Mississippi Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Mississippi adopted a transfer-on-death deed relatively recently. The Mississippi Real Property Transfer-on-Death Act (Miss. Code Title 91, Chapter 27, §§ 91-27-1 et seq.), enacted by S.B. 2851 in 2020, became effective July 1, 2020. Under it an individual may transfer real property to one or more beneficiaries effective at the transferor's death by a transfer-on-death deed.

The TOD deed is a nontestamentary instrument and need not be executed with the formalities of a will, but it must contain the essential elements of a recordable deed, must state that the transfer to the beneficiary occurs at the transferor's death, and must be recorded before the transferor dies in the land records of the chancery clerk of the county where the property is located. The beneficiary need not be notified, give consideration, or accept the deed during the transferor's life.

Because the statute is recent, its provisions (including any statutory form) should be confirmed against the current code, and an attorney licensed in Mississippi can verify the deed meets the chancery-clerk recording requirements for the specific county.

Recording & execution requirements

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

• Recording before death: Must be recorded before the transferor's death.
• Governing statute: Miss. Code §§ 91-27-1 to 91-27-37 Miss. Code Ann. Title 91, Ch. 27 — Mississippi Real Property Transfer-on-Death Act (2020 S.B. 2851) · enacted 2020 (S.B. 2851); effective July 1, 2020.

Changing or revoking the deed

A Mississippi TOD deed is revocable even if it says otherwise. The owner keeps full ownership during life and may sell, mortgage, or give the property away; a lifetime transfer can leave the beneficiary with nothing to receive.

To revoke, the owner records — before death, in the county where the property lies — a revocation instrument or a later TOD deed that changes or removes the beneficiary. A revocation attempted only through a will is not effective against the recorded TOD deed.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A Mississippi TOD deed passes the property subject to existing mortgages, liens, judgments, and tax obligations. The beneficiary takes the owner's interest as encumbered at death; recording the deed does not extinguish secured debt on the property.

Medicaid estate recovery

Property passing by a Mississippi TOD deed can remain exposed to Mississippi Medicaid estate recovery, the scope of which is fact-specific and can change. This is a flag: before relying on a TOD deed for a Medicaid recipient, confirm current recovery exposure with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid and an attorney licensed in Mississippi.

Community property

Mississippi is a common-law (separate-property) state. Mississippi is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship interest to reconcile with a TOD deed. Spouses commonly rely on joint tenancy with right of survivorship for automatic transfer of jointly held property.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Mississippi estate & inheritance tax — whether Mississippi 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 Mississippi, 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