diff --git a/src/python/library/tests/test_shared_memory.py b/src/python/library/tests/test_shared_memory.py
index f765bc781..36c64f090 100644
--- a/src/python/library/tests/test_shared_memory.py
+++ b/src/python/library/tests/test_shared_memory.py
@@ -101,10 +101,8 @@ def test_set_region_oversize(self):
             shm.set_shared_memory_region(self.shm_handles[0], [large_tensor])
 
     def test_duplicate_key(self):
-        # [NOTE] change in behavior:
-        # previous: okay to create shared memory region of the same key with different size
-        #           and the behavior is not being study clearly.
-        # now: return the same handle if existed, warning will be print if size is different
+        # by default, return the same handle if existed, warning will be print
+        # if size is different
         self.shm_handles.append(
             shm.create_shared_memory_region("shm_name", "shm_key", 32)
         )
@@ -133,9 +131,8 @@ def test_duplicate_key(self):
             shm.set_shared_memory_region(self.shm_handles[-1], [large_tensor])
 
     def test_destroy_duplicate(self):
-        # [NOTE] change in behavior:
-        # previous: raise exception if underlying shared memory has been unlinked
-        # now: no exception as unlink only happen when last managed handle is destroyed
+        # destruction of duplicate shared memory region will occur when the last
+        # managed handle is destroyed
         self.assertEqual(len(shm.mapped_shared_memory_regions()), 0)
         self.shm_handles.append(
             shm.create_shared_memory_region("shm_name", "shm_key", 64)
diff --git a/src/python/library/tritonclient/utils/shared_memory/__init__.py b/src/python/library/tritonclient/utils/shared_memory/__init__.py
index 364b58b99..12904445e 100755
--- a/src/python/library/tritonclient/utils/shared_memory/__init__.py
+++ b/src/python/library/tritonclient/utils/shared_memory/__init__.py
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ def create_shared_memory_region(triton_shm_name, shm_key, byte_size, create_only
         Whether a shared memory region must be created. If False and
         a shared memory region of the same name exists, a handle to that
         shared memory region will be returned and user must be aware that
-        the shared memory size can be different from the size requested.
+        the previously allocated shared memory size can be different from
+        the size requested.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -80,8 +81,11 @@ def create_shared_memory_region(triton_shm_name, shm_key, byte_size, create_only
         try:
             shm_handle._mpsm_handle = mpshm.SharedMemory(shm_key)
             if shm_key not in _key_mapping:
-                _key_mapping[shm_key] = [False, 0]
-            _key_mapping[shm_key][1] += 1
+                _key_mapping[shm_key] = {
+                    "needs_unlink": False,
+                    "active_handle_count": 0,
+                }
+            _key_mapping[shm_key]["active_handle_count"] += 1
         except FileNotFoundError:
             # File not found means the shared memory region has not been created,
             # suppress the exception and attempt to create the region.
@@ -96,9 +100,9 @@ def create_shared_memory_region(triton_shm_name, shm_key, byte_size, create_only
                 "unable to create the shared memory region"
             ) from ex
         if shm_key not in _key_mapping:
-            _key_mapping[shm_key] = [False, 0]
-        _key_mapping[shm_key][0] = True
-        _key_mapping[shm_key][1] += 1
+            _key_mapping[shm_key] = {"needs_unlink": False, "active_handle_count": 0}
+        _key_mapping[shm_key]["needs_unlink"] = True
+        _key_mapping[shm_key]["active_handle_count"] += 1
 
     if byte_size > shm_handle._mpsm_handle.size:
         warnings.warn(
@@ -238,10 +242,10 @@ def destroy_shared_memory_region(shm_handle):
     # fail to delete a region, we should not report it back to the user
     # as a valid memory region.
     shm_handle._mpsm_handle.close()
-    _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key][1] -= 1
-    if _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key][1] == 0:
+    _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key]["active_handle_count"] -= 1
+    if _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key]["active_handle_count"] == 0:
         try:
-            if _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key][0]:
+            if _key_mapping[shm_handle._shm_key]["needs_unlink"]:
                 shm_handle._mpsm_handle.unlink()
         finally:
             _key_mapping.pop(shm_handle._shm_key)