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Washington Transfer on Death Deed

A Washington transfer on death deed names a beneficiary to receive your real property without probate. It must be notarized and recorded with the county auditor before you die. Attorney review available.

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Introduction

Washington records a transfer on death deed with the county auditor and makes it effective without any notice to or acceptance by the beneficiary, a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. Washington authorizes it under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, RCW 64.80, and RCW 64.80.020 lets an individual transfer property to one or more beneficiaries effective at death. The deed is revocable (RCW 64.80.030), 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 (RCW 64.80.090). To be valid, the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means you must sign it and have your signature acknowledged before a notary; Washington does not require witnesses (RCW 64.80.060). Washington does not set a fixed number of days to record, but the deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the auditor of the county where the property is located (RCW 64.80.060(3)). The deed is effective without notice, delivery, acceptance, or consideration by the beneficiary (RCW 64.80.070). You can revoke it by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or a deed conveying the property, before your death (RCW 64.80.080). The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at your death. DocDraft builds your Washington transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Washington transfer on death deed is a deed you record during your lifetime that delivers a named piece of real property to your chosen beneficiary automatically when you die, outside probate (RCW 64.80, authorized by RCW 64.80.020).

  2. 2

    The deed stays revocable, so it has no bearing on your ownership while you are alive. You go on selling, mortgaging, or revoking as you please, and the beneficiary gains nothing until your death (RCW 64.80.030, 64.80.090).

  3. 3

    As a recordable inter vivos deed, it must carry the usual elements and formalities: your signature, acknowledged before a notary. Washington calls for no witnesses (RCW 64.80.060).

  4. 4

    No day count applies, but the deed has no force unless it is recorded, before you die, in the office of the auditor of the county where the property is located (RCW 64.80.060(3)). Recording it while you live is what activates it.

  5. 5

    The deed must say the beneficiary takes at your death, and Washington makes a point of a feature the deed does not depend on: it is effective with no notice to, delivery to, acceptance by, or payment from the beneficiary (RCW 64.80.060, 64.80.070).

  6. 6

    You revoke it by recording a later transfer on death deed, a revocation instrument, or a deed that conveys the property, all before your death (RCW 64.80.080). A will cannot do the job.

  7. 7

    The beneficiary receives the property along with any mortgage, lien, or claim on it at your death, so the deed by itself settles none of the debt secured by the land.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Washington, 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 guide

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TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED (Washington Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, RCW 64.80)

Recording requested by: [YOUR NAME] When recorded, mail this deed to: [NAME], [ADDRESS] Assessor tax parcel number: [PARCEL NUMBER]

Important notice: This deed must be recorded in the office of the auditor of the county where the property is located before the owner dies, or it is not effective (RCW 64.80.060). It transfers no interest until the owner dies.

  1. Owner (transferor). The owner is [OWNER FULL NAME], residing at [OWNER ADDRESS], who owns the real property described below.

  2. Property. The property is located in [COUNTY] County, Washington, and is legally described as: [FULL LEGAL DESCRIPTION FROM THE CURRENT DEED], commonly known as [STREET ADDRESS], assessor parcel number [PARCEL NUMBER].

  3. Beneficiary. I transfer my interest in the described property, effective on my death, to the following beneficiary: [BENEFICIARY FULL NAME]. If I name more than one beneficiary, they take the property in equal shares as tenants in common unless I state otherwise here: [SHARES]. If a beneficiary does not survive me, I transfer that share to [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY FULL NAME], if named, and otherwise as Washington law provides. The transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at my death.

  4. Revocability and effect. This deed is revocable. It does not transfer any interest until my death and has no effect on my ownership while I am alive; I may sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke it without the beneficiary consent (RCW 64.80.090). This deed is effective without any notice to, delivery to, acceptance by, or payment from the beneficiary (RCW 64.80.070). I may revoke this deed by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or a deed conveying the property, in each case recorded before my death (RCW 64.80.080). A will cannot revoke this deed.

  5. Warning. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims on the property at my death, so this deed does not clear debts secured by the property. This deed passes only the property described above and does not change my other assets or my will.

  6. What the beneficiary must do at my death. To claim the property, the beneficiary records, with the county auditor where the property is located, proof of my death together with the documents Washington requires. Until the beneficiary records that proof, the public records will continue to show me as the owner.

Signature. I sign this deed on [DATE].

