How to Use a Transfer on Death Deed in California

A transfer on death deed is one of the probate-avoidance tools covered in the overview of California estate planning. This article explains what the deed can and cannot do, which property qualifies, how to complete and record it, how to revoke it, and what the named beneficiary actually receives.

What a transfer on death deed does

A revocable transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who receives real property automatically when the owner dies. The statute calls it a revocable transfer on death deed; county recorders and the forms often shorten it to “TOD deed.” Until the owner dies, the owner keeps full control. The beneficiary has no ownership interest, no right of access, and no say over the property while the owner is alive.

Under Cal. Prob. Code § 5642, the Legislature adopted a fill-in-the-blank statutory form so an owner can create the deed without custom drafting. The form asks for the property description, the assessor’s parcel number, and the beneficiary’s full name.

The deed’s purpose is to move one piece of real property outside probate. When the owner dies, title passes to the named beneficiary without the court process that otherwise applies to real property held in the owner’s name alone. The beneficiary records proof of the owner’s death and a change-in-ownership statement rather than opening a case. The California Courts self-help center explains where the California probate process applies and what can pass outside it.

Because the deed is revocable, it does not lock the owner in. The owner can sell the property, refinance it, name a different beneficiary, or cancel the deed at any point before death.

Which property qualifies

The TOD deed reaches only residential real property. Cal. Prob. Code § 5610 defines the eligible property as real property improved with not more than four residential dwelling units, a condominium unit, or agricultural land of 40 acres or less that contains a single-family residence.

Property outside those categories cannot pass by TOD deed. A five-unit apartment building, vacant land with no home on it, a commercial building, and most farmland over 40 acres all fall outside the definition in Cal. Prob. Code § 5610. Owners of those properties rely on other tools, such as a living trust, to keep a transfer out of probate.

The deed also transfers only the interest the owner actually holds. If the property is owned with someone else in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship, that survivorship right controls at the first death, and the TOD deed has no effect until the surviving owner dies.

How to complete and record the deed

Three actions make a TOD deed effective: completing the statutory form, signing it before a notary, and recording it on time.

1. Complete the statutory form

   Fill in the legal description of the property, the assessor’s parcel number, and the full legal name of each beneficiary. The form in Cal. Prob. Code § 5642 uses plain fill-in fields. Copying only the street address instead of the recorded legal description is a common error that clouds title later, so the description is taken from the current recorded deed.

2. Sign before a notary

   The owner signs and acknowledges the deed in front of a notary public. California requires a notarial acknowledgment before a deed can be recorded; the Secretary of State describes how a notary acknowledgment works and what the notary confirms.

3. Record within 60 days

   Record the signed and notarized deed with the recorder in the county where the property sits. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 5626, the deed is not effective unless it is recorded on or before 60 days after it was acknowledged before the notary.

How to change or revoke the deed

An owner can undo a TOD deed at any time while alive. Cal. Prob. Code § 5628 recognizes three methods: recording a formal revocation form, recording a new TOD deed that names a different beneficiary, or recording a deed that transfers the property to someone else during the owner’s life.

Each method depends on recording before the owner dies. A signed revocation left in a drawer does not revoke anything. A later-recorded TOD deed controls over an earlier one covering the same property, and selling or giving away the property during life defeats the deed because the owner no longer holds title to pass. Naming a beneficiary in a will does not change a recorded TOD deed; the deed operates outside the will.

What the beneficiary receives

A TOD deed transfers the property subject to everything attached to it. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 5652, the beneficiary takes title subject to any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, or other encumbrance in place at the owner’s death. The deed moves ownership; it does not erase debt secured by the home.

The property can also be reached by the deceased owner’s unsecured creditors. Cal. Prob. Code § 5674 makes the beneficiary personally liable, up to the value of the property received, for the owner’s unsecured debts and for claims such as Medi-Cal estate recovery, for a limited period after the death. Avoiding probate does not, by itself, shield a beneficiary from the estate’s creditors.

Limits and the 2032 sunset

The TOD deed statute is temporary. Cal. Prob. Code § 5600 provides that the law remains in effect only until January 1, 2032, and is repealed as of that date unless the Legislature extends it again, as it has before. A deed properly recorded before repeal stays valid; the sunset affects the ability to create new deeds, not deeds already on record.

The deed also fits a narrow set of facts. It handles one parcel of residential property and a direct beneficiary designation. It does not manage the property if the owner becomes incapacitated, does not automatically provide for a beneficiary who dies before the owner, and does not coordinate multiple assets the way a trust does. Situations involving blended families, minor beneficiaries, or property in more than one state generally call for broader planning than a single deed provides.