Transfer on Death Deed in Minnesota: Rules, Recording, and Revocation

A Transfer on Death Deed in Minnesota lets you name who inherits your real estate without probate, while you keep full ownership and control until you die. You sign the deed, have it notarized, and record it with the county before your death. The beneficiary you named then files a short set of documents after you die to complete the transfer. Get the signing, recording, or spousal-consent rules wrong, and the property lands in probate anyway.

How a TODD Works While You’re Alive

Minn. Stat. § 507.071 authorizes any owner of a transferable interest in Minnesota real property to sign a Transfer on Death Deed.¹ The property has to sit inside Minnesota. Houses, farmland, and vacant lots are the common cases.

Signing a TODD gives up nothing during your lifetime. You can sell the property, mortgage it, rent it out, or record a new deed replacing the old one. The beneficiary has no ownership, no right to occupy, and no legal claim while you’re alive. Their interest exists only on paper until the moment of your death, and it exists then only if you followed the rules below.

What the Deed Has to Say

The grantor’s name on the deed must match the current title exactly. Any mismatch creates a chain-of-title problem that can block or delay the transfer later. Every intended beneficiary needs their full legal name on the deed too.

A street address is not enough for the property itself. The deed requires the formal legal description: lot, block, and plat, or a metes-and-bounds description. You can pull this from a prior deed, a title insurance policy, or the county property tax records. An error here can get the deed rejected by the recorder or challenged after death.

Naming More Than One Beneficiary

You can name multiple beneficiaries and specify how they take title, whether as joint tenants, tenants in common, or another form recognized under Minnesota law.² If beneficiaries take as joint tenants and one dies before you without a named successor, the survivors split that share.

Successor Beneficiaries and the 120-Hour Rule

Name successor beneficiaries. A beneficiary who dies before you, and whose share has no successor named, may lapse, and that portion can end up in probate. Minn. Stat. § 524.2-702 treats any beneficiary who fails to survive you by 120 hours (five days) as having died first.³ The affidavit your beneficiary files after your death asks them to confirm they survived by that margin.⁴

The Spousal Signature Rule for Homestead Property

This trips people up more than any other requirement. Minnesota law requires both spouses to sign any conveyance of homestead property under Minn. Stat. § 507.02.⁵ A TODD must meet all standard deed requirements, so a married owner cannot sign a valid TODD on the homestead alone.¹ A deed signed by only one spouse won’t transfer the property at death.

Minnesota’s Uniform Conveyancing Blanks include separate forms for unmarried grantors and for married grantors who are the sole spouse in title.⁶⁷ Picking the wrong one can invalidate the deed.

If You Own the Property in Joint Tenancy

Every joint tenant has to sign the TODD, and each of their spouses has to sign too where the homestead rule applies. The beneficiary receives nothing until the last surviving grantor owner dies.² If the last one to die never signed, the deed is void.

Signing a TODD does not sever the joint tenancy. Survivorship still governs first: when one joint tenant dies, the other still takes by operation of law. The TODD sits dormant until only one owner is left, and it activates when that owner dies. The deed can override this default only if it expressly severs the joint tenancy.²

Signing, Notarizing, and Recording Before Death

Sign the deed and have it acknowledged before a notary. The general rules that apply to any Minnesota deed apply here too.¹ An attorney-in-fact can sign for you if the power of attorney grants authority to execute deeds.

After notarization, record the deed with the County Recorder or Registrar of Titles in the county where the property is located, depending on whether the land is abstract or Torrens. Recording is not optional. Under Subdivision 8 of § 507.071, the deed is only valid if it is recorded before the grantor’s death.⁸ A signed, notarized deed sitting in a drawer when you die does nothing, and the property goes through probate.

The standard Minnesota recording fee for a deed is $46 under Minn. Stat. § 357.18.⁹ Some counties add page fees for longer documents, but expect $46 for a typical one- or two-page TODD.

