How to Fill Out and Record a Minnesota Transfer on Death Deed

A Minnesota Transfer on Death Deed lets you name who inherits your real estate when you die, keeps the property out of probate, and leaves you in complete control of it while you’re alive. The tool has existed since 2008 under Minnesota Statute 507.071, and putting one in place comes down to three steps: fill out the statutory form, sign it in front of a notary, and record it with the county recorder before you die.¹

What Property You Can Transfer

The statute reaches further than most people expect. A TODD can transfer any interest in Minnesota real property that would be transferable at death, including a mortgage, a deed of trust, a security interest in real property, a judgment lien, a tax lien, and both the buyer’s and seller’s interest in a contract for deed.¹ If it’s real property in Minnesota and you own it, you can almost certainly put it on a TODD.

Getting the Right Form

Minnesota publishes standardized Uniform Conveyancing Blanks through the Department of Commerce. The most common version is Form 10.8.1, the Transfer on Death Deed for an unmarried owner, available as a fillable PDF.² Married owners, or owners who want to name successor beneficiaries, should look for the appropriate variant on the same Department of Commerce page. Your county recorder can also direct you to the right form.

Filling Out the Deed

Grantor Information

The grantor is you, the current owner. Enter your full legal name exactly as it appears on the deed that vested title in you. If the property is held in joint tenancy or tenancy in common, every owner whose interest you want the TODD to cover has to be listed as a grantor. A spouse who does not own the property but needs to release marital rights can sign without being treated as a grantor owner under the statute.¹

Grantee Beneficiary Information

Name whoever you want to receive the property, using their full legal name. You can name more than one beneficiary and specify how they will hold title, whether as joint tenants, tenants in common, or any other form of ownership valid in Minnesota.¹ If you leave that blank, statutory defaults fill in, so naming a successor beneficiary in case one predeceases you is worth thinking through.

You are not limited to individuals. The statute allows you to name the trustee of a living trust (including a revocable one), the trustee of a testamentary trust, or any other entity that can legally hold Minnesota real property.¹

Legal Description of the Property

This is where most TODDs go wrong. A street address will not do. Minnesota requires the full legal description, spelling out the boundaries by township, range, section, lot, and block. Copy it word for word from your existing deed or your property tax statement. A single transposed number can leave the deed ineffective.

If you are not sure your legal description is complete, check it against the version filed with your county recorder. Some counties post searchable records online. A mismatch between your TODD and the recorded title creates a problem that may surface only after your death, when nobody can fix it.

Signing Before a Notary

Sign the deed in the presence of a notary public. The notarial certificate has to include the notary’s signature, the date of the notarial act, the jurisdiction, the notary’s title of office, and the commission expiration date, plus the notary’s official stamp.³ The county recorders’ checklist confirms the same items: date, legible seal, signature, and commission expiration.⁴ If any element is missing, the recorder will reject the filing. Before you leave the notary, look at the acknowledgment block and confirm nothing is blank.

Recording With the County

A TODD has no legal effect until it is recorded, and it must be recorded before the grantor owner dies. If the deed is sitting in your desk drawer when you die, the property passes through probate as though you never signed it.¹ That deadline is the single most important thing on this page.

Take or mail the notarized original to the county recorder (or registrar of titles for Torrens property) in the county where the property sits. The standard recording fee across Minnesota counties is $46.⁵ Many counties also accept electronic recording through approved vendor platforms like CSC, which can cut turnaround from days to hours. Ask your recorder whether e-recording is available for TODDs.

Well Disclosure

If the property has any wells on it, whether for drinking water, irrigation, monitoring, or otherwise, you may need to include a well disclosure certificate. Minnesota Statute 103I.235 requires disclosure of the location and status of all known wells before a conveyance is recorded.⁶ Recorders can reject a filing that lacks it. If there are no wells, a short statement to that effect typically satisfies the requirement. The Minnesota Department of Health provides forms and guidance.⁷

Once the recorder processes the filing, you get the original back with stamps showing the date, time, and document number. Nothing about your ownership changes during your lifetime. You still pay the taxes, keep the insurance, and can sell, refinance, or do anything else you like with the property.

How to Change or Revoke the Deed

You can undo a TODD any time before you die, and it happens in several ways.

