A Kansas transfer on death deed lets you name who inherits your real estate without sending it through probate. You fill out the statutory form, sign it in front of a notary, and record it with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits — all before you die. You keep full ownership during your lifetime and can sell, mortgage, or revoke the deed whenever you want. The person you name has no rights to the property until the moment of your death.
What the Deed Must Say
K.S.A. 59-3502 gives you the exact language. Your deed must be “in substantially the following form”:
(Name of owner) as owner transfers on death to (name of beneficiary), as grantee beneficiary, the following described interest in real estate: (description of the interest). THIS TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED IS REVOCABLE. IT DOES NOT TRANSFER ANY OWNERSHIP UNTIL THE DEATH OF THE OWNER. IT REVOKES ALL PRIOR BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS BY THIS OWNER FOR THIS INTEREST IN REAL ESTATE.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3502 – Same; Filing of Form With Register of Deeds
You can abbreviate “transfer-on-death” as “TOD.” Many Register of Deeds offices and legal document providers sell preprinted forms that already match the statute. The beneficiary does not have to pay anything for the deed; no consideration is required.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3501 – Real Estate; Transfer-on-Death
Getting the Legal Description Right
The property description must be the full legal description. A street address will not do, and neither will a tax parcel number. Platted property is usually identified by lot, block, and subdivision; unplatted land uses metes and bounds.
Copy the description word for word from your most recent recorded deed. If you don’t have a copy, the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located can give you one. Small transcription errors can create title problems years later, so this step rewards precision over speed.
Naming Your Beneficiary
You can name an individual, several individuals, a trust, an LLC, or any other legal entity. Use each beneficiary’s full legal name. For an entity, use the exact name on its organizing documents or state registration.
If you name more than one beneficiary, specify how they will hold title. Tenants in common each get a defined share they can pass to their own heirs. Joint tenants get a right of survivorship, meaning the surviving beneficiary automatically takes a deceased beneficiary’s share. Leaving this unsaid is a common source of litigation later.
If a Beneficiary Dies Before You Do
If a named beneficiary dies before you and no alternate is named, that share lapses and the property interest passes through your probate estate — exactly the outcome the deed was meant to avoid. Kansas carves out one exception: if the deceased beneficiary leaves surviving children or grandchildren at the time of your death, those descendants inherit the share per stirpes, unless the deed made the transfer contingent on the beneficiary surviving you.3Kansas Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3504 – Transfer-on-Death of Interest in Real Estate; Vesting of Ownership in Beneficiary
The cleanest fix is to name an alternate on the deed. If you want to be sure only your named beneficiary inherits — and nobody else by default — add language making the transfer contingent on survival, then handle the property elsewhere in your estate plan.
If You Own the Property With Someone Else
A joint tenant can create a TOD deed alone, but it only takes effect if that person is the last surviving joint owner. If you die first, your co-owner takes the whole property through the right of survivorship and your TOD deed does nothing. The deed does not sever a joint tenancy.4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3505 – Same; Joint Owner
Joint tenants can also sign a TOD deed together. The named beneficiary then takes the property after all joint owners have died — a common setup for spouses who want the survivor to keep the home and then pass it to their children without probate.
Signing and Notarizing
K.S.A. 59-3502 requires the deed to be executed and acknowledged before recording. In practice, that means signing in front of a notary public. A county clerk, register of deeds, or the mayor or clerk of an incorporated city can also take the acknowledgment.5Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 58-2211 – Acknowledgment of Instrument Relating to Real Estate
The notary will check your government-issued ID and confirm you are signing voluntarily. The notary block should show the date, the county where you signed, and the notary’s commission expiration date. You must have the capacity to understand what you are signing. Someone holding your power of attorney can sign for you only if the power of attorney authorizes real estate transactions.
Your beneficiary does not sign the deed, consent to it, or need to know it exists.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3501 – Real Estate; Transfer-on-Death
Recording the Deed Before You Die
This is the step that fails most often. The deed must be recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located, and it must be recorded before your death. A signed but unrecorded deed is void. So is a deed recorded after you die.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3502 – Same; Filing of Form With Register of Deeds Signing the document and putting it in a drawer accomplishes nothing. A TOD deed is not a will.
Recording fees under K.S.A. 28-115 come to $21 for the first page and $17 for each additional page.6Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 28-115 – Fees Most TOD deeds are a single page. Some counties add a small technology fund fee. Call your Register of Deeds first to confirm the total and ask what payment methods they accept. Most offices take documents in person or by mail. Once recorded, the office stamps the deed with a book and page number and typically mails the original back within a few business days.
Changing or Revoking the Deed
You can revoke a TOD deed at any time while you’re alive. The beneficiary doesn’t need to agree or even be told. Two options:
- Record a revocation instrument. Sign, acknowledge, and record a document that identifies the property interest and states that you are revoking the beneficiary designation. File it with the same Register of Deeds office.
- Record a new TOD deed. A later TOD deed naming a different beneficiary automatically revokes any earlier designation for the same property.
Either approach has to clear the same formalities as the original: your signature, notarization, and recording before your death.7Kansas Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3503 – Beneficiary; Revocation; Change; Revocation by Will, Prohibited
One point surprises people: your will cannot revoke a TOD deed. Even if your will leaves “all my real estate” to someone else, the recorded TOD deed controls. Title vests in the named beneficiary at the moment of death, so the property never enters your probate estate and the will has no reach over it.8Kansas Judicial Branch. In re Estate of Roloff
What the Beneficiary Actually Receives
A TOD deed does not deliver a clean property. Under K.S.A. 59-3504, the beneficiary takes the real estate subject to every mortgage, lien, lease, easement, and security interest in place during your lifetime. A $150,000 mortgage at your death is a $150,000 mortgage the beneficiary inherits with the house.9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3504 – Transfer-on-Death of Interest in Real Estate; Vesting of Ownership in Beneficiary
For a residence with fewer than five dwelling units passing to a relative, the federal Garn-St. Germain Act stops the lender from calling the loan due just because the owner died.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions The beneficiary still has to keep making payments or refinance.
Medicaid is the other big one. A TOD deed avoids probate, but Kansas defines its “medical assistance estate” broadly enough to reach TOD property. If you received Medicaid-funded long-term care, the state can assert a recovery claim against the property after your death.11Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Estate Recovery Program Signing the deed while you’re alive doesn’t count as a disqualifying transfer for Medicaid eligibility, because ownership hasn’t moved yet. The post-death claim, though, can take most of the property’s value. If this is a real possibility for you, talk to an elder law attorney before relying on a TOD deed.
Taxes
Kansas has no state inheritance or estate tax. The federal estate tax only reaches estates above $15,000,000 per individual in 2026, so most TOD transfers carry no estate tax at all.12Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax
The useful tax rule for most beneficiaries is the step-up in basis. Property acquired from a decedent gets a new basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent A house bought for $80,000 and worth $250,000 at your death gives the beneficiary a $250,000 basis. Selling soon after produces little or no capital gains tax. The step-up applies to TOD transfers the same way it applies to property passing through probate or a trust.