Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in Idaho

At a glance

Idaho does not currently authorize a transfer-on-death or beneficiary deed for real estate. Its current nonprobate-transfer chapter covers other mechanisms, including securities and community property with right of survivorship, but it does not create a revocable deed that lets one owner name a beneficiary to take real property at death.

The Legislature considered changing that in 2026. Senate Bill 1399 would have adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, but the bill stopped in the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. Idaho's official 2026 session ended April 2, so the bill died without becoming law.

What happens without a TOD-deed statute

Putting "transfer on death" on an Idaho deed does not supply the missing statutory mechanism. Under Idaho Code § 15-3-101, property owned at death passes under a valid will or, without a will, to the decedent's heirs, subject to estate administration, creditor rights, and the surviving spouse's protections.

Idaho does provide a narrower statutory survivorship option for married couples. Under Idaho Code § 15-6-401, a husband and wife may hold real property as community property with right of survivorship if the grant, transfer, or devise expressly says so. When one spouse dies, that property belongs to the surviving spouse. This is not a TOD deed: it is a present form of co-ownership available only to spouses.

An ordinary conveyance still must satisfy Idaho's deed law. Idaho Code § 55-601 requires a written instrument signed by the person disposing of the real estate, with the grantee's name and complete mailing address. That rule does not turn an ordinary deed into a revocable death-beneficiary designation.

What trips people up

• A nationwide TOD-deed form is not enough. Idaho has not enacted the statute that would make the form operate at death.
• The 2026 proposal did not become law. S 1399 died after committee referral when the session ended.
• Community-property survivorship is different. It gives both spouses a present ownership arrangement; it is not a revocable beneficiary designation by a sole owner.
• Nonprobate does not automatically mean Medicaid-proof. Idaho Code § 56-218(4) uses an expanded recovery estate that includes survivorship, life estates, living trusts, and other arrangements.

Common questions

Can I record an Idaho TOD deed form anyway? Recording cannot create a statutory right that Idaho law does not provide. The property would still pass under valid ownership, probate, and succession rules.

Can married owners avoid probate with survivorship title? Idaho expressly recognizes community property with right of survivorship under § 15-6-401 when the instrument clearly creates it.

Did Idaho pass a TOD-deed law in 2026? No. S 1399 was introduced and referred to committee, but the session ended before it advanced or became law.

Statutes and sources

• Idaho Code § 15-3-101 (property devolution through will or intestacy, subject to administration and creditors) — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title15/t15ch3/sect15-3-101/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Idaho Code § 15-6-401 (community property with right of survivorship for spouses) — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title15/t15ch6/sect15-6-401/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Idaho Code § 55-601 (ordinary written real-property conveyance) — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title55/t55ch6/sect55-601/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Idaho Code § 56-218 (expanded Medicaid recovery estate) — https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title56/T56CH2/SECT56-218/ (accessed 2026-07-11)