Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in Georgia

At a glance

Georgia is one of the newer states to allow a transfer-on-death deed. The Legislature created the deed in 2024 and then substantially rewrote the rules in April 2026, so this is a young and still-settling area of Georgia law. The basic promise is the familiar one: record a deed now naming who gets your house, keep full control of the property for the rest of your life, and the home passes to that person at your death without a probate case. What sets Georgia apart is a step that happens after you die — the person you named has to come forward and formally accept the property within nine months, or the gift unwinds.

How to sign it

You are the "record owner." Under § 44-17-2, the deed is created "by recording a deed, signed by the record owner," and you must have "the same legal capacity required to enter into a contract" — ordinary deed-signing capacity, not the higher standard used for a will. You cannot sign one through an agent: "An attorney in fact shall not be authorized to execute a transfer-on-death deed on behalf of a record owner."

The signing formalities are the same as for any Georgia deed. The statutory form in § 44-17-3 ends with the standard Georgia execution block — the grantor signs "in the presence of" an "Unofficial Witness" and a "Notary Public." In practice that means one lay witness plus a notary: Georgia deeds are attested by one unofficial witness and one official witness (the notary). The beneficiary — called the "designated grantee beneficiary" — never signs and does not have to know the deed exists; § 44-17-2 says their "signature, consent, or agreement" is not required during your life.

Recording it, and the nine-month acceptance affidavit

Two recording steps matter, one before death and one after.

Before death: § 44-17-3 says the deed only works if it is "executing, attesting, and recording in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county where the real estate is located, prior to the death of the record owner." A TOD deed that is signed and notarized but never recorded — or recorded only after you die — transfers nothing. Unlike California or Nebraska, Georgia sets no outer deadline measured from signing; you just have to get it on record while you are alive.

After death — the nine-month clock: this is Georgia's signature twist. Ownership does not fully pass just because you died. Under § 44-17-2(e) the beneficiary must record an acceptance affidavit (verifying your death, stating whether you and the beneficiary were married at your death, citing the deed book and page, and describing the property) together with a certified copy of your death certificate. The statute gives a hard deadline: the beneficiary "shall record such affidavit ... within nine months of the record owner's death or the interest in the property shall revert to the deceased record owner's estate." Miss the nine months and the house drops back into your estate and goes through probate — exactly the outcome the deed was meant to avoid.

Revoking it

The deed is fully revocable while you live. Under § 44-17-4, you revoke "at any time prior to the death of such record owner, by executing, acknowledging, and recording ... an instrument revoking such designation," attested "by an officer as provided in Code Section 44-2-15 and attested by one other witness" — the same notary-plus-one-witness formality as the deed itself. (The April 2026 amendment cut this from two witnesses to one.) You can also revoke simply by recording a later TOD deed for the same property; the statutory form states that a new deed "REVOKES ALL PRIOR BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS."

Georgia also revokes the deed automatically in two situations spelled out in the 2026 amendment: if you "sell or convey" the property (or transfer it into your own trust) before death, or if "the death of a sole designated grantee beneficiary occurs before acceptance," the deed "is rendered revoked."

Eligible property and owner

A Georgia TOD deed can cover "any estate or interest in, over or under land" — § 44-17-1 defines "interest in real estate" broadly (surface, minerals, structures, fixtures, and easements). There is no California-style limit to one-to-four-unit homes.

Co-ownership is the trap. Under § 44-17-6, a joint owner (a joint tenant with right of survivorship) may sign a TOD deed, "provided, however, that title to the interest shall vest in the designated grantee beneficiary ... only if the record joint owner is the last to die of all of the record joint owners." And a TOD deed "shall not sever a joint tenancy." So if you own with a spouse in joint tenancy and you die first, your TOD beneficiary gets nothing — survivorship sends your share to your co-owner, and the TOD deed only ever pays off if you are the last joint owner standing.

Beneficiary survival and what passes

Under § 44-17-5, if a named beneficiary dies before you, that "lapsed interest shall be split evenly among the remaining designated grantee beneficiaries who are living at the time of the death of the record owner and shall not revert to the estate." So naming two or more beneficiaries builds in a backup: the survivors absorb a predeceasing beneficiary's share automatically. You may also name your own "alternate grantee beneficiaries" in the deed (§ 44-17-2), and if you designate the beneficiaries as joint tenants with right of survivorship, that survivorship among them is preserved.

