Using a Probate-Free Property Deed

About half of states now authorize a simple, low-cost type of deed that can be used to transfer real estate; effectively allowing an individual to avoid probate at death and forego drafting a living trust. 

Beneficiary or transfer-on-death deeds are one page forms, and prove helpful to many homeowners.  Though details vary by state, the deeds enable a property to pass automatically to the person or people named as beneficiaries while skirting the probate process.  Because the deeds do not take effect until death, they can be revoked or replaced while the owner is living.  Deeds must be filed with the recorder’s office in the county where the property is located. 

Although the deeds are not perfect, for people who do not need or cannot afford a trust, beneficiary/TOD deeds are a cost-effective estate planning tool to pass assets outside of probate.

See Russ Wiles, Probate-Free Real-Estate Deeds Spread Across U.S., AZ Central, Apr. 13, 2015.