How Does a Transfer-on-Death Deed Work in Maryland?

A retired couple in Eastport wants their rowhouse to go to their daughter someday. They don’t want her stuck in a months-long probate case, and they don’t want her name on the title while they still live there. Maryland homeowners in that spot used to choose between a trust, joint ownership, or a life estate deed, and each carried trade-offs.

A Maryland transfer-on-death deed, effective October 1, 2026, gives them a simpler path. They record one deed now naming their daughter. Nothing changes while they’re alive. When the second of them dies, the rowhouse passes to her without an estate proceeding in the Orphans’ Court.

What is a transfer-on-death deed in Maryland?

A transfer-on-death (TOD) deed is a recorded deed that names who will own your Maryland real estate after you die. Under Real Property § 14-1004, the deed is nontestamentary, meaning it is not part of your will, and it stays revocable even if its own language says otherwise. Signing one requires the same mental capacity as making a will.

The authority comes from House Bill 738, enacted as Chapter 751 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland. Before it, the closest Maryland tool was the life estate deed with powers. The Act tells courts to read TOD deeds consistently with that existing body of law where practical.

Any Maryland real property interest that can pass at death qualifies, from a single-family home in Severna Park to a vacant lot. Only property located in Maryland is covered, and only an individual can make a TOD deed. A rental titled to an LLC belongs to the company, so it needs a different plan.

Do I keep control of my home after signing a TOD deed?

Yes. Under Real Property § 14-1007, a TOD deed has no effect on your ownership during your lifetime. You can sell, refinance, or mortgage the property without the beneficiary’s consent. The beneficiary gains no legal or equitable interest, and the deed does not change your eligibility, or the beneficiary’s, for any form of public assistance.

Because the beneficiary owns nothing yet, the beneficiary’s creditors can’t touch your house. If your son is going through a divorce or has a judgment against him, your property stays out of it.

Your own creditors keep the rights they already had. A bank refinancing your waterfront home on the Severn River deals only with you.

How do I create and record a TOD deed in Anne Arundel County?

A Maryland TOD deed must meet the ordinary requirements for a deed, state that the transfer takes effect at your death, and be acknowledged before a notary. Under Real Property § 14-1006, it works only if it is recorded in the land records of the county where the property is located before you die.

Each step has its own trap:

Pull your current deed. You need the legal description, usually a paragraph beginning “Beginning” or “Being.” A street address won’t do.
Choose beneficiaries and alternates. Name each person individually, with a backup if a beneficiary dies before you.
Complete the preparer certification. Maryland deeds must state who prepared them: a Maryland attorney or a party named in the deed.
Sign in front of a notary. Every owner making the deed signs and acknowledges it.
Attach a Land Record Intake Sheet. Under the amended Real Property § 3-104, the clerk may refuse a TOD deed without one.
Record it. In Anne Arundel County, that happens at the Land Records Department of the Circuit Court, 8 Church Circle in Annapolis.

Unlike a sale deed, a TOD deed doesn’t need the tax collector’s certificate endorsed on it. Ordinary deeds for property inside Annapolis city limits also stop at City Hall on Duke of Gloucester Street, so confirm with Land Records whether your TOD deed needs that step.

Can I fill out the statutory form myself?

The Act includes an optional fill-in form in Real Property § 14-1011. For one owner leaving one home to one person, it can work. The form’s own notice strongly advises a lawyer if not every owner is signing, if your name has changed since you acquired the property, or if several people will inherit together.

The risk is timing. A misspelled name or incomplete legal description usually surfaces when the beneficiary tries to sell, and by then the owner can’t fix it.

What happens to the property when the owner dies?

When the owner dies, Real Property § 14-1009 passes the property to each named beneficiary who survives the owner. A beneficiary who dies first loses their share unless the deed names an alternate. The beneficiary takes the property subject to every mortgage, lien, and other encumbrance on it at the owner’s death.

