Effingham County Transfer on Death Deed (Individual Grantor) Form

Georgia real estate can now pass at death without probate through a recorded transfer-on-death deed, a tool the state adopted in 2024 and refined in 2026. This form prepares that deed for a single record owner under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 through § 44-17-7, following the statutory form set out in § 44-17-3: the indenture opening, the grant that takes effect on death, the habendum in fee simple, the capitalized statutory limitations, and the warranty limited to persons claiming by, under, or through the grantor.

A deed that records twice

Georgia's version stands apart from most states in its life cycle. The deed itself works only if it is executed, attested, and recorded before the record owner's death with the clerk of superior court of the county where the property is located. Then, after the death, a second recording completes the transfer: the grantee beneficiary records an acceptance affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2, with a copy of the death certificate attached, within nine months of the death. An interest left unclaimed at nine months reverts to the deceased owner's estate. The form carries both recording requirements in bold capitals on its face, and the guide walks through each step, including the GSCCCA treatment under which the deed itself is recorded without a PT-61 filing while the later acceptance affidavit carries one.

What the owner keeps

During life, the designation changes nothing. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-7 the record owner remains the legal and equitable owner and an absolute owner as to creditors and purchasers: the property can be sold, mortgaged, or leased without the beneficiary's involvement, and the beneficiary holds no present interest and receives no notice. The designation is revocable at any time by a recorded revocation or by recording a new transfer-on-death deed, which revokes all earlier designations for the property. A will cannot revoke it. The statutory limitation notice printed on the deed states all of this on the record, so the beneficiary and every later title examiner see the deed's revocable character on its face.

Signing the Georgia way

Georgia deeds are attested at signing rather than acknowledged afterward: the record owner signs before an officer listed in O.C.G.A. § 44-2-15, commonly a notary public, plus one other unofficial witness, and the form carries a signature line for each. The 2026 amendments add a hard rule worth knowing: an attorney in fact cannot execute a transfer-on-death deed for the record owner. The first page reserves Georgia's full three-inch recording margin and carries the return-to block that O.C.G.A. § 44-2-14(b) requires at the top of page one.

One owner, one designation

This form recites a single grantor who holds title alone. Because a transfer-on-death deed does not sever a joint tenancy (O.C.G.A. § 44-17-6), property held by two owners with right of survivorship follows a different configuration, and a recorded designation is withdrawn with a separate revocation instrument executed with the same formalities. The download includes the fillable deed formatted for Georgia recording standards, a completed example on a realistic Cobb County fact pattern, and a plain-language guide covering every entry, the witness and officer formalities, the nine-month acceptance deadline, and the recording steps; the materials are informational and are not legal advice.