Wisconsin Transfer on Death Deed
In Wisconsin you name a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary on a recorded document to pass real property without probate. It must be recorded with the register of deeds before you die. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
A transfer on death deed in Wisconsin takes the form of a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary designation on a recorded document: while you are alive you record a document that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate. Wisconsin authorizes it under Wis. Stat. 705.15, Nonprobate transfer of real property on death. The document must name the owner or owners, name the TOD beneficiary, and state that the transfer is effective only on the death of the owner or owners; if the interest is marital property, both spouses must sign (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(a)). You make the designation by using the words transfer on death or pay on death, or the abbreviation TOD or POD, after your name and before the beneficiary name, and you may name primary and contingent beneficiaries (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(b)). The designation is not effective unless the document, and any recording fees, are submitted to the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located before your death; Wisconsin sets no fixed number of days (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(c)). Because it is effective only when recorded, the document must meet Wisconsin requirements for recording a document that affects title to real estate. During your life the designation does not affect ownership: you keep full control and can sell or change it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)). You revoke it by recording a later designation or an instrument of revocation. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at your death. DocDraft builds your Wisconsin transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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In Wisconsin a transfer on death deed is a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary designation on a recorded document that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate (Wis. Stat. 705.15).
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During your life the designation does not affect ownership. You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or change it, and the beneficiary has no interest in the property until you die (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)).
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The document must name the owner or owners, name the TOD beneficiary, and state that the transfer is effective only on the death of the owner or owners; if the interest is marital property, both spouses must sign (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(a)).
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You make the designation with the words transfer on death or pay on death, or TOD or POD, after your name and before the beneficiary name, and you may name primary and contingent beneficiaries (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(b)).
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There is no fixed number of days to record, but the designation is not effective unless the document and recording fees are submitted to the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located before your death (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(c)). Because it is effective only when recorded, the document must meet Wisconsin requirements for recording a document affecting title to real estate.
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You revoke the designation by recording a later document that designates a beneficiary or an instrument of revocation that expressly or by inconsistency revokes the recorded designation (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)).
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The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at your death, so the designation does not by itself clear debts secured by the property.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Wisconsin, 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 Wisconsin in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Wisconsin Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed
The recorded document must name the owner or owners, name the TOD beneficiary, and state that the transfer is effective only on the death of the owner or owners (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(a)). Missing any of these means the designation is not valid.
The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the tax parcel number. A street address alone is not enough to record the document with the register of deeds.
Make the designation with the words transfer on death or pay on death, or the abbreviation TOD or POD, after the owner name and before the beneficiary name (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(b)). You may name one or more primary and one or more contingent TOD beneficiaries.
If the interest that will transfer is real property owned by a spouse as marital property, the document must be signed by both spouses who have an interest in the marital property (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(a)).
Because the designation is effective only when recorded, the document must meet Wisconsin requirements for recording a document that affects title to real estate. Section 705.15 does not require witnesses.
The designation is not effective unless the document and any recording fees are submitted to the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located before the death of the owner or the last to die of the owners (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(c)). There is no fixed number of days, so record promptly.
The designation is revoked only by recording a later document that designates a beneficiary, or an instrument of revocation, that expressly or by inconsistency revokes the recorded designation (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)).
The TOD beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at the owner death. The designation passes only the property it describes and does not clear debts secured by the property.
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Check my Transfer on Death DeedFrequently Asked Questions
In Wisconsin a transfer on death deed takes the form of a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary designation on a recorded document. While you are alive you record a document that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate (Wis. Stat. 705.15). During your lifetime it does not affect your ownership: you keep full control and can sell or change it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. It passes only the property described in the document.
A Wisconsin will directs who inherits your property, but the property still passes through probate, the court process that can take many months. A Wisconsin transfer on death beneficiary designation passes the specific real property it names directly to the beneficiary at your death, outside probate. The will covers your whole estate; the designation covers only the real property it describes. Many people use both, so the designation handles the home and the will handles everything else.
In Wisconsin you record a document that names the owner or owners, names the TOD beneficiary, and states that the transfer is effective only on the death of the owner or owners; if the property is marital property, both spouses must sign (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(a)). You make the designation with the words transfer on death or the abbreviation TOD after your name and before the beneficiary name. Because it is effective only when recorded, the document must meet Wisconsin requirements for recording a document affecting title to real estate.
Wisconsin does not set a fixed number of days. The designation is not effective unless the document, and any fees required to record it, are submitted to the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located before the death of the owner or the last to die of multiple owners (Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(c)). Because it only works if it is on record before you die, the safest practice is to record it promptly after you sign it.
Yes. A Wisconsin TOD beneficiary designation does not affect ownership until death and can be revoked while you are alive. You revoke it by recording a later document that designates a beneficiary, or an instrument of revocation, that expressly or by inconsistency revokes the recorded designation (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)). Recording the revoking instrument before your death is what makes the change effective, so handle any change through the register of deeds.
For the real property the designation describes, yes. When the document is properly recorded with the register of deeds before your death, the described property passes without probate to the TOD beneficiary at your death (Wis. Stat. 705.15). It does not cover your other assets, and the beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages, liens, and claims that exist at your death, so it does not clear debts secured by the property.
Yes. Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(b) lets you name one or more persons as a primary TOD beneficiary and one or more persons as a contingent TOD beneficiary who takes if a primary beneficiary does not survive the sole owner or the last to die of multiple owners. Naming a contingent beneficiary helps keep the property out of probate if your first choice dies before you. You should state clearly how co-beneficiaries share the property.
No. The designation of a TOD beneficiary does not affect ownership of the property until the death of the sole owner or the last to die of multiple owners, regardless of whether the document says otherwise (Wis. Stat. 705.15(3)). You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or change the designation, and the beneficiary has no legal interest in the property until you die. The transfer takes effect only at your death.