North Dakota Transfer on Death Deed

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A North Dakota transfer on death deed lets you name a beneficiary now who inherits your real property the moment you die, skipping probate entirely. You sign and record it during your lifetime under NDCC chapter 30.1-32.1.

2. 2

   Because North Dakota enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, the deed follows that standardized framework. The one personal test the statute sets is that you hold the same mental capacity the law requires to make a will (NDCC 30.1-32.1-05).

3. 3

   Signing the deed changes nothing about how you own the property today. Ownership, control, and the right to sell, mortgage, or cancel the deed all stay with you, and your named beneficiary gains no stake until the day you die.

4. 4

   The document has to meet the same elements and formalities North Dakota demands of any recordable inter vivos deed, so your signature must be acknowledged in front of a notary. The state asks for no witnesses (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06).

5. 5

   Two labeling rules are specific to this deed: its title has to carry the phrase transfer on death deed or the abbreviation TOD, and its text has to say the transfer to your beneficiary happens at your death (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06).

6. 6

   You must get the deed on record before you die at the county recorder office for the county where the property sits. North Dakota does not make you attach an auditor certificate or a statement of full consideration (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06).

7. 7

   After it is recorded, the only way to undo the deed is to record a later instrument, acknowledged after this one, before you die. An act performed on the deed paper itself, such as tearing it up, does not revoke a recorded deed (NDCC 30.1-32.1-08).

North Dakota Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

• Use a Deed Titled TOD Under Chapter 30.1-32.1

  North Dakota adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (NDCC chapter 30.1-32.1). The deed must use the phrase transfer on death deed or the abbreviation TOD in its title and must state that the transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at the death of the transferor (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06).

• Confirm Capacity to Make a Will

  The transferor must have the capacity required to make a will in order to create a transfer on death deed (NDCC 30.1-32.1-05).

• Legal Description of the Property

  The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed with the county recorder.

• Acknowledge the Deed Before a Notary

  The deed must contain the formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means it is acknowledged before a notarial officer (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06). North Dakota does not require witnesses for a transfer on death deed.

• Record Before Death With the County Recorder

  The deed must be recorded before the death of the transferor in the office of the county recorder of the county where the property is located (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06). North Dakota sets no fixed number of days, but record while the transferor is alive.

• No Auditor Certificate Required

  An auditor certificate of transfer and a statement of full consideration are not required to record a transfer on death deed or a revocation instrument (NDCC 30.1-32.1-06). County offices may still have their own recording formats.

• Revoke Only by a Later Recorded Instrument

  Once recorded, the deed can be revoked only by a later instrument that is acknowledged after the acknowledgment of the deed being revoked and recorded before the death of the transferor (NDCC 30.1-32.1-08). A recorded deed is not revoked by an act on the deed itself.

• Property Passes Subject to Liens

  The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims on it at the death of the transferor. The deed avoids probate for that property but does not erase a mortgage or other lien.