Mississippi Transfer on Death Deed

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   In Mississippi a transfer on death deed, which the statute calls a transfer-on-death deed, is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-9).

2. 2

   The deed is revocable and nontestamentary, so during your life it has no effect on your ownership. You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-11, 91-27-13, 91-27-23).

3. 3

   The deed must be signed and acknowledged before a notary as Title 89, Chapter 3 requires for deeds, and it need not have the formalities of a will, so no witnesses are required (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-11).

4. 4

   To be effective the deed must contain the formalities of a recordable deed, state the transfer occurs at your death, and be recorded before your death in the deed records of the chancery clerk of the county where the property is located (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-17). There is no fixed day deadline.

5. 5

   Mississippi provides optional statutory forms for the transfer-on-death deed and for a revocation (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-33, 91-27-35).

6. 6

   The deed is revocable by recording a later transfer-on-death deed or an instrument of revocation, acknowledged and recorded before death. A will does not revoke it, and a divorce revokes it as to a former spouse (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-21).

7. 7

   The property passes to the beneficiary subject to any liens, encumbrances, and creditor claims against it (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-29). The deed avoids probate for the property but does not erase debts secured by it.

Mississippi Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

• Use the Mississippi Statutory TOD Deed Form

  Mississippi provides an optional statutory transfer-on-death deed form (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-33) and a revocation form (91-27-35). The deed must name a beneficiary and state that the transfer of the property occurs at the death of the transferor.

• Legal Description and Parcel Number

  The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the parcel number. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed with the chancery clerk.

• Name the Beneficiary and an Alternate

  The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the transferor death, and an alternate beneficiary if the first does not survive. Naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.

• Notarize the Signature

  The transferor must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged before a notary as Title 89, Chapter 3 requires for deeds (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-11). Without acknowledgment the deed cannot be recorded and is not valid.

• No Witnesses Required

  A Mississippi transfer-on-death deed need not be executed with the formalities of a will, so witnesses are not required (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-11). The signing requirement is acknowledgment before a notary, not attestation by witnesses.

• Record With the Chancery Clerk Before Death

  The deed is effective only if it is recorded before the transferor death in the deed records of the chancery clerk of the county where the property is located (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-17). There is no fixed day deadline, so record promptly after signing.

• Revocation Only by Statutory Means

  The deed is revocable by recording a later transfer-on-death deed or an instrument of revocation, acknowledged and recorded before death (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-21). A will does not revoke it, and a divorce revokes it as to a former spouse.

• Property Passes Subject to Claims

  The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, encumbrances, and creditor claims that apply at the transferor death (Miss. Code Ann. 91-27-29). The deed avoids probate for the property but does not erase debts secured by it.