Beneficiary deeds: what they do and how to file one
A beneficiary deed is a transfer-on-death deed under a different name. Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri use the term in their statutes; most other states say "transfer on death deed". The instrument is the same.
What a beneficiary deed is
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri and New Mexico) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate on proof of death.
Beneficiary deed, in one sentence
Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
When to use one
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What it does not do
Every deed has hard limits, and most disappointment comes from not knowing them in advance.
- Only about thirty states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- If the beneficiary dies before you and you name no alternate, the deed usually fails and the property goes through probate anyway.
How it compares to the other deeds
| Deed | Title protection | When it transfers | Reversible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | None | Immediately on delivery | No |
| General warranty deed | Full. Warrants against all claims, ever | Immediately on delivery | No |
| Special warranty deed | Limited, only the grantor's own ownership period | Immediately on delivery | No |
| Transfer-on-death deed | Not applicable | At the owner's death | Yes, while you're alive |
| Lady bird deed | Not applicable | At the owner's death | Yes, while you're alive |
| Life estate deed | Not applicable | At the owner's death | No |
| Gift deed | None | Immediately on delivery | No |
Where it is available
Beneficiary deeds are recognized in 4 jurisdictions: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, and Missouri.
A note on the count: published figures vary a lot, for two reasons. Sources differ on whether to include Ohio (which uses a transfer on death designation affidavit rather than a deed) and Wisconsin (a TOD designation recorded against the property). More importantly, three states have added transfer on death deeds very recently: Georgia on July 1, 2024, New York on July 19, 2024, and Delaware on December 4, 2025. Most articles still on the web were written before those laws passed and say those states have nothing. Our data lists 32 states plus DC and includes all three. What matters is your own state. Check the list above.
How to create one
- Confirm it is the right instrumentStart from what you're trying to accomplish rather than the deed name. The goal picker maps the outcome to the instrument and tells you when a deed is the wrong tool entirely.
- Get your state's requirementsWitness rules, notary block wording, page margins, and the tax declarations that must accompany the deed all vary. Pick your state below for the specifics.
- Copy the legal description exactlyFrom your prior recorded deed, word for word. This is the single most common reason a DIY deed fails to transfer what the owner intended.
- Sign in front of a notaryNever in advance. Bring photo ID, and witnesses if your state requires them.
- Record it with the countyIn the county where the property sits. Recording is what puts the world on notice and fixes your priority date.
$69, one time. Read the finished document before you pay.
By state
Beneficiary deed requirements, state by state
Witness rules, margins, transfer taxes, recording fees, and the forms that have to travel with the deed.
Common questions
Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive. A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri and New Mexico) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate on proof of death.
An attorney charges roughly $300–$1,200 to draft one, about $690 on average. LegalZoom is $249–$289, and that includes filing it with the county for you. Deedly is $69 and you record it yourself. On top of any of these you pay your county's recording fee, usually $10–$100, plus any state transfer tax, and $5–$25 for notarization if your bank doesn't do it free.
No state requires an attorney to prepare a deed. What the law requires is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper signatures and notarization, and recording with the right office. You should use an attorney when ownership is disputed, when the owner has died and the estate has not been probated, when the transfer is tax-sensitive, or when Medicaid planning is involved, and Deedly asks about all of those before it lets you start.
About ten minutes to complete the interview, assuming you have your prior deed to hand for the legal description. Notarization takes a few minutes at a bank or shipping store. Recording is same-day if you go in person or use e-recording, and one to three weeks by mail before the stamped original comes back.
Yes, for the property it covers. The property passes directly to the people you named once they record proof of death. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and in many states it doesn't protect the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
Keep reading
- Quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- General warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Lady bird deedAn enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death.
- Deed rules by stateRequirements, fees, and recording offices for all 51 jurisdictions.
- All guidesPlain-English explanations of how deeds actually work.
Deedly is not a law firm
We provide self-help software and state-specific statutory forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.