West Virginia Transfer on Death Deed
A West Virginia transfer on death deed names a beneficiary to receive your real property without probate. It must be notarized and recorded with the county commission clerk before you die. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
West Virginia exempts a transfer on death deed from real estate excise tax and records it with the clerk of the county commission, a deed you sign while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. West Virginia authorizes it under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, W. Va. Code 36-12-1 and following, and 36-12-5 lets an individual transfer property to one or more beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries effective at death. The deed is revocable (W. Va. Code 36-12-6), 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 (W. Va. Code 36-12-12). 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; West Virginia does not require witnesses (W. Va. Code 36-12-9). West Virginia does not set a fixed number of days to record, but the deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property is located, and it is exempt from the excise tax on transferring real estate because no interest passes to the beneficiary at recording (W. Va. Code 36-12-9(3)). You can revoke the deed by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or a deed conveying the property, before your death, and it cannot be revoked by a will (W. Va. Code 36-12-11). The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at your death. DocDraft builds your West Virginia transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A West Virginia transfer on death deed is a deed you record during your lifetime that passes a named piece of real property to your chosen beneficiary automatically at your death, without probate (W. Va. Code 36-12-1 and following, authorized by 36-12-5).
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The deed is revocable, so it leaves your ownership untouched while you live. You may sell, mortgage, or revoke it at will, and the beneficiary holds no interest until you die (W. Va. Code 36-12-6, 36-12-12).
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Being a recordable inter vivos deed, it must carry the usual elements and formalities: you sign it and have your signature acknowledged. West Virginia asks for no witnesses (W. Va. Code 36-12-9).
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No day count is imposed, but the deed does nothing unless it is recorded, before you die, in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property is located (W. Va. Code 36-12-9(3)). Getting it on record during your life is what makes it work.
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The deed must state that the beneficiary takes at your death, and West Virginia gives it a tax break the neighboring states do not: it is exempt from the excise tax on transferring real estate, because no interest passes to the beneficiary at the time of recording (W. Va. Code 36-12-9).
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You revoke it by recording a later transfer on death deed, a revocation instrument, or a deed conveying the property, all before your death; neither a will nor a revocatory act on the paper will undo it (W. Va. Code 36-12-11).
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The beneficiary takes the property still bearing every mortgage, lien, and claim on it at your death, so the deed on its own clears none of the debt secured against the land.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in West Virginia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Transfer on Death Deed guide walks through them.
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Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in West Virginia in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
West Virginia Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed
A West Virginia 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 (W. Va. Code 36-12-9).
The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the tax map and parcel number. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed with the clerk of the county commission.
The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the owner death, and a contingent beneficiary if the first does not survive the owner. W. Va. Code 36-12-5 allows one or more beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries, so naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.
The owner must sign the deed and have the signature acknowledged, because the deed needs the formalities of a properly recordable deed (W. Va. Code 36-12-9). West Virginia does not require witnesses.
A transfer on death deed is exempt from the excise tax on the privilege of transferring real estate, because no interest in the property passes to the beneficiary when the deed is recorded and the deed stays revocable until the owner death (W. Va. Code 36-12-9).
The deed must be recorded before the owner dies in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property is located (W. Va. Code 36-12-9(3)). West Virginia sets no fixed number of days, so record promptly after signing.
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 (W. Va. Code 36-12-11). A will cannot revoke a West Virginia transfer on death deed.
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 West Virginia?
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Check my Transfer on Death DeedFrequently Asked Questions
A West Virginia transfer on death deed is a deed you sign and record while living that routes a named piece of real property to a chosen beneficiary the instant you die, skipping probate. It rests on West Virginia's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, W. Va. Code 36-12-1 and following, with 36-12-5 permitting the death-effective transfer. Your ownership does not shift 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 West Virginia will directs who inherits, but the property it covers still goes through probate, a court process that can take many months. A transfer on death deed carries the specific parcel it names past probate, delivering it to the beneficiary at your death. The will covers your entire estate while the deed covers only the real property it describes, so many people use both: the deed for the home and the will for the rest.
In West Virginia the deed is valid once it meets the recordable-deed formalities: you sign it and have your signature acknowledged, with no witnesses required (W. Va. Code 36-12-9). It must state that the transfer occurs at your death, and you record it in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property is located before you die.
West Virginia sets no fixed number of days. The deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the clerk of the county commission for the county where the property lies (W. Va. Code 36-12-9(3)). Since a deed recorded only after death accomplishes nothing, the safe practice is to record it promptly once it is signed and notarized rather than hold it.
Yes. A West Virginia transfer on death deed can be revoked at any time while you are alive (W. Va. Code 36-12-6). 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 (W. Va. Code 36-12-11). A will cannot revoke it, and once it is recorded you cannot undo it by a revocatory act on the document itself.
For the real property the deed describes, yes. When it has been validly signed, notarized, and recorded before your death, that property passes directly to the named beneficiary and never enters probate (W. Va. Code 36-12-5, 36-12-13). It does not reach your other assets, and the beneficiary takes the land carrying any mortgages, liens, and claims that stand at your death, so it clears none of the debt secured by the property.
Yes. W. Va. Code 36-12-5 allows a transfer to one or more beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries at your death, so you can name co-beneficiaries along with a contingent beneficiary 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. State clearly how co-beneficiaries share the property so your intent is unmistakable.
No. Throughout your life a West Virginia transfer on death deed does nothing to your ownership (W. Va. Code 36-12-12). You keep full control to sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke the deed without the beneficiary consent, and that person holds no legal interest in the property until you die. The transfer takes effect only at your death, on the property the deed describes.