the proceeding.

(2) The date on which the proceeding will take place.

(3) Designations and descriptions of any defendant whose name and legal residence are unknown.

(4) A legal description of the real estate.

(5) The purpose of the proceeding, which is to quiet title to the real estate.

(h) After the clerk publishes notice as set forth in subsection (g), the clerk shall provide proof of the publication to the court in which the proceeding described in subsection (a) is pending. Not earlier than thirty (30) days after the last publication of notice, the court may hear and determine all matters in the proceeding as if the plaintiff had known and sued all possible claimants by their proper names. All decrees, orders, and judgments issued by the court are binding and conclusive on all parties and claimants. The proceeding shall be taken as a proceeding in rem against the real estate.

(i) If the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding described in subsection (a) is located in more than one (1) county, the plaintiff may file a complaint in a court located in any county in which the real estate is located. The plaintiff may not file a complaint in more than one (1) court. The plaintiff shall publish notice of the complaint in each county in which the real estate is located. The published notice in each county shall contain the following:

(1) The legal description of the real estate that is located in that county.

(2) The other counties in which the real estate is located.

(3) Notice that a certified copy of the final judgment in the proceeding will be filed, not more than three (3) months after the judgment is entered, in the recorder's office in each county in which the real estate is located.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-6-4-1.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.15.