Lawsmith

Wills & Estates

Transfer-on-Death Deed

Pass a home or land at death without probate, in the states whose statutes allow it.

Try 5 documents freeDraft a sample

What you get

  • An editable Word document, drafted from your answers and the state's official text.
  • A proof of sources: every citation in the draft with the words it quotes, the official source, the date the text was saved and its fingerprint.
  • Notes for counsel listing each point marked [VERIFY], each blank and each choice left for the client.

What the intake asks

Plain questions, in the order an attorney would take the facts. Anything left blank stays a marked blank in the draft; nothing is invented to fill it.

The owner and the property

  • Owner's full legal name
  • Owners and how they hold title
  • The property
  • The deed the owner holds under

Who receives it

  • Beneficiaries
  • How the beneficiaries take together
  • If a beneficiary dies first
  • Alternate beneficiaries

Signing and recording

  • Earlier transfer-on-death deed
  • Recording
  • Formalities
  • Other instructions or open decisions

Where it is offered

Only where the law provides for it:

CaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaMarylandNew YorkOhioTexasVirginia

Official sources on file

The drafter works from the texts Lawsmith has saved for this document in the state you choose, plus federal law where it applies. Each is read from the official publisher and dated.

StateSources for this document
California27
Delaware20
District of Columbia20
Maryland18
New York12
Ohio8
Texas16
Virginia19

Among them, for California:

  • Cal. Civ. Code § 1213. Recorded conveyance of real property or an estate for years is constructive notice
  • Cal. Civ. Code § 1214. Unrecorded conveyance, other than a lease for one year or less, void against subsequent good-faith purchasers
  • Cal. Civ. Code § 1091. Transfer of real property; writing required
  • Cal. Gov. Code § 27287. Acknowledgment required before recording
  • Cal. Civ. Code § 1170. When an instrument is deemed recorded

How the draft is checked

Before it writes, the drafter must quote the official text behind each citation. Lawsmith compares every quotation with the text on file, character for character; a citation with no checked quotation reaches you marked [VERIFY]. The draft still needs your review before it is signed, filed or sent. How citations are checked

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