Washington: Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements

Washington lets you use a transfer on death deed (TOD deed) to leave real estate to
someone without probate. Washington adopted the national Uniform Real Property Transfer on
Death Act in 2014, so the rules are well settled and unchanged since. You record a deed now
that names a beneficiary; nothing happens while you are alive — you keep full ownership and
control — and when you die, the property passes automatically to the person you named. Done
right, it is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to keep a home out of probate.

The one rule that matters more than any other: the deed must be recorded before you die,
with the auditor of the county where the property sits. A signed, notarized TOD deed left in
a drawer does nothing.

Requirements one by one

Who can make one, and mental capacity

Any individual owner may make a TOD deed (RCW 64.80.020). The mental capacity required is
the same as the capacity to make a will (RCW 64.80.050) — a lower bar than the capacity
to make a contract. The beneficiary does not have to know about the deed, agree to it, or do
anything during your life; no notice, delivery, acceptance, or payment is needed.

One limit on use: a TOD deed may not be used to effect a deed in lieu of foreclosure of a
deed of trust (§ 64.80.020). It is an estate-planning tool, not a way to hand a lender the
property.

Signing and notarizing it

A TOD deed must have "the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter
vivos deed" (RCW 64.80.060(1)). Every Washington deed must be "acknowledged by the party
before some person authorized ... to take acknowledgments" (RCW 64.04.020) — so you sign
the deed and acknowledge it before a notary. Washington does not require witnesses.

Recording before death — the make-or-break step

The deed "must be recorded before the transferor's death in the public records in the office
of the auditor of the county where the property is located" (RCW 64.80.060(3)). This is the
single most important requirement and the most common way a TOD deed fails. Unlike California
(60 days) or Nebraska (30 days), Washington sets no deadline measured from signing — you
can record it years later — but it must be on record before you die. A deed recorded only after
death is void.

Revoking it

You can revoke a TOD deed any time before death — it is revocable "even if the deed or another
instrument contains a contrary provision" (RCW 64.80.030) — but only in a specific way.
Under RCW 64.80.080, revocation is effective only through a recorded instrument that you
acknowledge after the deed being revoked and record before death: a later TOD deed, an
express instrument of revocation, or an ordinary "inter vivos" deed that expressly revokes it.
You cannot revoke a recorded TOD deed by tearing it up (a "revocatory act on the deed") or
by a provision in your will. Separately, if you simply sell or give the property away during
life, that transfer cuts off the TOD deed regardless (§ 64.80.080(4)).

What the beneficiary gets

At your death the property vests in the beneficiary — but with strings (RCW 64.80.100):

• The beneficiary must survive you; if the beneficiary dies first, the gift lapses.
• If you name two or more beneficiaries, they take equal, undivided shares with no
  survivorship between them; if one predeceases you, that share passes to the other named
  beneficiaries in proportion.
• The beneficiary takes the home subject to every mortgage, lien, and encumbrance on it at
  your death, and the deed carries no covenant or warranty of title. The debts do not
  disappear.

Creditors, Medicaid, and your estate

A TOD deed avoids probate; it does not put the property beyond your creditors. During your
life the property stays fully reachable and the beneficiary has no interest in it, and making
the deed does not affect your eligibility for public assistance (RCW 64.80.090). After
death, the beneficiary is liable for allowed claims against your estate and for the
statutory family allowances, to the extent provided in RCW 11.18.200, 11.42.085, and chapter
11.54 RCW (RCW 64.80.120). And Washington law is explicit that the property remains open to
Medicaid estate recovery: the beneficiary takes it subject to state liens recorded within
24 months after your death under RCW 43.20B.080 (§ 64.80.100(2)).

What trips people up

• Your will cannot revoke or override a recorded TOD deed. Because revocation must be a
  recorded instrument (§ 64.80.080), a later will leaving the same house to someone else does
  not change who gets it — the recorded TOD deed controls. To change the beneficiary, record a
  new TOD deed or a revocation.
• Washington is a community-property state. If the home is community property, both spouses
  or registered domestic partners should join in the deed. When both join, the deed takes effect
  only when the second of them dies, not the first (§ 64.80.100(4)); a deed signed by only
  one spouse passes only that spouse's own interest.
• Survivorship beats a TOD deed. If you hold title as a joint owner with right of
  survivorship, the surviving joint owner takes the property first; a joint owner's TOD deed
  only takes effect if that owner is the last to die (§ 64.80.100(3)).
• Medicaid can still reach the house. Because the state can record an estate-recovery lien
  up to 24 months after death (§ 64.80.100(2)), a TOD deed does not shield a home from Medicaid
  recovery for long-term-care costs.

Common questions

Does a TOD deed give my beneficiary any rights while I'm alive? No. Until you die, the
beneficiary has no interest in the property. You can sell it, mortgage it, rent it, or revoke
the deed without their knowledge or consent (§ 64.80.090).

Where do I record it? With the auditor of the county where the property is located
(§ 64.80.060(3)) — the same office that records ordinary deeds. Recording it before death is
what makes it work.

Can I name a backup beneficiary? Yes. You can name several beneficiaries and alternates. If
a named beneficiary dies before you and you named others to take concurrently, that share goes
to the surviving named beneficiaries in proportion (§ 64.80.100(1)(d)).

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses are required — just your signature and a
notary. Because a mistake surfaces only after death, when it cannot be fixed, and because
Washington's community-property rules complicate co-owned homes, having a Washington attorney
prepare or review the deed is worth it.

Statutes and sources

• RCW 64.80.020 (a TOD deed is authorized; not for a deed in lieu of foreclosure) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.020 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.050 (capacity is the same as to make a will) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.050 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.060 (requirements: recordable-deed formalities; record before death with the county auditor) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.060 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.04.020 (every deed must be acknowledged) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.04.020&pdf=true (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.080 (revocation only by a recorded, later-acknowledged instrument; not by a revocatory act or a will) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.080 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.090 (no effect during life on owner, creditors, or public-assistance eligibility) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.090 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.100 (effect at death: survival, equal shares, subject to liens including 24-month Medicaid-recovery liens, joint-owner survivorship, no warranty) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.100 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.120 (beneficiary liable for allowed claims and statutory allowances) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.120&pdf=true (accessed 2026-07-11)
• RCW 64.80.900 (short title: Washington Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.80.900 (accessed 2026-07-11)