Georgia Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Georgia is a recent adopter: effective July 1, 2024 (SB 420, 2024 session), the General Assembly created a new Chapter 17 of Title 44, O.C.G.A. §§ 44-17-1 through 44-17-7, authorizing a transfer-on-death deed for real estate. A record owner may title an interest in real estate in transfer-on-death form by recording a deed that designates one or more grantee beneficiaries, with the transfer taking effect only at the owner's death.

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2, the TOD deed must contain the essential elements of a recordable deed, must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the owner's death, must be signed and acknowledged (notarized) by the record owner, and must be recorded before the owner's death in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county where the real estate is located. The statute is written for a single record owner naming the beneficiary; it does not require the beneficiary's signature, consent, or notice during the owner's life.

After the owner dies, the designated grantee beneficiary must record an acceptance affidavit (verifying the owner's death, stating whether the owner and beneficiary were married at the owner's death, and giving a legal description), with the death certificate attached, within nine months of the owner's death or the interest reverts to the deceased owner's estate. Because this is a new statute with several strict timing and spousal-rights rules, it should be used with an attorney licensed in Georgia.

Recording & execution requirements

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

• Recording before death: Must be recorded before the owner's death.
• Governing statute: O.C.G.A. ch. 44-17 (§§ 44-17-1 to 44-17-7) O.C.G.A. Title 44, Ch. 17 — Transfer on Death (enacted by SB 420, 2024) · effective July 1, 2024.

Changing or revoking the deed

The deed is revocable during the owner's life. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-4 the owner may change or revoke the beneficiary designation by executing, acknowledging, and recording a later transfer-on-death deed (or a recorded instrument of revocation) before death; a later recorded beneficiary designation revokes prior ones for the same interest.

A transfer-on-death deed may not be revoked by will, and the beneficiary's consent, agreement, signature, or notice is not required for the owner to revoke. Revocation is effective only if the revoking instrument is recorded before the owner's death.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A beneficiary who receives Georgia real estate through a TOD deed takes it subject to all mortgages, security deeds, tax liens, judgment liens, and other encumbrances existing at the owner's death. The TOD deed transfers only the owner's interest and does not clear debts secured by the property.

Medicaid estate recovery

A Georgia TOD deed keeps the property in the owner's name and estate during life, so it does not by itself remove the home from Medicaid consideration, and Medicaid estate recovery is a genuine concern you should not treat lightly. Confirm any plan with the Georgia Department of Community Health (which administers Medicaid) and an attorney or elder-law professional licensed in Georgia; this record does not assert a specific recovery scope for property passing by TOD deed.

Community property

Georgia is a common-law (separate-property) state. Georgia is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship interaction. Where spouses are involved, the significant issue is Georgia's own spousal/homestead rules under the new statute — O.C.G.A. § 44-17-5 addresses the interest of a spouse and distinguishes a spouse who existed before the TOD deed from one who married the owner afterward — so married owners should coordinate a TOD deed with how title is held and with spousal rights.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Georgia estate & inheritance tax — whether Georgia 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 Georgia, 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