[OWNER FULL NAME], Transferor

Notary acknowledgment. [Washington notary acknowledgment block; the owner signature must be acknowledged before a notary. Washington does not require witnesses.]

Note: This Washington deed must meet the recordable-deed requirements and be recorded with the county auditor before the owner dies. For the generic template and other states, see the Transfer on Death Deed hub.

Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Washington in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.

Washington Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

Use a Properly Recordable Deed Form

A Washington transfer on death deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed and must state that the transfer to the beneficiary occurs at the owner death (RCW 64.80.060).

Legal Description and Parcel Number

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

Name the Beneficiary and an Alternate

The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the owner death, and an alternate beneficiary if the first does not survive the owner. RCW 64.80.020 allows one or more beneficiaries, so naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.

Notarize the Signature

The owner must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged before a notary, because the deed needs the formalities of a properly recordable deed (RCW 64.80.060). Washington does not require witnesses.

No Beneficiary Notice or Acceptance Needed

The deed is effective without notice to, delivery to, acceptance by, or consideration from the beneficiary during the owner life (RCW 64.80.070). The owner does not need the beneficiary agreement to make or change the deed.

Record With the County Auditor Before Death

The deed must be recorded before the owner dies in the office of the auditor of the county where the property is located (RCW 64.80.060(3)). Washington sets no fixed number of days, so record promptly after signing.

Revoke Only by Recorded Instrument

The deed is revocable during the owner life by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or a deed conveying the property (RCW 64.80.030, 64.80.080). A will cannot revoke a Washington transfer on death deed.

Property Passes Subject to Existing Liens

The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at the owner death. The deed passes only the property it describes and does not clear debts secured by the property.

Does your Transfer on Death Deed need to be notarized in Washington?

Whether a Transfer on Death Deed needs to be notarized depends on your state. Upload yours, pick your state, and get the current rule with the official source behind it, free and with no account. If yours does need a notary, online notarization is part of your DocDraft plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A Washington transfer on death deed is a deed you sign and record while you are living that channels a named piece of real property to a chosen beneficiary the moment you die, avoiding probate. Its authority is Washington's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, RCW 64.80, with RCW 64.80.020 permitting the death-effective transfer. Your ownership is unaffected while you are alive: you keep full control and can sell or revoke it, and the beneficiary holds no interest until your death. Only the property named in the deed passes this way.

A Washington will names who should inherit, but the property under it may still go through probate, a court process that can run many months. A transfer on death deed carries the one parcel it names past that process, straight to the beneficiary at your death. The will accounts for your whole estate and the deed for just the real property it describes, which is why many people keep both: the deed for the house, the will for everything else.

A Washington deed is valid once it satisfies the recordable-deed formalities: you sign it and a notary acknowledges your signature, with no witnesses required (RCW 64.80.060). It has to state that the beneficiary takes at your death, and you record it in the office of the auditor of the county where the property lies before you die.

Washington names no set number of days. The rule is that the deed be recorded, before your death, in the public records at the office of the auditor of the county where the property is located (RCW 64.80.060(3)). A deed recorded only after death has no effect, so it is wise to record it right after signing and notarization instead of holding it back.

Yes. A Washington transfer on death deed stays revocable the whole time you are alive (RCW 64.80.030). You revoke it by recording a later transfer on death deed, a revocation instrument, or a deed conveying the property to another, before your death (RCW 64.80.080). A will cannot revoke it, so you must use one of these recorded methods while you are living.

For the real property the deed describes, yes. Once it is validly signed, notarized, and recorded before your death, that property passes straight to the named beneficiary and skips probate (RCW 64.80.100). It reaches none of your other assets, and the beneficiary takes the land subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims present at your death, so it clears none of the debt secured by the property.

Yes. RCW 64.80.020 permits a transfer to one or more beneficiaries at your death, so you can name co-beneficiaries and add an alternate to take the property if your first choice does not survive you. That backup keeps the parcel out of probate if the primary beneficiary dies before you. Set out clearly how co-beneficiaries divide the property so your intent is plain when the deed operates.

No. Throughout your life a Washington transfer on death deed does nothing to your ownership (RCW 64.80.090), and it is effective without any notice to or acceptance by the beneficiary (RCW 64.80.070). You keep full control to sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke the deed without that person consent, and the beneficiary holds no legal interest until you die. The transfer takes effect only at your death.