Mississippi: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

Mississippi is one of the roughly two-thirds of states that let you keep your home out of
probate with a transfer-on-death deed, and it is a recent addition: the Mississippi Real
Property Transfer-On-Death Act took effect July 1, 2020. A homeowner can name who inherits
the property, record that choice now, and keep full control of the home for life. When you die,
the property passes to the person you named without a probate case — but only if you recorded
the deed before your death.

How to sign it

Under Miss. Code § 91-27-9, "an individual may transfer the individual's interest in real
property to one or more beneficiaries effective at the transferor's death by a transfer-on-death
deed." Making a valid one takes two things:

• You (the "transferor") sign the deed — the beneficiary never signs and does not have to
  know about it.
• A notary acknowledges your signature. No witnesses are required. Under § 91-27-11, a
  TOD deed "must be executed as set forth in Title 89, Chapter 3 ... relating to necessary
  acknowledgements, and need not be executed with the formalities of a will." So you acknowledge
  it before a notary like any recordable deed, and Mississippi's witness rules for wills do not
  apply.

One Mississippi-specific point on capacity: under § 91-27-15, "the capacity required to
make or revoke a transfer-on-death deed is the same as the capacity required to make a
contract." That is the contract standard — different from the will standard some states use.
And an agent under a power of attorney cannot make one for you "unless the transfer ... is
specifically authorized in the power of attorney."

Recording requirement

Signing and notarizing the deed does nothing by itself. Under Miss. Code § 91-27-17(3), the
deed must "be recorded before the transferor's death in the deed records in the official records
of the chancery clerk of the county where the real property is located." Two things follow:

• Record it while you are alive. A TOD deed found in a drawer after you die, never recorded,
  transfers nothing — the home passes by your will or by intestacy instead. This is the single
  most common way one of these deeds fails.
• There is no fixed deadline between signing and recording. Unlike California (60 days) or
  Nebraska (30 days), Mississippi sets no outer clock measured from signing; the only hard rule
  is "before death." Record it promptly — no one can record it for you once you are gone.

Revoking it

The deed is fully revocable for the rest of your life, but only by a recorded instrument.
Under Miss. Code § 91-27-21, a revocation works only if it is a later TOD deed or an express
instrument of revocation, is "acknowledged by the transferor," and is "recorded before the
transferor's death." Two traps the statute settles directly:

• A will cannot revoke it. Section 91-27-21(b) says flatly, "A will does not revoke or
  supersede a transfer-on-death deed." Writing "I revoke my TOD deed" in your will does nothing.
• Joint owners revoke together. Under § 91-27-21(e), a deed made by "joint owners with right
  of survivorship is revoked only if it is revoked by all of the living joint owners."

Two other events undo the deed automatically: conveying the property away during life makes the
deed "void" as to that interest (§ 91-27-25), and a divorce revokes the gift to a former
spouse (§ 91-27-21(c)).

Eligible property and owner

A TOD deed can cover any interest in Mississippi real property, and the transferor must be an
individual (§ 91-27-9). The deed passes only your own interest, and it yields to
survivorship. Under § 91-27-27(1), if you own the home as a joint owner with right of
survivorship and die survived by another joint owner, "the real property ... belongs to the
surviving joint owner or owners" — your TOD deed becomes effective only if you are "the
last-surviving joint owner."

Beneficiary survival and what passes

Under § 91-27-27(4), "the interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the
designated beneficiary surviving the transferor," and a beneficiary who does not survive you
"lapses." So if the person you named dies before you and you never record a new deed, the gift
fails. If you name more than one beneficiary, § 91-27-27(5) gives them "equal and undivided
shares with no right of survivorship," and a share that lapses "is transferred to the other" —
so a deceased co-beneficiary's share goes to the survivors, not to your estate.

Whoever inherits takes the home subject to what is already on it. Under § 91-27-29, the
beneficiary "takes the real property subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, ... mortgages,
liens, and other interests to which the real property is subject at the transferor's death," and
§ 91-27-27(3) transfers it "without covenant or warranty of title." A TOD deed does not wipe out
the mortgage — your beneficiary inherits the house and the loan against it.

