Transfer on Death Deed "TODD"

On September 1, 2015, Texas joined the growing number of states that allow owners of real estate to transfer property to their heirs outside the probate process using a Transfer on Death Deed. The deed works like a beneficiary designation on a bank account or an insurance policy by allowing you to name a primary and contingent beneficiary who will inherit your real property after you die. This is good news for many Texans with modest estates whose only probate asset is their home.

Below are a few things you need to know about TODD:

1. It is possible to name more than one beneficiary; however, each beneficiary will inherit the property in equal and undivided shares with no right of survivorship.

2. A TODD is completely revocable, during the life of the Grantor, in one of the following ways:

• By signing a new TODD that expressly revokes the prior one or specifies that the property should pass to someone else;
• By signing a separate document that expressly revokes the prior TODD. Note, however, a Grantor cannot revoke a TODD by making a contrary provision in a Will.
• Divorce automatically revokes the TODD.

3. An agent acting as a Power of Attorney cannot create a TODD.

4. Everyone still needs a Will because you may have probate assets other than your real property and there is always a possibility that beneficiaries you name in your Transfer on Death Deed will die before you or at the same time as you.

Ruais & Associates is here to answer your questions and provide you with all your Estate Planning needs. Give us a call today, for a FREE consultation.