Arizona: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

Arizona lets you leave real estate to someone without probate using a beneficiary deed —
Arizona's name for what most states call a transfer-on-death deed. Arizona did not adopt
the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act; instead it has its own statute, A.R.S.
§ 33-405, one of the oldest beneficiary-deed laws in the country. You record a deed now that
names a grantee beneficiary; nothing happens while you are alive — you keep full ownership and
control — and when you die, the property passes automatically to the person you named.

The one rule that matters more than any other: the deed is valid only if you record it
before you die, with the recorder of the county where the property sits. A signed, notarized
beneficiary deed that is never recorded, or recorded only after death, does nothing.

Requirements one by one

Signing and notarizing it

You sign the deed and acknowledge it before a notary. The statute repeatedly requires that
a beneficiary deed be "executed, acknowledged and recorded" (§ 33-405(J)), and the optional
statutory form it publishes ends with a notary "(acknowledgment)" line (§ 33-405(K)).
Arizona does not require witnesses. The deed must "expressly state[] that the deed is
effective on the death of the owner" (§ 33-405(A)) — that death-effective language is what
makes it a beneficiary deed rather than an ordinary present transfer. The beneficiary does not
sign, consent, or even need to be told about the deed during your life (§ 33-405(I)).

Recording before death — the make-or-break step

A beneficiary deed "is valid only if the deed is executed and recorded ... before the death of
the owner or the last surviving owner" (§ 33-405(E)). This is the single most important
requirement. Unlike California (60 days) or Nebraska (30 days), Arizona sets no deadline
measured from signing — you can record it years later — but it must be on record before you
die. A deed recorded only after death is ineffective (§ 33-405(H)).

Naming beneficiaries, successors, and how they take title

You can name one grantee or several, and pick how multiple grantees hold title — joint tenants
with survivorship, tenants in common, community property, or any valid Arizona tenancy
(§ 33-405(B)). By default, what a grantee receives is that grantee's separate property,
not community property (§ 33-405(B)). You can also name a successor grantee beneficiary and
state the condition on which the successor takes (§ 33-405(C)).

Revoking it

You can revoke a beneficiary deed any time before death (§ 33-405(F)). The methods: record a
revocation, or record a new beneficiary deed — if you record more than one for the same
property, "the last beneficiary deed that is recorded before the owner's death" controls
(§ 33-405(G)). A revocation must itself be recorded before you die. Crucially, a recorded
beneficiary deed is not revoked by your will (§ 33-405(J)).

Co-owners and survivorship

If you own the home with someone as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as community
property with right of survivorship, survivorship comes first. A beneficiary deed signed by
fewer than all the owners does not disturb the survivors' rights, and "the rights of a surviving
joint tenant ... or a surviving spouse ... shall prevail over a grantee beneficiary named in a
beneficiary deed" (§ 33-405(D)). To pass survivorship property by beneficiary deed, the deed
generally has to be signed by all owners (and is valid if signed by the last survivor).

Creditors, your estate, and Medicaid

A beneficiary deed avoids probate; it does not put the property beyond your debts. The
grantee takes "subject to all ... mortgages, deeds of trust, liens ... and other encumbrances"
you created or were subject to in life (§ 33-405(A)). And because a beneficiary deed is a
nonprobate transfer, the grantee can be made liable to your probate estate for allowed
creditor claims and for statutory allowances to your spouse and children, to the extent your
probate estate is too small to cover them — capped at the value the grantee received and
enforceable within two years of your death (A.R.S. § 14-6102). Arizona's Medicaid program
(AHCCCS/ALTCS) may also pursue estate recovery by filing a claim against the estate and a
lien on the member's property "consistent with federal law" (A.R.S. § 36-2935); whether a
beneficiary-deed asset is reachable is a technical question — ask an elder-law attorney.

What trips people up

• Your will cannot revoke or override a recorded beneficiary deed. Because a beneficiary
  deed "is not revoked by the provisions of a will" (§ 33-405(J)), a later will leaving the same
  house to someone else does not change who gets it — the recorded deed controls. To change the
  beneficiary, record a new beneficiary deed or a revocation.
• If your beneficiary dies before you and you named no backup, the gift fails — and there is
  no anti-lapse rescue. Unless the deed provides otherwise, if no named grantee survives you,
  the deed is void and Arizona's antilapse statute (§ 14-2603) "does not apply" (§ 33-405(C)).
  The property then passes under your will or by intestacy. Name a successor beneficiary to
  avoid this.
• Survivorship beats a beneficiary deed. If you hold title with right of survivorship, the
  surviving co-owner takes first (§ 33-405(D)); a beneficiary deed only reaches property the
  last surviving owner still holds.

Common questions

Is a "beneficiary deed" the same thing as a transfer-on-death deed? Effectively, yes.
Arizona uses the term "beneficiary deed" and never adopted the Uniform Act other states use, but
it does the same job: a revocable deed that passes real property at your death outside probate.

Does my beneficiary get any rights while I'm alive? No. Until you die, the beneficiary has
no interest in the property. You can sell it, mortgage it, or revoke the deed without their
knowledge or consent (§ 33-405(A), (I)).

Can I use a beneficiary deed to fund my trust? Yes. The statute lets you name the trustee
of a trust as the grantee, even a revocable trust (§ 33-405(E)).

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses are required — just your signature and a
notary. Because a mistake surfaces only after death, when it cannot be fixed, and because
survivorship and community-property rules complicate co-owned homes, having an Arizona attorney
prepare or review the deed is worth it.

Statutes and sources

• A.R.S. § 33-405(A) (beneficiary deed conveys real property effective at death, subject to encumbrances) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 33-405(B)-(C) (multiple grantees, tenancy, separate-property default, successor beneficiary, no antilapse) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 33-405(D) (survivorship co-owners; survivor's rights prevail) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 33-405(E) (valid only if recorded with the county recorder before death; may convey to a trustee) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 33-405(F)-(G) (revocation by recorded instrument before death; last recorded deed controls) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 33-405(I)-(K), (M) (no beneficiary consent; not revoked by will; statutory form with acknowledgment; definitions) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 14-6102(A) (nonprobate transferee liable for allowed claims and statutory allowances, capped at value received) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/14/06102.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• A.R.S. § 36-2935(A) (AHCCCS estate recovery: claim against estate and lien on property) — https://www.azleg.gov/ars/36/02935.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)