Missouri Transfer on Death Deed
In Missouri a transfer on death deed is called a beneficiary deed. It names a beneficiary to receive your real property without probate and must be notarized and recorded before your death. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
A transfer on death deed in Missouri is called a beneficiary deed. It is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate (RSMo 461.025). The deed must expressly state that it is not to take effect until your death, and it transfers the property to the beneficiary only if it is executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds in the city or county where the property is located before you die (RSMo 461.025.1). During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership: because it does not take effect until death, you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. A recordable Missouri deed must be signed and acknowledged before a notary, and Missouri does not require witnesses for the deed. A beneficiary deed does not need to be supported by consideration or delivered to the beneficiary, and it may transfer the property to a trust (RSMo 461.025.1). There is no fixed number of days to record, but recording before death is required. The deed is revocable: a later recorded beneficiary designation revokes an earlier one, transferring the property during your life terminates the designation, and a will may not revoke or change the designation unless the deed expressly grants that right (RSMo 461.033). The deed avoids probate for the property, but the beneficiary takes it subject to any mortgages and liens against it. DocDraft builds your Missouri beneficiary deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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In Missouri a transfer on death deed is called a beneficiary deed. It is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate (RSMo 461.025).
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During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership. Because it does not take effect until your death, you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die (RSMo 461.025.1).
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The deed must be signed and acknowledged before a notary, like any recordable Missouri deed. Missouri does not require witnesses for a beneficiary deed.
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The deed transfers the property only if it is executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds in the city or county where the property is located before your death (RSMo 461.025.1). There is no fixed day deadline, but recording before death is required.
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The deed must expressly state that it is not to take effect until your death. It need not be supported by consideration or delivered to the beneficiary, and it may transfer the property to a trust (RSMo 461.025.1).
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The deed is revocable. A later recorded beneficiary designation revokes an earlier one, and transferring the property during your life terminates the designation. A will may not revoke or change the designation unless the deed expressly grants that right (RSMo 461.033).
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The deed avoids probate for the property, but it does not erase debts. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages and liens against it at your death.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Missouri, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Transfer on Death Deed guide walks through them.
Open the Transfer on Death Deed guideCustomize your Transfer on Death Deed Template with DocDraft
Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Missouri in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Missouri Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed
Missouri calls this instrument a beneficiary deed (RSMo 461.025). The deed must name a grantee beneficiary and must expressly state that it is not to take effect until the death of the owner. Missouri does not prescribe a fill-in form, so the deed must meet the statutory requirements.
The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the parcel or locator number. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed with the recorder of deeds.
The full legal name of the grantee beneficiary who will receive the property at the owner death, and an alternate beneficiary if the first does not survive. A trust may be named as the beneficiary (RSMo 461.025.1).
The deed must expressly state that it is not to take effect until the death of the owner (RSMo 461.025.1). Without that statement the document does not work as a beneficiary deed and does not transfer the property outside probate.
The owner must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged before a notary, like any recordable Missouri deed. Missouri does not require witnesses for a beneficiary deed. Without acknowledgment the deed cannot be recorded.
The deed transfers the property only if it is executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds in the city or county where the property is located before the owner death (RSMo 461.025.1). There is no fixed day deadline, so record promptly.
A later recorded beneficiary designation revokes an earlier one, and transferring the property during life terminates the designation (RSMo 461.033). A will may not revoke or change the designation unless the deed expressly grants that right.
The deed avoids probate for the property, but the beneficiary takes it subject to any mortgages and liens on it at the owner death. A mortgage, tax lien, or judgment on the property stays with the property.
Does your Transfer on Death Deed need to be notarized in Missouri?
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Check my Transfer on Death DeedFrequently Asked Questions
In Missouri it is called a beneficiary deed. It is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate (RSMo 461.025). During your lifetime it has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. It passes only the property described in the deed.
A Missouri will directs who inherits your property, but the property still passes through probate, the court process that can take many months. A Missouri beneficiary deed, the state version of a transfer on death deed, passes the specific real property it names directly to the beneficiary at your death, outside probate. The will covers your whole estate; the beneficiary deed covers only the real property it describes. Many people use both, so the deed handles the home and the will handles everything else.
The deed must expressly state that it is not to take effect until your death, and it must be executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds in the city or county where the property is located before you die (RSMo 461.025.1). Like any recordable Missouri deed, it must be signed and acknowledged before a notary. Missouri does not require witnesses. This kind of deed is Missouri version of a transfer on death deed.
A Missouri beneficiary deed transfers the property only if it is executed and filed of record with the recorder of deeds in the city or county where the property is located before the owner death (RSMo 461.025.1). There is no fixed number of days after signing, but the deed does nothing if it is not recorded before you die. Recording promptly after you sign is the safest approach in Missouri.
No. A Missouri beneficiary deed must be signed and acknowledged before a notary, like any recordable deed, but Missouri does not require witnesses for it. The signing requirement is notarization, not attestation by witnesses. This is different from a Missouri will, which does have witness requirements.
Yes. A later recorded beneficiary designation revokes an earlier one, and transferring the property during your life terminates the designation (RSMo 461.033). A will may not revoke or change a Missouri beneficiary designation unless the deed expressly grants you the right to revoke or change it by will. Because of that rule, recording a new beneficiary deed or transferring the property is the reliable way to revoke.
It avoids probate for the property it names, but it does not clear existing debts. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages and liens against it at your death. A mortgage, tax lien, or judgment on the property stays with it. You should account for those claims when you plan to use a Missouri beneficiary deed.
Yes. Beneficiary deed is the term Missouri law uses for what other states call a transfer on death deed (RSMo 461.025). Both name a beneficiary to receive real property at the owner death, outside probate, while the owner keeps full control during life. If you are searching for a Missouri transfer on death deed, the document you want is a Missouri beneficiary deed.