Creditor and Medicaid reach

A TOD deed avoids probate; it does not put the home beyond your debts. During your life,
Miss. Code § 91-27-23 says the deed does not affect your rights or your creditors' rights
"even if the creditor has actual or constructive notice of the deed," does not "create a legal
or equitable interest in favor of the designated beneficiary," and does not affect your or the
beneficiary's "eligibility for any form of public assistance, subject to applicable federal law."
After you die, the beneficiary takes the property subject to every lien and mortgage of
record (§ 91-27-29).

On Medicaid estate recovery, Mississippi is on the protective side, but for reasons outside
this Act. Mississippi's recovery statute, Miss. Code § 43-13-317, lets the state recover only
from "the estate of a deceased Medicaid recipient" — noticed as a creditor in the probate estate
— and Mississippi has not expanded that definition to non-probate transfers and has no Medicaid
lien on a living recipient's home. Because a TOD deed passes the property outside probate, a
TOD-deed home generally falls outside Mississippi's estate-recovery reach. This describes the
scope of the recovery statute, not your specific case — Medicaid eligibility and the federal
transfer rules still apply, so talk to an elder-law attorney before relying on it.

What trips people up

• Recording before death is the whole ballgame. The deed is worthless until recorded, and it
  cannot be recorded after you die. Record it right after notarizing.
• A will cannot revoke a recorded TOD deed. You revoke it only with a recorded instrument
  under § 91-27-21 — a new deed or an instrument of revocation. Language in your will does nothing.
• Joint ownership beats the deed. If you hold the home in joint tenancy with someone who
  outlives you, § 91-27-27(1) gives the property to the surviving co-owner; your deed takes effect
  only if you are the last owner standing, and co-owners must revoke together (§ 91-27-21(e)).
• Divorce cancels a gift to your ex. A final divorce judgment automatically revokes the deed
  as to a former spouse (§ 91-27-21(c)).

Common questions

Does my beneficiary have to agree, or even know? No. The deed takes effect only at your death,
the beneficiary does not sign it, and § 91-27-23 gives them no interest during your life. It is
still smart to tell them so they can claim the property afterward.

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses — Mississippi requires only your notarized
signature on a recordable deed (§ 91-27-11). A lawyer is not legally required, but the joint-owner
and capacity rules are easy to get wrong, and mistakes surface only after death.

Can I name a backup in case my first choice dies before me? Yes — name an alternate in the
deed. Without one, a beneficiary who dies before you causes the gift to lapse (§ 91-27-27(4)),
unless you named co-beneficiaries, in which case the survivors take the lapsed share.

Will a TOD deed protect my home from Medicaid? Generally the home passes outside Mississippi's
probate-based estate recovery (§ 43-13-317), but this is not a guarantee for your situation, and
the Medicaid eligibility and five-year transfer rules are separate. See an elder-law attorney.

Statutes and sources

• Miss. Code § 91-27-1 (short title — Mississippi Real Property Transfer-On-Death Act) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-1/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-9 (TOD deed authorized) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-9/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-11 (execution; notary acknowledgment; not a will's formalities) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-11/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-15 (capacity — contract standard; POA limit) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-15/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-17 (requirements; record before death with the chancery clerk) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-17/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-21 (revocation only by recorded instrument; will cannot revoke; divorce; joint owners) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-21/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-23 (no effect during life; creditors; public assistance) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-23/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-25 (lifetime conveyance voids the deed) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-25/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-27 (effect at death: survivorship, survival/lapse, multiple beneficiaries) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-27/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 91-27-29 (beneficiary takes subject to liens and encumbrances) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-27/section-91-27-29/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code § 43-13-317 (Medicaid estate recovery limited to the probate estate) — https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-43/chapter-13/article-7/section-43-13-317/ (accessed 2026-07-11)