Also known as: transfer-on-death deed · TOD deed · transfer on death deeds
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A deed by which an owner of real property designates one or more beneficiaries to receive the property at the owner's death. The deed transfers no interest during the owner's life and operates as a nonprobate transfer upon death.
Theresa Tucker, an elderly woman with mild memory lapses, signed a transfer on death deed at her bank naming her broker colleague as beneficiary of her lakefront home instead of her son. After her death the son challenged the deed on capacity grounds. The court enforced the deed because the capacity standard matches that required for a will.
Tracy Torres executed a transfer on death deed conveying her vacation cabin to her niece. The deed was recorded during Tracy's life. Upon Tracy's death the cabin passed directly to the niece outside probate.
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The capacity required equals the capacity to make a will. A person must understand the nature of the act, the property involved, the natural objects of bounty, and the disposition being made. Mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia does not automatically invalidate the deed if the transferor met the testamentary standard at execution.
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No. The deed is effective without notice, delivery, or acceptance by the beneficiary during the transferor's life and without consideration.
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Yes. Revocation occurs only by a later transfer on death deed, an express revocation instrument, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes the earlier deed, all of which must be acknowledged after the original deed and recorded before death.
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No. The deed is nontestamentary and passes property outside probate even though it functions as a will substitute for capacity purposes.
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