Beginning October 1, 2026, Maryland homeowners will have a new way to name who should receive real property at death without transferring ownership during life. A Maryland transfer on death deed—often shortened to TOD deed or TODD—allows an owner to designate a beneficiary who will receive the property automatically when the owner dies.
The deed may offer a simpler path around probate while allowing the owner to keep complete control of the property during life. But it is not the right choice for every homeowner. Recording requirements, beneficiary designations, joint ownership, taxes, liens, and the owner’s health all may affect whether a transfer on death deed, a life estate deed, or another estate-planning tool is more appropriate.
Implementation note: The law is new, and the MVLS presenters whose training forms the basis of this guide emphasized that procedures may continue to develop as county finance offices, land records offices, title professionals, and other stakeholders begin working with these deeds.
Table of Contents
A transfer on death deed is a recorded deed that names one or more beneficiaries to receive real property when the owner dies. Unlike a deed that transfers the property immediately, a TOD deed does not give the beneficiary a present ownership interest. The transfer occurs only at the owner’s death.
During the owner’s life, the beneficiary has no right to use the property, prevent its sale, demand a share of its value, or otherwise control it. The owner may continue to live in the home, refinance it, sell it, or change the beneficiary designation.
A TOD deed is always revocable, regardless of language that may appear in the deed. If an owner wants to make an irrevocable transfer that cannot later be changed unilaterally, a transfer on death deed is not the appropriate instrument.
The Maryland Transfer on Death Deed Act takes effect October 1, 2026. The training presenters expected finance offices and land records offices to begin accepting these deeds on that date. Although the legislation addresses deeds executed before the effective date, the presenters cautioned that a deed is not effective unless it is recorded before the owner’s death.
That recording requirement matters. A signed TOD deed left in a drawer does not accomplish the intended transfer. It must reach the land records office and be recorded while the owner is still living.
The beneficiary receives no present property right. This distinguishes a TOD deed from a life estate deed, which is a present transfer of a future interest and may give the remainderman limited rights before the life tenant dies.
If the TOD deed was properly recorded and the designated beneficiary survives the owner as required by the deed, title passes at the owner’s death outside the probate process.
The owner may revoke the designation or record a new TOD deed. Because effectiveness depends on recording, a revocation or replacement also must be recorded promptly. The training identified this as particularly important in jurisdictions where deeds may be delayed in a finance office before reaching land records.
An owner may name multiple beneficiaries. If the deed does not specify the form of ownership, the statutory presumption described in the training is joint tenancy with right of survivorship rather than tenancy in common. An attorney-drafted deed should state the intended ownership expressly instead of relying on a default rule.
The statutory form permits an alternate beneficiary. If the primary beneficiary does not survive the owner and no alternate beneficiary takes under the deed, the property remains part of the owner’s estate and may pass through probate.
The trustee of an existing revocable or irrevocable living trust may be designated. A testamentary trust cannot be named because it does not yet exist and has no acting trustee when the TOD deed is made.
The training emphasized several practical and legal requirements:
Maryland’s legislation includes a statutory deed form, a revocation form, and a notification of death form. The statutory form is optional, and attorneys may customize the deed. The presenters cautioned that the form is intentionally bare-bones and built around statutory presumptions. A lawyer preparing the deed should evaluate the client’s actual goals and draft the instrument accordingly.
A TOD deed must be recorded in Maryland Land Records before the owner dies. The training anticipated that, at least during the initial implementation period, many localities would require the deed to pass through the county or Baltimore City finance office before it reaches land records.
A lien certificate should not be required for a transfer on death deed. Removing that requirement was one of the law’s intended protections for homeowners who are behind on public charges but still need to plan for the home. The presenters nevertheless expected some variation in local processing and recommended confirming the initial procedure with the applicable finance office or clerk.
The deed should be submitted with the applicable intake sheet. When the property is the owner’s principal residence, the intake documentation should accurately identify that status so the owner’s property-tax classification and related protections are not inadvertently affected.
Because no present transfer occurs when the deed is recorded, the presenters expected the recorded TOD deed to remain in Maryland Land Records without immediately being forwarded to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. A search of SDAT alone may therefore fail to reveal an existing TOD deed. Anyone examining title should also search Maryland Land Records carefully.
ATTORNEY INSIGHT
A signed transfer on death deed left in a drawer does not accomplish the intended transfer. The deed must be recorded while the owner is still living, and local processing delays may matter.
