WHAT IS A TRANSFER-ON-DEATH (TOD) DEED?
The transfer-on-death (TOD) deed allows you to retain title to your home during your lifetime and pass it to the person(s) who you want to receive your house after your death (the beneficiary or beneficiaries). An attorney will prepare a deed naming your beneficiaries. Then the deed is signed and recorded while you are living. After you die, the beneficiaries simply file an affidavit at the County Recorder’s office and produce a death certificate to have the property transferred to their names. The TOD deed is a probate avoidance technique when there is only one owner for the property or the owners are tenants-in-common (each owning an equal share). If property is jointly held, it is usually not necessary or advisable to change ownership to one owner or to have a transfer-on-death mechanism until one owner dies.
