Pennsylvania: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

Pennsylvania is one of the states that does not have a transfer-on-death deed for real
estate. If you record a deed naming someone to receive your house at your death, it will not
work: the property still goes through probate, and a title company will not insure the
transfer. Pennsylvania has been slower than most states here — more than 20 others let you
do this — and a bill to change that is moving but has not passed.

Two points make Pennsylvania stricter than a state like Florida. First, its only
transfer-on-death statute is for securities, not real estate. Second, Pennsylvania does
not recognize the "Lady Bird" (enhanced life estate) deed that Florida and a few other
states use as a workaround — so that shortcut is off the table here too.

What Pennsylvania offers instead

Until the law changes, Pennsylvanians keep a home out of probate with one of these tools,
each with trade-offs:

A revocable living trust. You move the home into a trust you control and can change or
revoke; a successor trustee distributes it at your death with no probate. It costs more to
set up and requires deeding the property into the trust, but it can hold many assets, name
backup beneficiaries, and plan for incapacity — things a single deed cannot.

Joint ownership with right of survivorship. Property held as joint tenants with right of
survivorship, or by a married couple as tenants by the entireties, passes to the surviving
co-owner outside probate. But adding a co-owner is a present gift of an interest, exposes the
home to that person's creditors, and gives up your sole control.

A life estate deed. You keep the right to live in the home for life and name a
"remainder" beneficiary to take it at your death. It avoids probate, but a traditional
life estate — the only kind Pennsylvania recognizes — locks you in: you generally cannot
sell or mortgage the property without the remainder beneficiary's consent. This is the key
difference from a Lady Bird deed, which reserves those powers but which Pennsylvania does not
allow.

Pennsylvania does know how to create a transfer-on-death mechanism — it has one for
securities. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 64 ("Transfer on Death Security Registration"),
you can register stocks and brokerage accounts in "beneficiary form" so they pass at death
without probate. But that chapter is limited to "securities" and "security accounts"; the
Legislature has never extended it to real property.

What might change: HB 2124

A bill introduced in January 2026, House Bill 2124, would finally give Pennsylvania a
real-property transfer-on-death deed by adopting the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death
Act as a new chapter of Title 20. It cleared the House Judiciary Committee and reached first
consideration on February 4, 2026, then was "laid on the table" — a holding step that keeps
it alive but not yet passed. If it becomes law, Pennsylvania would join the majority of
states that allow these deeds. Until then, it is not law, and a TOD deed recorded on
Pennsylvania real estate has no effect.

What trips people up

• A "transfer on death deed" does not work on Pennsylvania real estate. Out-of-state
  forms and online TOD-deed templates do nothing here and can cloud your title. The property
  will still need probate.
• Do not rely on a "Lady Bird deed." If an out-of-state adviser suggests an enhanced
  life estate (Lady Bird) deed for your Pennsylvania home, be skeptical — Pennsylvania does
  not recognize them. A traditional life estate deed is a different, more restrictive tool.
• Pennsylvania inheritance tax applies no matter which tool you use. Unlike the federal
  estate tax, Pennsylvania taxes most inheritances of real estate passing to non-spouse
  beneficiaries, and none of these probate-avoidance methods escapes it. Factor it into any
  plan and get advice on the current rates.

Common questions

I found a Pennsylvania transfer-on-death deed form online. Can I use it? No. There is no
Pennsylvania statute that gives such a deed effect for real estate. Recording one will not
transfer the property at death and may create a title problem instead. Use a trust,
survivorship ownership, or a life estate deed, chosen with a Pennsylvania attorney.

Will HB 2124 help me if I sign a deed now? No. A bill is not a law. Even if HB 2124
passes later, a deed you record today under the current (nonexistent) TOD framework has no
effect. Plan with the tools that work now.

Does Pennsylvania at least allow TOD for my bank and brokerage accounts? Yes — those are
separate mechanisms. Securities can be registered in beneficiary form under 20 Pa.C.S.
Chapter 64, and bank accounts can carry payable-on-death designations. Only real estate is
left out.

Statutes and sources

• 20 Pa.C.S. § 6401 (Transfer on Death Security Registration — definitions; TOD is for "securities," not real property) — https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=20&div=0&chpt=64&sctn=1&subsctn=0 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• PA House Bill 2124 (2025-2026) (would adopt the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act; laid on the table Feb. 4, 2026) — https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/2025/hb2124 (accessed 2026-07-11)