At a glance
| TOD / beneficiary deed | Not available |
|---|---|
| Instrument | None — not available for real property |
| Governing law | No TOD-deed statute — confirm with the Registry of Deeds or an attorney |
| Community-property state | No |
Why Massachusetts has no TOD deed
Massachusetts has NOT adopted a transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed for real property and has not enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. There is no statute authorizing an owner to name a beneficiary on a deed who takes title automatically at death, so a deed of that kind cannot be recorded to accomplish a nonprobate transfer of Massachusetts real estate.
Massachusetts does recognize transfer-on-death registration for other assets (for example, TOD/POD designations on securities and bank accounts), but those mechanisms do not extend to land. To move real property outside probate, owners use other tools described below.
Because availability can change by legislation, and because deed practice varies by county Registry of Deeds, anyone told a 'TOD deed' is possible in Massachusetts should verify with an attorney licensed in Massachusetts before relying on it.
What to use instead
Because Massachusetts offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:
- Revocable living trust
- Life estate deed with named remainder
- Tenancy by the entirety between spouses
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
Mortgages, Medicaid & community property
Existing mortgages and liens
Because no TOD deed is available, this note is general: any Massachusetts nonprobate transfer tool passes the property subject to existing mortgages, liens, and tax obligations; changing how title is held does not by itself clear secured debt on the property.
Medicaid estate recovery
MassHealth (Massachusetts Medicaid) estate recovery is a significant planning concern and can reach certain non-probate interests; the analysis is fact-specific. Because no TOD deed exists here, this is a flag to consult MassHealth and an attorney licensed in Massachusetts about how any chosen alternative (life estate, trust, or joint tenancy) interacts with estate recovery — do not assume a given tool avoids recovery.
Community property
Massachusetts is a common-law (separate-property) state. Massachusetts is a common-law (non-community-property) state. Spouses commonly hold real property as tenants by the entirety, which passes to the surviving spouse outside probate — an existing survivorship route rather than a TOD deed.
State-specific quirks
No TOD deed for land
Massachusetts allows TOD/POD beneficiary designations on financial accounts and securities, but not on real estate. Advice suggesting you can simply add a beneficiary to your house deed does not reflect Massachusetts law.
Life estate deeds are the common substitute
A commonly used probate-avoidance deed in Massachusetts is a life estate deed (owner keeps a life estate; a remainderman is named). It is not the same as a TOD deed — once signed and delivered, a traditional life estate deed generally cannot be undone unilaterally, so the choice has real consequences.
Where to read next
- Massachusetts estate & inheritance tax — whether Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts, 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
Methodology & sources
We could not confirm a primary-source transfer-on-death deed statute for Massachusetts at the time of writing, so the availability above is flagged rather than cited — check it with the county recorder or an attorney licensed in Massachusetts. Where this layer does cite a statute, the citation links the controlling statute — an official legislature source where available, or a third-party codified mirror of the state code otherwise; deed-form vendors and aggregator round-ups are not cited. State property and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal advice. Whether a transfer-on-death deed is right for you — and whether it survives Medicaid estate recovery, a mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, or a co-owner’s survivorship right — turns on facts a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with an attorney licensed in Massachusetts.
Last verified July 26, 2026.