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Adding Someone to Your Real Estate Deed? Know the Risks.

Know the risks of adding someone to your real estate deed.

It’s your home. You might wish to adding another person—perhaps an intimate friend or a family member. Doing this is a relatively simple action. And you have the right to do it.

Still, be sure to consider the unintended consequences. However well-intended your desire to bring a loved one onto your real estate deed, the conveyance is fraught with risks and potential frustrations. Be aware that:

  • A deed that conveys an interest in your real estate ownership (“adds someone on”) has the legal effect of giving that additional person the same bundle of rights to which you are entitled.
  • Once the conveyance happens, it cannot be undone except with that other additional owner’s consent.  

Consider the following aspects carefully.

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Texas Adds Statutory Transfer on Death Deeds to Estate Planning Arsenal

As of September 1, 2015, owners of real property in Texas gained access to the statutory transfer on death deed (TODD). Modeled after the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act and located at Chapter 14 of the Texas Estates Code, the Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act governs the use of transfer on death deeds in the State of Texas.

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Understanding Transfer on Death Deeds

Real estate is often one of the most significant assets to consider in a comprehensive estate plan. There are several ways to distribute the property after the owner’s death. Some of the more common options are wills, trusts, joint ownership, or transfer on death (TOD) deeds. Note: unless identified otherwise, all definitions originated with Black’s Law Dictionary, Eighth Edition.

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Revoking a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit in Ohio

Ohio Revised Code 5302.23(B)(5) contains the rules for revoking a recorded transfer on death designation affidavit. In short, it states that the owner of real estate previously identified as a transfer on death interest may revoke or change a beneficiary designation at any time before the owner’s death, without the consent of that transfer on death beneficiary. Simply execute and record a new transfer on death designation affidavit, including all information from the prior form, but stating the revocation or change where appropriate.

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