At the owner’s death, the beneficiary’s rights arise under the recorded deed. Maryland also created a notification of death form. Recording that form is optional, but the presenters strongly encouraged it because it provides notice of the death and allows SDAT records and future tax bills to reflect the new owner.
The form requests information from the death certificate but does not require a copy of the death certificate to be recorded. A beneficiary who intends to sell or refinance the property should expect the title professional to require satisfactory evidence that the owner died and that the beneficiary now holds title.
A TOD deed does not erase mortgages, tax claims, judgments, or other enforceable liens. The beneficiary receives the property subject to liabilities that continue to attach to it.
ATTORNEY INSIGHT
The beneficiary receives the property subject to existing mortgages, liens, easements, and other title matters. A TOD deed changes who receives title; it does not erase claims against the property.
| Issue | Transfer on Death Deed | Life Estate Deed With Powers | Life Estate Deed Without Powers |
|---|---|---|---|
| When interest transfers | At the owner’s death | Present transfer of a future interest | Present transfer of a future interest |
| Owner may change it alone | Yes; always revocable | Generally yes, depending on drafting | Generally no; remainderman participation is required |
| Beneficiary rights during owner’s life | None | Limited rights may exist | Vested remainder interest |
| Must be recorded before death | Yes | No, if validly delivered during life | No, if validly delivered during life |
| Effect of unilateral deed by one joint tenant | Does not sever the joint tenancy | May sever the joint tenancy | May sever the joint tenancy |
A TOD deed made by one joint tenant does not sever an existing joint tenancy. If that owner dies first, the property passes to the surviving joint tenant under the joint ownership deed, and the deceased owner’s TOD beneficiary receives nothing. If the owner who made the TOD deed becomes the last surviving joint tenant, that owner’s recorded designation may then control the transfer at death.
Joint owners should coordinate their planning. Separate deeds naming different beneficiaries can create complicated questions, particularly if deaths occur close together. The training explained that Maryland’s simultaneous-death rules and a 120-day survival period may affect the result.
The presenters expected taxes at the time of recording to be uncommon for the law’s ordinary use case: an owner naming a beneficiary for a primary or secondary residence without receiving consideration. They explained that exemptions may apply even when consideration exists, including where a beneficiary later pays or assumes a mortgage.
A TOD deed does not change who is subject to Maryland inheritance tax. If inheritance tax applies, the fact that the property passed outside probate does not eliminate it. The training indicated that the liability may be identified later, including during a future sale when a title professional reviews the transfer.
A homeowner should seek legal advice whenever possible, and especially when the property has multiple owners, the owner is married, a beneficiary has a disability, the property is subject to significant liens, the owner wants different people to benefit at different times, or family conflict is likely.
Non-attorneys are not newly authorized to prepare deeds for other people. The law permits an owner to prepare the owner’s own deed and permits an attorney to prepare a deed. Helping someone else select beneficiaries or draft the instrument may constitute the unauthorized practice of law.
Yes. A transfer on death deed is always revocable. The revocation or replacement must be handled and recorded correctly.
No. The beneficiary has no property right until your death.
Yes. The deed should state clearly how the beneficiaries will own the property after your death.
You may name the trustee of an existing living trust. The training explained that a testamentary trust cannot be named because it does not yet exist.
An alternate beneficiary may take if the deed names one. If no designated beneficiary survives as required, the property remains in your estate and may pass through probate.
No. The beneficiary receives the property subject to enforceable liens and encumbrances.
Not necessarily during the owner’s life. The training expected the deed to be available in Maryland Land Records but not reflected by SDAT until after death information is submitted.
No. The right choice depends on recording timing, loved ones’ needs, joint ownership, desired control, and the owner’s broader estate-planning goals.
Maryland’s transfer on death deed adds an important tool, but it does not replace careful planning. Its greatest strengths are that it preserves the owner’s control, creates no present beneficiary interest, and may transfer the property outside probate. Its most important limitation is equally clear: the deed accomplishes nothing unless it is properly prepared and recorded before death.
Before choosing a TOD deed, consider the entire plan—not only probate avoidance. The correct deed should coordinate with your will or trust, family circumstances, long-term-care planning, tax concerns, existing ownership, and the practical realities of recording.
Right Size Law helps individuals and families evaluate deed transfers as part of a complete estate and long-term-care plan. We can help determine whether a transfer on death deed, life estate deed, revocable trust, or another strategy best fits your goals and circumstances.
Schedule an appointment to discuss planning for your Maryland property.