Three at-death rules surprise families most often:

No title warranty. The deed carries no warranty of title, even if it says otherwise. Old defects from earlier owners become the beneficiary’s problem.
Survivorship between beneficiaries. Unless the deed says otherwise, multiple beneficiaries take as joint tenants with right of survivorship. If one of three children dies after inheriting, the other two own the house and the late child’s family gets nothing.
Co-owners come first. If you own the home with a spouse as tenants by the entirety, or with anyone as joint tenants, the survivor keeps it and the TOD deed takes effect at the last owner’s death. Tenants in common are not joint owners under the Act, so each one’s deed reaches only that owner’s share.

What should the beneficiary do after the owner’s death?

Nothing is legally required to complete the transfer. Still, Real Property § 14-1013 lets a beneficiary record a notice of death, which the clerk forwards to the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) so tax bills reach the new owner.

The notice asks for the deed’s recording reference, the SDAT account number, and death certificate details. It also includes an occupancy certification for a beneficiary who will live in the home at least 7 of the next 12 months. Buyers, lenders, and title companies generally expect this notice on record before a sale or refinance.

How do I change or revoke a Maryland TOD deed?

Under Real Property § 14-1008, you can revoke a recorded TOD deed only by recording a new TOD deed, recording a signed and acknowledged revocation, or transferring the property by a regular deed that revokes it. A later will cannot revoke a recorded TOD deed, and neither can tearing up or crossing out the original.

The mechanics matter as much as the decision:

Joint owners revoke together. A deed made by joint owners is revoked only if every living joint owner revokes it.
Separate owners act separately. When co-owners who aren’t joint owners sign one deed, a revocation by one affects only that owner’s interest.
Recording is the deadline. A revocation signed in a hospital bed but never recorded does nothing.

Can a divorce, remarriage, or new child cancel a TOD deed?

Yes. A Maryland TOD deed naming your spouse is automatically revoked if you later divorce or the marriage is annulled. A TOD deed naming anyone is also revoked if you later marry and have a child with your new spouse. The transfer also remains subject to a surviving spouse’s elective share and the protections for certain after-born children.

These rules come from Maryland’s existing will law, which the Act applies at death. They protect families, but they also defeat plans owners forget to update.

Blended families face the sharpest risk. A deed leaving a home to children from a first marriage may still face a second spouse’s claim. The Act also applies Maryland’s slayer rule and simultaneous-death rules. After any marriage, divorce, birth, or adoption, the deed deserves a fresh look.

Does a transfer-on-death deed avoid Maryland taxes?

A TOD deed for your primary or secondary residence is exempt from Maryland recordation tax and from state and county transfer taxes under Tax-Property § 12-108. It does not avoid Maryland inheritance tax. Whether a beneficiary owes inheritance tax depends on the beneficiary’s relationship to the owner, not on how the property passed.

The recording-tax exemption covers a second home such as an Ocean City condo, but a townhouse held as a rental falls outside it.

For inheritance tax, Tax-General § 7-203 sets out who is exempt:

Exempt: a spouse, children and stepchildren, grandchildren and other lineal descendants, parents, grandparents, siblings, and a child’s spouse
Taxed at 10% of clear value: nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and other unrelated people

The Maryland Register of Wills administers the tax. A homeowner leaving a house to a niece should plan for that bill, which often must be paid before the property can be sold.

How does a TOD deed compare with a life estate deed, joint ownership, or a living trust?

A TOD deed is usually the simplest way to pass one Maryland property outside probate while keeping full control. A life estate deed gives the beneficiary a recorded future interest now, joint ownership makes someone a co-owner immediately, and a revocable living trust covers more assets and incapacity but takes more work to set up and maintain.

Question	TOD deed	Life estate deed with powers	Joint ownership	Revocable living trust
Beneficiary holds an interest during your life?	No	A future interest	Yes, as co-owner	No
You can sell or refinance alone?	Yes	Generally yes	Usually no	Yes, as trustee
Beneficiary’s creditors can reach the home?	No	Possibly	Yes	No
Helps if you become incapacitated?	No	No	Partially	Yes
Covers other assets?	No	No	Only joint assets	Yes, if funded

When is a TOD deed the wrong tool?

