Connecticut Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

Why Connecticut has no TOD deed

Connecticut does not authorize a transfer-on-death or beneficiary deed for real property. Bills to adopt the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act have been introduced (for example, in the 2016 session) but were not enacted, so no statute lets an owner name a beneficiary who takes title to Connecticut land automatically at death by recording a deed. A deed reciting that title passes 'on death' has no statutory effect for real estate.

Connecticut does allow transfer-on-death (beneficiary) designations for other assets — for instance securities and vehicle registrations under the Uniform TOD Security Registration Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-468 et seq.) — but those provisions do not reach real property. To pass Connecticut real estate outside probate, owners generally rely on survivorship ownership or a trust; anyone told a recorded TOD deed will work on Connecticut land should confirm with an attorney licensed in Connecticut.

What to use instead

Because Connecticut offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:

• Revocable living trust holding the real property
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
• Life estate deed with named remainder (irrevocable once delivered)
• Disposition by will through probate

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

The point is largely academic in Connecticut because no TOD deed exists, but as a general principle any death-time transfer of real property — through a trust, survivorship deed, or the estate — passes the property subject to existing mortgages, liens, and encumbrances. A beneficiary or heir takes the land encumbered.

Medicaid estate recovery

Connecticut real property that passes through the estate, or that was transferred to avoid probate, can be subject to Connecticut Medicaid (HUSKY/Title XIX) estate recovery, and recovery scope can change. Because no TOD deed is available, planning runs through trusts or survivorship ownership, each with its own Medicaid look-back and recovery consequences. Confirm current recovery rules with the Connecticut Department of Social Services and an attorney licensed in Connecticut.

Community property

Connecticut is a common-law (separate-property) state. Connecticut is a common-law (separate-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship option. Married couples commonly hold a home as joint tenants with right of survivorship, which passes the home to the survivor outside probate without any TOD deed.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Connecticut estate & inheritance tax — whether Connecticut 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 Connecticut, 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