Filing a Revocation Form

The cleanest method is to record a Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed, Form 10.8.10 from the Department of Commerce.⁸ It has to include the legal description, be notarized, and be recorded in the property’s county before the grantor owner dies.¹ Once recorded, it cancels the earlier deed. If there is more than one grantor owner, any one of them can revoke the entire deed.

Recording a New TODD

To change beneficiaries rather than cancel outright, record a new TODD for the same property. When two TODDs cover the same interest, the one with the latest acknowledgment date controls, and the earlier deed becomes void.¹ One wrinkle: if the newer deed covers only part of the land in the earlier deed, the earlier deed still governs the parcels not included.

Selling or Conveying During Your Lifetime

If you sell or otherwise convey the property while you are alive, the TODD becomes ineffective for whatever interest you gave up. A TODD only transfers what you still own at death.¹

Divorce

A TODD counts as a “governing instrument” under Minnesota Statute 524.2-804, so a divorce or annulment automatically revokes any disposition to your former spouse (and their family members who are not also your family members).⁹ After the divorce, the deed is read as though your former spouse died just before the dissolution. Remarrying the same person reverses the revocation. You can override the default by stating so in the deed, but few people do.

What Happens After You Die

The property passes to the beneficiary automatically at death, but automatic does not mean nothing needs doing. Two steps still have to happen before the beneficiary has clean title.

Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship

The beneficiary (or their attorney) records an affidavit of identity and survivorship, attaching a certified copy of the grantor’s death certificate. The affidavit has to include the name and mailing address of the person who should receive future property tax statements. Once recorded, it stands as evidence that the beneficiary survived the grantor and is entitled to the property.¹

Medical Assistance Clearance Certificate

Before the transfer is fully effective, the beneficiary has to apply to the county agency in the property’s county for a clearance certificate confirming no Medical Assistance (Medicaid) claim exists against the property.¹ The county agency either issues the certificate or asserts a recovery claim if the deceased grantor or a predeceased spouse received Medical Assistance benefits. The clearance certificate must be recorded alongside the affidavit of survivorship in every county where the property is located. The affidavit, death certificate, and clearance certificate can be combined into one document or filed separately.

This step catches many beneficiaries off guard. You cannot record just a death certificate and treat the deed as done. The county agency has statutory recovery rights against TODD property, and skipping the clearance leaves a cloud on title that will block any later sale or refinance.

Taxes to Know About

No Gift Tax When You Record

Recording a TODD is not a completed gift for federal tax purposes. Because you keep full ownership and can revoke at any time, the beneficiary has no present interest in the property during your lifetime. No gift tax return is required when you sign or record the deed.

Estate Tax at Death

Property passing through a TODD is still part of your gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. The IRS defines the gross estate as everything you own or hold certain interests in at death, real estate included.¹⁰ For deaths in 2026, the federal filing threshold is $15,000,000.¹¹ Most Minnesotans using a TODD for a home or farm fall well under that, but Minnesota has its own state estate tax with a lower threshold, worth raising with a tax adviser if your total estate is large.

Step-Up in Basis

Beneficiaries who inherit through a TODD get a stepped-up basis equal to the property’s fair market value on the date of the owner’s death, under Internal Revenue Code Section 1014.¹² If you bought the house for $120,000 and it’s worth $350,000 at your death, your beneficiary’s basis resets to $350,000. Selling shortly afterward at that price would generate little or no capital gains tax. That is a meaningful advantage of inheriting rather than receiving property as a lifetime gift, where the recipient would carry over your original cost basis.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 507071 – Transfer on Death Deeds
2
Minnesota Department of Commerce. Form 10.8.1 Transfer on Death Deed – Unmarried
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 358 – Notarial Acts
4
Minnesota Association of County Officers. Recorders Checklist
5
Minnesota Association of County Officers. Statewide County Fees
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 103I235 – Real Property Sale Disclosure of Location of Wells
7
Minnesota Department of Health. Well Disclosure and Property Transfer
8
Minnesota Department of Commerce. Form 10.8.10 Revocation of Transfer on Death Deed
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 5242-804 – Revocation Upon Dissolution
10
Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax
11
Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent