Revocable Transfer on Death Deed - District of Columbia

REVOCABLE TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED — DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Code §§ 19-604.01 et seq.

NOTICE TO OWNER

Read this entire form carefully. You may want to consult a lawyer before using it. This deed must be acknowledged and recorded before your death, or it will not be effective.

1. Recording Information

Prepared by / recording requested by:
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE, ZIP]

After recording return to:
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE, ZIP]

2. Owner or Owners Making This Deed

Owner 1 printed name: [OWNER FULL LEGAL NAME]

Mailing address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

Owner 2 printed name, if any: [OWNER FULL LEGAL NAME]

Mailing address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

3. Real Property

Property address (reference only): [PROPERTY ADDRESS]

Square / suffix / lot: [SQUARE / SUFFIX / LOT]

Complete legal description:

[INSERT THE COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION FROM THE CURRENT VESTING DEED OR ATTACH IT AS EXHIBIT A]

4. Primary Beneficiary

I designate the following beneficiary if the beneficiary survives me:

Printed legal name: [PRIMARY BENEFICIARY NAME]

Mailing address, if available: [ADDRESS]

5. Alternate Beneficiary — Optional

If my primary beneficiary does not survive me, I designate the following alternate beneficiary if that beneficiary survives me:

Printed legal name: [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY NAME]

Mailing address, if available: [ADDRESS]

6. Transfer on Death

At my death, I transfer my interest in the described property to the beneficiaries as designated above.

Before my death, I have the right to revoke this deed.

7. Signature of Owner or Owners Making This Deed

Owner 1 signature: ____________________________________ (SEAL)

Printed name: [OWNER FULL LEGAL NAME]

Date: [DATE]

Owner 2 signature, if any: _____________________________ (SEAL)

Printed name: [OWNER FULL LEGAL NAME]

Date: [DATE]

8. Acknowledgment

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

This instrument was acknowledged before me on [DATE] by [OWNER NAME(S)].

Notary signature: ____________________________________

Notary name: [PRINTED NAME]

Commission expires: [DATE]

Official seal:

9. Required Review Before Recording

• ☐ The deed contains the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed.
• ☐ The deed states that the transfer occurs at the owner's death.
• ☐ The current deed, title, complete legal description, and all owners were verified.
• ☐ Beneficiary identity, capacity, shares, survivorship, and alternate provisions were reviewed.
• ☐ Joint tenancy or tenancy-by-the-entirety effects were reviewed.
• ☐ The deed was properly acknowledged.
• ☐ Current Recorder of Deeds submission, tax-form, fee, formatting, and return-address requirements were confirmed.
• ☐ The acknowledged deed will be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds before the owner's death.

10. Statutory Effect and Revocation Notes

• During the owner's life, the TOD deed does not affect the owner's or another owner's rights, a transferee's rights, creditor rights, public-assistance eligibility, or the beneficiary's creditors, and it creates no legal or equitable interest for the beneficiary. See D.C. Code § 19-604.12.
• At death, a beneficiary must survive the transferor. The beneficiary takes subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, liens, and other interests affecting the property. The TOD deed transfers without a covenant or warranty of title. See § 19-604.13.
• If a transferor is a joint owner and another joint owner survives, survivorship ownership prevails. The TOD deed becomes effective if the transferor is the last surviving joint owner. See § 19-604.13(c)-(d).
• A recorded TOD deed may be revoked by a later TOD deed that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency, an express recorded revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it. The later instrument must be acknowledged after the deed being revoked and recorded before death. See § 19-604.11.
• Crossing out, tearing, or writing on a recorded deed does not revoke it. A TOD deed made by joint owners is revoked only if all living joint owners revoke it. A will does not revoke it.
• A beneficiary may be liable, within statutory limits, when the probate estate is insufficient for allowed claims or spouse-and-child allowances. An enforcement proceeding generally must begin within one year after death, subject to the narrow later-allowed-claim rule in § 19-601.02(h).

11. Owner Cautions

• If you do not own an interest in the property at death, this deed has no effect on that property.
• The deed is effective without lifetime notice, delivery, or acceptance by the beneficiary and without consideration, but secrecy may create practical complications.
• This statutory-style form fits some, not all, situations. Do not use it under pressure or without tailored advice when ownership or beneficiary planning is complex.