Avoiding Probate with a TOD Deed and TOD Account

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Avoiding Probate with a TOD Deed and TOD Account

Sep 15, 2025

If you want to leave your home to your children or other heirs and keep the property out of the costly and time-consuming probate process, you could place your home in a living trust. Trusts offer numerous advantages, but they incur up-front costs, often have ongoing administrative fees, and involve a complex web of tax rules and regulations.

More than half of U.S. states offer a simpler and less expensive way to avoid probate through a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed (also called a beneficiary deed). As the name suggests, this is a legal document that directly transfers ownership of the property from you to your designated beneficiary or beneficiaries upon your death. You retain full ownership and control while you are alive, and your beneficiary has no rights to the property until after your death. (Beneficiaries also inherit any associated financial obligations, such as a mortgage or lien.)

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