North Dakota life estate deed
A life estate deed passes your North Dakota property to the people you name without probate, while you keep the right to live in it for life. Unlike a transfer-on-death deed, it cannot be undone once it is signed and delivered. Here is exactly what North Dakota requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- County Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $20 up to 6 pages
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a life estate deed does in North Dakota
A traditional life estate deed splits ownership across time. You, the life tenant, keep the right to live in and use the property for the rest of your life. The remaindermen you name own everything after that, and their interest vests the moment the deed is delivered; recording protects it against later buyers and creditors. Because their interest is real and present, you can't sell, refinance, or undo the deed without their signatures. That permanence is the whole difference between this and a lady bird deed.
The North Dakota law behind this deed
North Dakota has no section written specifically for life estate deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Conveyances generally | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-10-01 |
| Recording with the County Recorder | N.D. Cent. Code §§ 11-18-02, 11-18-02.2 and 11-18-05, and ch. 47-19 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05 |
Less common in North Dakota
Life estate deeds are valid here but used less often than in other states. Read the limitations below carefully before choosing one.
When North Dakota property owners use a life estate deed
- Pass a home to children while reserving the right to live there for life
- Start the Medicaid look-back clock on a transfer (state rules vary)
- Avoid probate on the property with a simple, long-established instrument
- Provide for a surviving spouse or partner with the remainder going to your own children
What North Dakota requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What North Dakota says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Recorder |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if they live inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05). Deedly prints the address entered for each one. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Required when the legal description is metes and bounds. The deed must name who drafted the description, or say it was copied from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1). Deedly prints this line on every North Dakota deed. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 11pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Accompanying form | None. The grantee's statement of consideration is printed on the deed. |
| Statement of consideration | Required on the face of the deed: the grantee, or the grantee's agent, signs a statement giving the full consideration paid or the exemption that applies, and the recorder cannot record the deed without it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2). Deedly prints it at the end of the deed. It is not a separate form. |
| County auditor's certificate | Required before recording: the county auditor certifies on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all current and delinquent property taxes and special assessments on the land are paid (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Pay anything owing first. |
| Timing | Takes effect when signed and delivered. Record it promptly: an unrecorded deed does not protect the people you named against a later buyer, lender, or creditor. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05).
How to complete and record it in North Dakota
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for North Dakota deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Have the grantee sign the statement of considerationThe grantee, or the grantee's agent, signs the statement of consideration printed at the end of the deed. It gives the price paid, or the exemption that applies (a quitclaim deed is exemption h). The recorder will not accept the deed without it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2).
- Have the county auditor certify itBefore the recorder will accept the deed, the county auditor must certify on it that the transfer is entered and that all current and delinquent property taxes and special assessments on the land are paid (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Pay anything owing first.
- Record it with the County RecorderFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell the people you named where it isAt your death they record a certified death certificate, and in some states an affidavit, to show that your life estate has ended. Ask your insurer whether they should be added to the policy now.
What it costs in North Dakota
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | $20 for up to 6 pages |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | North Dakota caps the notary fee at $5 per notarial act, plus a travel or remote-technology fee only if agreed in advance (N.D.C.C. § 44-06.1-28). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
North Dakota has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost, but any property taxes and special assessments due on the land must be paid before the deed can be recorded (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02).
Where to record it in North Dakota
North Dakota deeds are recorded with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 53 counties in North Dakota.
Many North Dakota recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in North Dakota: Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks, Ward, Williams. See all North Dakota recording offices.
What a life estate deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- It is not revocable. Once recorded, you can't sell or mortgage the property without every remainderman signing.
- A remainderman's divorce, bankruptcy, or judgment creditor can attach their interest in your home while you're still living in it.
- Because you keep the right to live there for life, the full value is still counted in your estate for federal tax purposes (26 U.S.C. § 2036). That generally gives the remaindermen a stepped-up basis at your death, but it also means the deed does not shrink a taxable estate.
- It is usually treated as a divestment for Medicaid purposes. Get advice before using it for that purpose.
Quirks of North Dakota law that catch people out
- The grantee, or the grantee's agent, must sign a statement on the deed giving the full price paid or the exemption that applies (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2). Transfer on death deeds are exempt.
- The county auditor must certify on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all property taxes and special assessments are paid before the recorder will accept it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02).
- Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05).
- A metes and bounds description needs a line naming who drafted it, or saying it came from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1).
- Both spouses must sign and acknowledge a deed of a married person's homestead (N.D.C.C. § 47-18-05).
- North Dakota has no real estate transfer tax (N.D. Const. art. X, § 27).
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with North Dakota's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. North Dakota has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Recorder. Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect $20 for up to 6 pages. North Dakota has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost, but any property taxes and special assessments due on the land must be paid before the deed can be recorded (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Set by state law and the same in every county (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-05): $20 for a document of one to six pages, $65 for seven to twenty-five pages, plus $3 for each page after twenty-five. A document without one-inch margins costs $10 more.
No. North Dakota requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the County Recorder in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. North Dakota has 53 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
No. Once a life estate deed is signed and delivered, the remaindermen hold a present interest and you can't sell, mortgage, or undo it without every one of them signing. If you want to keep control, look at a transfer-on-death deed instead.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the County Recorder so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Often, yes. Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05). That surprises people, because the spouse is not becoming an owner. They are releasing rights the law gives them automatically. Deedly adds a joinder block for the signature when it applies.
Keep reading
- North Dakota quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- North Dakota general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- North Dakota special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- North Dakota transfer on death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- All deed rules for North DakotaRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- North Dakota recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed 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.