New Jersey: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

New Jersey is one of the states that does not have a transfer-on-death deed for real
estate. It never adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, so there is no
statute that lets you record a deed now naming who inherits your house automatically at
your death. A document titled "transfer on death deed" recorded on New Jersey land does not
do what it says — and, unlike Florida or Michigan, New Jersey does not recognize a "Lady
Bird" (enhanced life estate) deed as a workaround either.

There is one thing worth watching, though: New Jersey is actively considering adopting a
TOD deed. Bills to enact the Uniform Act are pending in both houses (see "The bill to
watch" below). Until one passes, the tools below are what New Jersey owners use.

What New Jersey offers instead

A revocable living trust. You move the home into a trust you control and can change or
revoke at any time; a successor trustee distributes it at your death without probate. A
trust costs more to set up than a single deed, but it is the most flexible tool — it can
hold many assets, name backup beneficiaries, and plan for incapacity.

Survivorship co-ownership. Property held with a right of survivorship passes to the
surviving co-owner outside probate. New Jersey recognizes two forms that carry
survivorship:

• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship, available to any co-owners.
• Tenancy by the entirety, a stronger form available only to a married couple.
  Under N.J.S.A. 46:3-17.2, a tenancy by the entirety is created when spouses "take
  title to an interest in real property ... under a written instrument designating both of
  their names as husband and wife." It passes the home to the surviving spouse automatically
  and also shields it from a creditor of just one spouse during their joint lives.

The catch with survivorship is that adding a co-owner is a present gift of an interest that
exposes the property to that person's creditors and generally cannot be undone without their
cooperation — so it is a blunter tool than a beneficiary deed would be.

New Jersey clearly knows how to create a transfer-on-death mechanism — it just has not
extended it to real estate. Under N.J.S.A. 3B:30-1, the state adopted the "Uniform TOD
Security Registration Act," which lets you register stocks and brokerage accounts in
beneficiary form so they pass at death without probate, and in 2023 New Jersey added a
transfer-on-death registration option for vehicles. Neither reaches your home.

The bill to watch

New Jersey is one legislative session away from joining the majority of states. Two bills in
the 222nd Legislature would adopt the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act:

• S3679, introduced February 24, 2026, sponsored by Senators Turner and Scutari.
• A1819, introduced January 13, 2026, referred to the Assembly Housing Committee.

Both would let an owner 18 or older record a revocable, nontestamentary transfer-on-death
deed that carries the formalities of an ordinary recorded deed, is acknowledged, and is
recorded with the county clerk before the owner's death. As of the date on this page,
neither has been enacted, so a TOD deed is not yet available in New Jersey. If a version
passes, this page will be updated to reflect the new law and its exact requirements.

What trips people up

• Out-of-state TOD-deed forms do not work in New Jersey. Templates that recite a "New
  Jersey Transfer-on-Death Deed Act" are describing a law that does not exist yet. Recording
  one can cloud your title without transferring anything at death.
• "New Jersey has a TOD form" usually means cars or securities, not your house. New
  Jersey does offer transfer-on-death registration for vehicles and for securities. People
  hear that and assume it covers real estate — it does not.
• Tenancy by the entirety is only for spouses. Unmarried co-owners cannot use it; they
  are limited to joint tenancy, which lacks the entirety form's creditor protection. And if
  you are the sole owner, survivorship is not an option at all — a trust is usually the
  answer.

Common questions

I recorded a "transfer on death deed" for my New Jersey house. Is it good? Not as a TOD
deed — New Jersey has no statute giving such a deed effect for real estate. Have a New
Jersey attorney review it and replace it with a trust or an appropriate survivorship deed.

Can I use a Lady Bird deed like people do in Florida or Michigan? No. The enhanced life
estate ("Lady Bird") deed is recognized in only a handful of states, and New Jersey is not
one of them. Use a living trust instead.

If I put my spouse on the deed, does the house avoid probate? If you hold title as
tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship, the home passes to the
surviving co-owner without probate. But it only helps for the first death; after that, the
survivor is a sole owner again and needs a trust or other plan.

Should I wait for the TOD-deed bill to pass? Estate planning should not wait on pending
legislation, which may change or stall. If you want to avoid probate now, a trust or
survivorship ownership does the job today; you can always add a TOD deed later if New Jersey
enacts one.

Statutes and sources

• N.J.S.A. 3B:30-1 (short title — New Jersey's transfer-on-death statute is the "Uniform TOD Security Registration Act," securities only) — https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=xhitlist&xhitlist_vq=3B%3A30-1.+Short+title.+&xhitlist_x=advanced&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.J.S.A. 46:3-17.2 (tenancy by the entirety — the survivorship form available to married couples) — https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=xhitlist&xhitlist_vq=46%3A3-17.2.+Tenancy+by+entirety&xhitlist_x=advanced&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.J. S. 3679 (222nd Leg., 2026) (pending bill to establish the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act — proves no such deed currently exists) — https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/S4000/3679_I1.PDF (accessed 2026-07-11)