Can you use a transfer-on-death deed?

It depends on the state. Seayora holds a published statute for 34 states and the District of Columbia. The table below gives the figure for each, with the statute it comes from.

Transfer-on-death deed, state by state

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

Only states where Seayora holds a published statute appear above. Where no statute is recorded, no figure is shown rather than a guess.

The answer in full, for the biggest rental markets

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in California?

Yes. In California, an owner of a parcel with one to four homes, or of a residential unit in a common interest development, may make a revocable transfer on death deed that is signed, dated, signed by two witnesses, notarized and recorded within 60 days after notarization, and it stays revocable until death. This is California’s revocable transfer on death deed. The part of the Probate Code that authorizes it is repealed on January 1, 2032 unless a later statute extends it, though a deed executed before then stays valid. The beneficiary must be named, the deed need not be delivered to or accepted by the beneficiary during the owner’s life, and it gives the beneficiary no rights until the owner dies. Agricultural land of more than 40 acres is excluded, and a revocation must be executed and recorded the same way as the deed. This is Cal. Prob. Code §§ 5600, 5610, 5614, 5620, 5622, 5624, 5626, 5630, 5632, 5650.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Texas?

Yes. In Texas, an individual may pass their interest in real property at death by a transfer on death deed that has the formalities of a recordable deed, states that the transfer occurs at the owner’s death, and is recorded before the owner’s death in the deed records of the county where the property is located. This is the Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act. The deed is revocable even if it says otherwise, requires the capacity needed to make a contract, cannot be made through a power of attorney, and takes effect without notice to, delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner’s life, and without consideration. This is Tex. Est. Code §§ 114.001, 114.051, 114.052, 114.054, 114.055, 114.056.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in New York?

Yes. In New York, an owner may pass real estate at death by a transfer on death deed that has the formalities of a recordable deed, states that the transfer happens at the owner’s death, is signed by two witnesses present at the same time, is acknowledged before a notary public, and is recorded in the county clerk’s office before the owner dies; the deed stays revocable. The deed is effective without notice or delivery to, or acceptance by, the beneficiary during the owner’s life, and without consideration. A recorded transfer on death deed can be revoked only by a later acknowledged and recorded instrument, not by an act on the deed itself. If the owner is a joint owner survived by another joint owner, the property belongs to the survivor, and the deed takes effect only if the owner is the last surviving joint owner. This is N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 424.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Illinois?

Yes. In Illinois, an owner may transfer real estate by a transfer on death instrument that is signed, attested by two credible witnesses, acknowledged before a notary and recorded before the owner’s death, and it stays revocable. This is the Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act. The instrument must state that the transfer occurs at the owner’s death, and it is effective without notice to, delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner’s life. It is revocable even if it says otherwise, but only by a later recorded instrument executed the same way, not by a will or an unrecorded paper. This is 755 ILCS 27/20, 27/25, 27/40, 27/45, 27/50, 27/55.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Ohio?

Yes. In Ohio, an owner may name who receives real estate at death by a transfer on death designation affidavit that is verified before a person authorized to administer oaths, describes the property, states the owner’s marital status (with the spouse’s dower statement if married), names the beneficiaries, and is recorded with the county recorder before the owner dies; the owner may revoke or change it by recording a new affidavit. Ohio uses a transfer on death designation affidavit rather than a deed. It need not be supported by consideration or delivered to the beneficiary to be effective, the beneficiary has no interest in the property until the owner dies, and the transfer is not testamentary. A later recorded affidavit automatically supersedes and revokes earlier ones for the same property, and two or more beneficiaries take in equal shares as tenants in common unless the affidavit says otherwise. This is Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5302.22, 5302.23.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Georgia?

Yes. In Georgia, an owner may title real estate in transfer-on-death form by executing, attesting and recording with the clerk of superior court before death a deed in substantially the statutory form, and the owner may revoke or change it at any time before death. Georgia’s transfer-on-death deed chapter took effect July 1, 2024 and was amended effective April 22, 2026. The statutory form is signed before an unofficial witness and a notary, an attorney in fact may not sign one for the owner, and no consideration or notice to the beneficiary is needed. Ownership passes only after the owner dies and each beneficiary who wishes to accept signs an affidavit, attaches the death certificate and records it with the clerk of superior court. A revocation must be signed before an officer and one other witness and recorded before death, a will cannot revoke the deed, and the owner remains the full owner as to creditors and purchasers during life. This is O.C.G.A. §§ 44-17-2, 44-17-3, 44-17-4, 44-17-7.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Virginia?

Yes. In Virginia, an individual may pass real property at death by a transfer on death deed that has the formalities of a recordable deed, states that the transfer occurs at the owner’s death, and is recorded before the owner’s death in the land records of the circuit court clerk where the property is located. This is Virginia’s Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. The deed is revocable even if it says otherwise, requires the capacity needed to make a will, must be signed by all joint owners of jointly owned property, is exempt from recordation tax unless given for consideration, and takes effect without notice to, delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner’s life, and without consideration. This is Va. Code §§ 64.2-624, 64.2-625, 64.2-627, 64.2-628, 64.2-629.

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Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Washington?

Yes. In Washington, an individual may pass property at death by a transfer on death deed that has the formalities of a recordable deed, states that the transfer occurs at the owner’s death, and is recorded before the owner’s death with the auditor of the county where the property is located. This is Washington’s Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. The deed is revocable even if it says otherwise, requires the capacity needed to make a will, cannot be used as a deed in lieu of foreclosure of a deed of trust, and takes effect without notice to, delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner’s life, and without consideration. This is RCW 64.80.020, 64.80.030, 64.80.050, 64.80.060, 64.80.070.

More on Washington

How Seayora uses this rule

An owner on Seayora keeps each property’s owners of record, its entity and its documents in one place, so who holds title and how is on file beside the leases and the books.

Guides on this rule

• Joint Tenancy and Transfer-on-Death Deeds by State — How each state reads a deed to two or more people, survivorship rules, and where a transfer-on-death deed is allowed by statute.

Other rules compared across states

• How the interest works in 14 states
• Maximum deposit in 30 states
• Deadline to return the deposit in 49 states
• Notice before entry in 23 states
• Notice before a nonpayment case in 49 states
• Notice to end a tenancy in 46 states
• Notice before a rent increase in 30 states
• Maximum late fee in 17 states
• Grace period before a late fee in 14 states
• Application fee limit in 17 states
• The first step in 22 states
• Time to respond in 22 states
• The rule on lockouts in 22 states
• Cause needed to end a tenancy in 5 states
• Adverse possession period in 51 states
• Rent control in 33 states
• Housing vouchers in 30 states
• Retaliation period in 39 states
• Repair and deduct in 19 states
• Landlord’s duty to re-rent in 34 states
• Subletting in 18 states
• Electrician license in 45 states
• General contractors in 36 states
• Home improvement contractors in 11 states
• HVAC license in 34 states
• Plumber license in 45 states
• A deed to two or more people in 47 states
• Deadline to file the lien in 51 states
• Labor on an appliance repair in 20 states
• Capital improvement in 8 states
• Repair labor on real property in 15 states
• How the contractor is treated in 51 states

Every rule for one state

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Related

• All renting rules by state
• Seayora documentation