How to Change or Revoke the Deed

You can undo a TODD at any time. Three practical routes:

Record a revocation. Sign a revocation instrument, have it notarized, and record it in the same county before your death. A revocation by any single grantor owner cancels the entire deed, even one signed by multiple owners.¹
Sell or convey the property. A regular deed transferring the property during life makes the TODD ineffective as to what you conveyed. If you convey only part, the TODD stays in effect for what you kept.¹
Record a new TODD on the same property, which effectively replaces the earlier one.

A will cannot revoke a TODD. If you sign a TODD naming one person, then later write a will leaving the same property to someone else, the TODD wins.¹ Families are blindsided by this more than almost any other TODD issue.

What Your Beneficiary Files After You Die

Title does not switch automatically when you die. Your beneficiary has to record several documents in the county where the property is located before the county records reflect the new owner:

A certified copy of the death certificate, filed with the county recorder or registrar of titles.
An Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship confirming that the beneficiary named in the deed survived you by at least 120 hours and is the same person named in the TODD.⁴
A Medical Assistance Clearance Certificate from the county agency where the property is located, required under § 507.071, Subdivision 23.¹

Until all three are recorded, the county still shows you as the titleholder. For Torrens property, a new certificate of title won’t issue until the clearance certificate is on file.

Medical Assistance Estate Recovery

A TODD does not shield the property from Minnesota’s Medical Assistance estate recovery program. Under Minn. Stat. § 256B.15, the state can recover the cost of Medical Assistance benefits paid on behalf of the deceased owner from property that passes by TODD.¹⁰ The statute names TODD property as part of the recoverable estate.

The clearance certificate enforces this. When your beneficiary applies, the county agency checks whether you received state-funded medical care that triggers a recovery claim. If there’s an outstanding Medical Assistance lien, the certificate notes it, and the property stays subject to the lien even after the certificate issues.¹ The beneficiary may need to satisfy that claim before selling or refinancing with clean title.

On the other side of the timeline, signing a TODD does not count as a transfer for Medicaid eligibility. Ownership doesn’t change during your life and the deed is freely revocable, so it doesn’t trigger the five-year look-back that penalizes applicants who gave away assets before applying.

Stepped-Up Basis on Inheritance

Property that passes through a TODD receives a stepped-up cost basis. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014, property acquired from a decedent takes a basis equal to fair market value on the date of death.¹¹ If you bought the house for $150,000 and it’s worth $350,000 when you die, your beneficiary’s basis is $350,000. A sale soon after would produce little or no capital gains tax.

Gifting the property during your lifetime works differently. A lifetime gift carries over your original basis, so the recipient would owe capital gains on the full appreciation. Keeping ownership until death, which a TODD does, preserves the step-up.

When a TODD Isn’t the Right Tool

A TODD works well for a straightforward transfer of Minnesota real estate to a known beneficiary. It’s a poor fit in several situations. If you own property in more than one state, you need a separate TODD or equivalent instrument in each state, and not every state recognizes them. If you want to place conditions on the transfer, such as requiring a beneficiary to keep the property as a primary residence, a trust is generally the right vehicle.

A TODD also does nothing about your own incapacity. If you develop dementia and can no longer manage the property, the TODD only operates at death, so it can’t help. A revocable living trust can name a successor trustee to manage the property while you’re alive but incapacitated. For a single Minnesota property, a simple beneficiary plan, and a goal of avoiding probate, a TODD is hard to beat on cost and simplicity. For anything more complicated, treat it as one piece of a broader estate plan rather than the plan itself.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 507.071 – Transfer on Death Deeds
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 507.071 – Transfer on Death Deeds
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 524.2-702
4
Minnesota Department of Commerce. Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship for Transfer on Death Deed
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 507.02
6
Minnesota Department of Commerce. Transfer on Death Deed – Unmarried – Fillable
7
Minnesota Department of Commerce. Transfer on Death Deed – Married, Sole Spouse in Title – Fillable
8
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 507
9
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 357.18
10
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 256B.15
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent