Minnesota Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Minnesota authorizes transfer-on-death deeds under Minn. Stat. § 507.071. A grantor owner may convey an interest in real property to one or more grantee beneficiaries effective on the grantor's death, and the deed may name contingent or successor beneficiaries.

To be valid the TOD deed must be executed with the formalities of a recordable deed (signed and acknowledged/notarized) and must be recorded, before the grantor owner's death, in the county where at least part of the property is located. No certificate of real estate value and no county auditor certification of transfer are required to record it, and it may be recorded even though it does not become effective until death.

Until the grantor dies the deed has no effect on title — it does not convey a present interest — though the statute gives the named beneficiary an insurable interest for property-insurance purposes. Because Minnesota has specific recording and multiple-owner rules, an attorney licensed in Minnesota can confirm the deed fits how title is held (for example, joint tenancy).

Recording & execution requirements

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

• Recording before death: Must be recorded before the grantor owner's death.
• Governing statute: Minn. Stat. § 507.071 Minn. Stat. § 507.071 — Transfer on Death Deeds · enacted 2008 (Laws 2008, ch. 341).

Changing or revoking the deed

A TOD deed may be revoked at any time by the grantor owner (or, where there are multiple grantor owners, by any of them as to that owner's interest). To be effective the revocation must be recorded before the death of the grantor owner who executes it, in a county where at least part of the property is located.

The owner also retains full ownership during life and may sell or mortgage the property; because a TOD deed conveys only what the owner holds at death, a lifetime transfer can leave the beneficiary with nothing. A revocation made only by will is not effective against the recorded TOD deed.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A Minnesota TOD deed passes the property subject to all conveyances, assignments, mortgages, liens, and other encumbrances made by the grantor or to which the property was subject at death. The beneficiary takes the owner's interest as encumbered; recording the deed does not clear existing secured debt.

Medicaid estate recovery

Minnesota's TOD-deed statute expressly addresses public-assistance claims, and property passing by a TOD deed can remain subject to Minnesota Medical Assistance (Medicaid) estate-recovery and lien claims. This is a flag: confirm the current scope with the Minnesota Department of Human Services / Medical Assistance and an attorney licensed in Minnesota, because a TOD deed does not automatically defeat medical-assistance claims here.

Community property

Minnesota is a common-law (separate-property) state. Minnesota is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so no community-property survivorship interest interacts with a TOD deed. Where spouses hold property in joint tenancy, survivorship rights and the statute's multiple-owner rules govern how and when a TOD deed can take effect.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Minnesota estate & inheritance tax — whether Minnesota 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 Minnesota, 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