A TOD deed decides only who owns one property at your death. It gives no one authority to act for you during your lifetime, it cannot attach conditions to an inheritance, and handing real estate outright to certain beneficiaries can cause problems. Families with those needs often do better with a broader plan.

Situations that call for a closer look:

A beneficiary receives needs-based benefits. Inheriting a house outright can count as an asset for SSI or Medicaid and may cost the beneficiary eligibility.
Incapacity. If a stroke or dementia leaves you unable to sign, a durable power of attorney, not a TOD deed, fills that gap.
Conditions or unequal treatment. A deed can’t say “to my daughter, but only if she lives there.”
Long-term care costs. The Act does not address whether Maryland Medicaid can recover costs from TOD property after death, so get individual advice before relying on the deed.

Are TOD deeds signed before October 1, 2026 valid?

In most cases, yes. The Act applies to TOD deeds made before, on, or after its effective date, as long as the owner dies on or after that date. An owner who signed and recorded a deed early can rely on it, but a deed by someone who died before the effective date gets no benefit.

Real Property § 14-1002 preserves every other method of transferring property, so an existing life estate deed with powers, joint tenancy, or trust stays valid.

An older document that calls itself a transfer-on-death deed, though, may not match the final statute and should be reviewed.

What mistakes do Annapolis homeowners make with TOD deeds?

Most TOD deed problems come from assumptions rather than paperwork. Homeowners expect the deed to accomplish more than it can, or they leave out details their families will need years later. A little planning when the deed is signed prevents most of the title and family disputes that surface after a death.

The errors that most often occur in Anne Arundel County:

Naming one child “to share.” The named child owns the property outright with no legal duty to share, and passing portions to siblings later can create gift tax and title headaches.
Forgetting a second county. Property crossing a county line, or a second home on the Eastern Shore, needs a deed recorded in each county where the land sits.
Signing under family pressure. The statutory form itself warns against it, and a deed signed that way invites an undue influence challenge.
Hiding the recording details. The beneficiary needs the book and page reference to record a notice of death.

Talk With an Annapolis Real Estate Attorney About Your TOD Deed

Evans Law helps homeowners in Annapolis and throughout Anne Arundel County, including Severna Park, Arnold, Crofton, Edgewater, and Pasadena, put transfer-on-death deeds in place correctly. Our attorneys can:

Review your current deed and title before you sign anything
Prepare and record a TOD deed or a revocation
Help you fit the deed together with your other planning documents
Assist beneficiaries with a notice of death and clearing title for a sale or refinance

Call Evans Law at 410-626-6009 or visit our office at 113 Cathedral Street in downtown Annapolis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I sell the house after recording a TOD deed?

The deed simply has no effect on that property, because it transfers only what you own at death. If you buy another home, the old deed does not follow you, and the new property needs its own.

Does a TOD deed replace my will?

No. It covers only the real estate it describes. Bank accounts, vehicles, boats, and belongings without their own beneficiary designation still pass under your will, or under Maryland’s intestacy rules if you have none.

Can a TOD deed protect my house from nursing home costs?

Not by itself. You remain the full owner while alive, so the deed shelters nothing from long-term care costs. Medicaid’s treatment of a home follows separate rules that call for planning specific to your situation.

Do I have to tell my beneficiaries about the TOD deed?

No, the law doesn’t require it. The Act’s own informational sheet strongly recommends telling them, though, because secrecy can cause complications and make fraud easier.

Can a beneficiary refuse the property?

Yes. Real Property § 14-1010 lets a beneficiary disclaim all or part of the interest under Maryland’s Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act. A disclaimer of real property after the owner’s death must be recorded in the county land records.

What if my beneficiary is under 18?

A minor can own real estate but generally can’t sell, lease, or mortgage it. A court-supervised guardianship may be needed before anyone can act for the minor, so many owners name an adult beneficiary instead.