Whoever takes the property takes it subject to what is already recorded against it — "all recorded conveyances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, liens, and security pledges." A TOD deed does not wipe out the loan; your beneficiary inherits the house and the security deed on it. One protection the statute does give: the deed passes the property "free and clear of any claims" of anyone "who became the spouse of the record owner subsequent to the execution of the transfer-on-death deed."

Creditor and Medicaid reach

During your life, § 44-17-7 makes you "the legal and equitable owner until the death of such record owner," and "an absolute owner with regard to creditors and purchasers." The recorded deed changes nothing about your ownership — you can sell, mortgage, or lose the property to your own creditors, and it counts as your asset for benefit-eligibility purposes.

After death, Georgia is more protective of the beneficiary than many states on unsecured debt: § 44-17-5 says the TOD deed "takes precedence and priority over all unsecured debts of the record owner's estate." Secured debts are different — the beneficiary still takes subject to every recorded mortgage, lien, and security deed.

On Medicaid estate recovery, do not assume the deed shields the home. Georgia's recovery statute, § 49-4-147.1, lets the state "make claim against the estate of a Medicaid recipient" (waiving the first $25,000), and Georgia's estate-recovery regulation defines "estate" broadly to include real property "passing by reason of ... survivorship, ... or any other arrangement." That definition is wide enough to reach a TOD transfer, so a family counting on the deed to defeat a Medicaid claim should get specific legal advice.

What trips people up

• The nine-month acceptance affidavit is the deadline that catches people. The deed being recorded is not the finish line. Your beneficiary must record an affidavit plus a certified death certificate within nine months of your death, or the property reverts and goes through probate (§ 44-17-2). Tell your beneficiary the deed exists and where it is recorded — the 2026 amendment even added a duty for the estate's personal representative to notify the beneficiary, precisely because people were missing the window without knowing a deed existed.
• A joint-tenancy home can make the deed pointless. If your house is held jointly with right of survivorship, § 44-17-6 lets your TOD gift take effect only if you are the last co-owner to die. Adding a child to your deed as a joint tenant and signing a TOD deed often produces a TOD deed that never operates.
• This statute is new and just changed. The Legislature amended the rules effective April 22, 2026. The amendment shifted the nine-month acceptance rule's trigger date and left transition language that practitioners have flagged as unsettled. Treat the safe course as recording the acceptance affidavit within nine months regardless, and confirm the current text before relying on any fine point.

Common questions

Does my beneficiary have to sign or agree to the deed? No. You sign and record it alone; the beneficiary's consent is not required and they need not even know (§ 44-17-2). Their job comes after your death, when they file the acceptance affidavit.

Does a Georgia TOD deed beat my will? Yes for that property. The deed is nontestamentary — it passes the home outside your will. Writing a different gift of the same house into your will does not override a validly recorded, timely accepted TOD deed; to change the beneficiary you record a new TOD deed or a revocation.

Can I name more than one person? Yes. Multiple beneficiaries can be named, and you can add alternates. If one of several beneficiaries dies before you, § 44-17-5 splits that share among the survivors rather than sending it to your estate.

Is a TOD deed better than a living trust? They do different jobs. A TOD deed is cheap and simple for one property, but Georgia's nine-month acceptance step, the joint-tenancy limits, and the fact that the statute is brand new and recently amended lead many families with more than one asset to use a trust. Which fits depends on your situation.

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 (definitions) — https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-17/section-44-17-1/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2 (requirements; acceptance affidavit; nine-month reversion; as amended by 2026 HB 413) — https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70254 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-3 (statutory form; execute, attest, record before death) — https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-17/section-44-17-3/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-4 (revocation or amendment; as amended by 2026 HB 413) — https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70254 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-5 (beneficiary rights; lapse; priority over unsecured debts; as amended by 2026 HB 413) — https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70254 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-6 (record joint owner) — https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-17/section-44-17-6/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-17-7 (limitations; absolute owner as to creditors in life) — https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-44/chapter-17/section-44-17-7/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• O.C.G.A. § 49-4-147.1 (Medicaid estate-recovery claim; $25,000 waiver) — https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-49/chapter-4/article-7/section-49-4-147-1/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-3-8-.02(7) (estate-recovery definition of "estate") — https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/111-3-8 (accessed 2026-07-11)