Transfer on Death Deeds by State

Transfer on death deed by state

The law that allows the deed in each state, read in the statute or enacting law. Some states call it a beneficiary deed or a deed upon death.

How a transfer on death deed works

Most of these states adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. Under it, as in Washington's version (RCW 64.80):

• It must be recorded before the owner dies, in the county where the property is, and say the transfer happens at death.
• The beneficiary doesn't sign it, doesn't need to be told about it and pays nothing for it.
• The owner keeps full control. They can sell, mortgage or revoke it at any time, and the beneficiary has no interest in the property until the death.
• A beneficiary must outlive the owner. If they don't, their share lapses unless the deed names an alternate.
• A will can't revoke it. Only a later recorded deed or revocation can, so a recorded deed controls who gets the property whatever the will says.

After the owner dies: what the beneficiary does

1. Find the recorded deed. Search the county recorder's or clerk's land records under the owner's name, and check it was recorded before the date of death.
2. Order certified death certificates. The county, the title company and the lender will each want one.
3. Record proof of the death in the same county. Depending on the state, this is a death certificate, an affidavit of death (Texas) or an affidavit of confirmation (Ohio). The county recorder will tell you which.
4. Call the lender and the insurer. Keep the mortgage, property tax and homeowner's insurance paid, and move the policy into your name.
5. Get a date-of-death appraisal. It sets your tax basis if you sell later, and the estate may need it for an estate or inheritance tax return.
6. Tell the executor, if there is one. The property isn't part of the probate estate, but it can still be needed to pay debts or taxes.

When the deed doesn't work

• Not recorded before the death. A signed deed in a drawer does nothing. The property passes under the will or intestacy law instead.
• The beneficiary died first and no alternate was named. That share lapses and goes through the estate.
• The property is in a state without transfer on death deeds. A deed recorded there has no effect.
• The owner owned only part of the property. The deed passes only their share. A co-owner's share isn't affected.

When the deed fails, the property usually needs probate. For a small estate, check whether your state's small estate affidavit covers real estate. In Texas, heirs of someone who left no will often use an affidavit of heirship.

Mortgage, debts and taxes

• Mortgage and liens stay with the property. The beneficiary has to keep paying, refinance or sell.
• Creditors. Under the uniform act the beneficiary is liable for the estate's allowed creditor claims and family allowances when the probate estate can't cover them. New York's law says the same.
• Medicaid. Some states can recover long-term care costs from property passed this way. Texas law, for one, does not reach it while the property stays out of probate.
• Capital gains. Your basis is the value on the date of death. Work out a sale with the inherited property capital gains calculator.
• Transfer tax. Taking the property under the deed owes none, because nothing is sold; when you later sell, the usual transfer tax applies. See real estate transfer tax by state.
• Estate and inheritance tax. Avoiding probate doesn't avoid tax. The property still counts toward the estate, and in Maryland and Nebraska it can be subject to inheritance tax. See do you pay tax on an inheritance.

States without transfer on death deeds

Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont have no transfer on death deed for real estate. Bills to adopt one were filed in several of them in 2026 without becoming law. Owners there pass real estate outside probate with other tools:

• Joint ownership with right of survivorship.
• A revocable living trust that holds the deed.
• A life estate deed. Vermont has a statutory enhanced life estate deed, and lawyers in Florida and Michigan often use an enhanced life estate ("lady bird") deed.

If the person who died used none of these, the real estate goes through probate. See what probate is and how long it takes.

A car is titled separately. Some states, California and Texas among them, let an owner name a transfer on death beneficiary on the car title too. See how to transfer a car title after death.

Related guides for heirs

• Do you pay tax on an inheritance? Federal and state rules
• Inherited property capital gains calculator
• Selling an inherited house: net proceeds calculator
• Real estate transfer tax by state, and on an inherited house
• Affidavit of heirship in Texas
• Transfer a car title after death, by state
• Inheritance tax by state: the 5 states that tax heirs
• Inheritance tax calculators by state
• Estate tax vs inheritance tax
• Small estate affidavit by state