Santa Clara County Transfer on Death Deed Forms (California)
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Form Package
Transfer on Death Deed
State
California
Area
Santa Clara County
Price
$27.97
Delivery
Immediate Download
Payment Information
Included Forms
All Santa Clara County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Transfer on Death Deed Form
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included document last reviewed/updated 4/18/2024
Transfer on Death Deed Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included document last reviewed/updated 4/18/2024
Completed Example of the Transfer on Death Deed Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included document last reviewed/updated 9/12/2023
Notice of Revocable Transfer on Death Deed
Provide this form to your beneficiary(s).
Included document last reviewed/updated 2/13/2024
Included Supplemental Documents
The following California and Santa Clara County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or Santa Clara County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Forms are NOT emailed to you. Immediately after you submit payment, the Santa Clara County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be sent to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Santa Clara County Transfer on Death Deed forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Can the Transfer on Death Deed forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Santa Clara County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Santa Clara County.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Santa Clara County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Santa Clara County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
Areas Covered by These Transfer on Death Deed Forms:
- Santa Clara County
Including:
- Alviso
- Campbell
- Coyote
- Cupertino
- Gilroy
- Holy City
- Los Altos
- Los Gatos
- Milpitas
- Morgan Hill
- Mount Hamilton
- Mountain View
- New Almaden
- Palo Alto
- Redwood Estates
- San Jose
- San Martin
- Santa Clara
- Saratoga
- Stanford
- Sunnyvale
What is the California Transfer on Death Deed
Use this form to transfer real estate at death, but outside of a will and without the need for probate distribution. Execute the TODD form, then record it during the course of your life, and within 60 days of the signing date (5626(a)). Note that unlike grant deeds or quitclaim deeds, there is no change in ownership when transfer on death deeds are recorded (5650), so they are exempt from transfer taxes and the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR).
Section 5650 explains that while you are alive, you retain absolute ownership of and control over your property. You may sell, mortgage, rent, or otherwise use the real estate in any lawful manner, without input from or notice to the beneficiaries, or even modify or revoke the future transfer.
Be aware, too, that the TODD is NOT affected by provisions in your will (5642(b)). Best practices dictate that any change to an estate plan initiates a review of the whole thing, so to reduce the chance for conflict, ensure that the transfer on death deed reinforces the will and other related documents.
Beneficiaries take title to the property under the rules set out at section 5652. Any associated debts, obligations, or agreements in place when you die follow the real estate to the beneficiaries. In addition, the title transfers without warranty, so the beneficiaries might find themselves liable for future claims against the property. For these reasons, among others, some beneficiaries might wish to disclaim the gift (5652(a)(1)).
As it stands, California's transfer on death deed is not valid for real estate held in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship (5664).
5624. A revocable transfer on death deed is not effective unless all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The deed is signed by the transferor and dated.
(b) The deed is signed by two witnesses who were present at the same time and who witnessed either the signing of the deed or the transferor's acknowledgment that the transferor had signed the deed.
(c) The deed is acknowledged before a notary public.
SEC. 10. Section 5625 is added to the Probate Code, to read:
5625. (a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a revocable transfer on death deed.
(b) A revocable transfer on death deed is not invalid because it is signed by an interested witness.
(c) If a beneficiary of a revocable transfer on death deed is also a subscribing witness, there is a presumption that the witness procured the revocable transfer on death deed by duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence. This presumption is a presumption affecting the burden of proof. This presumption does not apply where the witness is named as beneficiary solely in a fiduciary capacity.
Overall, the Simple Revocable Transfer on Death Deed offers a convenient, flexible option to consider as part of an overall estate plan. Even so, they may not be appropriate in all cases. Contact an attorney for complex situations or with any questions.
Included NOTICE OF REVOCABLE TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED Form
5681. (a) After the death of the transferor, the beneficiary of a revocable transfer on death deed shall serve notice on the transferor's heirs, along with a copy of the revocable transfer on death deed and a copy of the transferor's death certificate. (b) The notice required by subdivision (a) shall be in substantially the following form:
(California Transfer on Death Deed Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Santa Clara County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.
Save Time and Money
Get your Santa Clara County Transfer on Death Deed form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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4.8 out of 5 (4317 Reviews)
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April 23rd, 2024
Got what I needed. Easy access.
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April 17th, 2024
This service is fantastic! Took a few tries to scan the document correctly, but their patience and quick turn around made this a far better experience than going to the County myself.
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April 17th, 2024
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August 7th, 2020
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May 4th, 2023
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June 8th, 2022
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Molly S.
November 13th, 2020
I used deeds.com to record a deed because the recording office closed due to Covid 19.
It was easy to sign up and upload the documents I needed recorded and within 24 hours possibly even less, the deeds were recorded. I am very happy with the service and the $15 fee was affordable and worth every penny to get it done so quickly.
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September 30th, 2020
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March 20th, 2019
Website seems to work great and documents are very clear and easy to review and download, thank you.
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Debra W.
May 12th, 2020
Thorough information, quickly received !! I'm going to order more! Helpful due to an ILLEGAL FORECLOSURE! Thank you!!!
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RONNIE C.
February 20th, 2019
Excellent service and the time the documents send back to me was also excellent
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Anthony L.
February 15th, 2020
I recently needed an affidavit of death. The form and help tools made it easy to fill out and file. the Recorder accepted this form . Which made the experience painless and easy . All things considered..
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Norbert C.
June 23rd, 2020
Great resource and everything went smoothly except email was performed through autofill prompted by the system but the autofill added a letter that gave wrong email. I can still sign in with wrong email since the system recognizes it as mine even though it is wrong. May be my fault and not the system since I did not catch the discrepancy in time. I would suggest a field that allows a correction to any misinformation prior to signing out from the initial sign on. Still think it is a great resource if all documents are processed and accepted by the pwers to be. Thanks.
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Mary D. B.
May 11th, 2023
BIG THANK YOU EXCELLENT WEBSITE
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