Arkansas Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Arkansas authorizes a 'beneficiary deed' under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608. A beneficiary deed conveys, effective on the death of the owner, an ownership interest in real property (other than a lease or lien interest) to a grantee designated by the owner, and it must expressly state that the deed does not take effect until the owner's death. The deed is executed with the usual deed formalities, including acknowledgment (notarization).

A beneficiary deed is valid only if it is recorded before the death of the owner — or, where the property is held in survivorship form, before the death of the last surviving owner — in the office of the county recorder where the property is located. Recording after death, or failing to record, renders the deed ineffective. The deed may name multiple grantees and, for property held as tenancy by the entirety or joint tenancy with survivorship, can be structured to take effect only at the death of the last surviving owner.

The owner keeps full ownership and control during life. Recording the beneficiary deed creates no present interest in the grantee, does not affect the owner's right to sell or encumber the property, and requires no notice to or acceptance by the beneficiary. Because the grantee must generally survive the owner, naming alternate beneficiaries is prudent.

Recording & execution requirements

A transfer-on-death deed only works if it is executed and recorded correctly. In Arkansas:

• Recording before death: Valid only if recorded before the owner's (or last surviving owner's) death.
• Governing statute: Ark. Code § 18-12-608 Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608 — Beneficiary deeds; terms; recording required · current Ark. Code § 18-12-608.

Changing or revoking the deed

A beneficiary deed may be revoked at any time by the owner (or, if more than one owner executed it, by any of them, subject to survivorship rules) by executing and recording an instrument of revocation, or a later beneficiary deed, before death in the same county recorder's office. Where fewer than all owners revoke, the revocation is fully effective only if the last surviving owner executes and records it before death.

A beneficiary deed that complies with § 18-12-608 may not be revoked, altered, or amended by the provisions of the owner's will. A change of plan therefore requires a recorded revocation or a new recorded beneficiary deed — updating the will alone does not undo it.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A beneficiary deed transfers the property at the owner's death subject to all conveyances, assignments, contracts, leases, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, security pledges, oil/gas/mineral leases, and other encumbrances existing at death. The grantee takes the property encumbered — existing mortgages and liens survive the transfer.

Medicaid estate recovery

A beneficiary deed may leave the home exposed to Arkansas Medicaid estate recovery, and recovery scope can change over time. The deed does not, by itself, protect the property from a post-death claim by the state Medicaid agency. Anyone coordinating long-term-care Medicaid with a beneficiary deed should confirm the current estate-recovery rules with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (Medicaid) and an attorney licensed in Arkansas.

Community property

Arkansas is a common-law (separate-property) state. Arkansas is a common-law (separate-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship option. Married couples commonly hold a home as tenants by the entirety, which already carries a right of survivorship; § 18-12-608 accommodates entirety and joint-survivorship property by letting the beneficiary deed take effect at the death of the last surviving owner rather than the first.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Arkansas estate & inheritance tax — whether Arkansas taxes what you leave behind, and the small-estate probate ceiling, each figure cited to the statute.
• The Executor & Heir’s Guide — the probate deadlines for Arkansas, cited to the controlling statute.
• Funding a revocable trust — a common way to keep many kinds of property out of probate.
• ← Back to the transfer-on-death deed comparison

Sources & methodology