Guides › Transfer-on-Death Deeds
Updated July 31, 2026. Quick answer: yes — New York finally authorized TOD deeds effective July 19, 2024 (Real Property Law §424), and it wrote the strictest execution rule in the country into them: two witnesses present at the same time PLUS a notary. Most states require only notarization; a New York TOD deed signed with the usual single-notary formality is defective. That one sentence will invalidate more DIY deeds here than any other rule.
The New York specifics
Record in the county clerk’s office before death — unrecorded means ineffective. Revocable no matter what the deed says — the statute overrides any “irrevocable” language someone drafts in. And the bar is openly cautious: state bar guidance has urged care with the new instrument, which is the polite way of saying title companies and clerks are still developing settled practice. For a statute this young, recording early and keeping the original formalities airtight is the whole game.
What it saves in New York is specific: executor commissions run on money the executor handles, so a house passing by deed never enters the SCPA 2307 commission base — on a $1M house, that is real money — and the probate bill shrinks with it. Every state: the verified table.
A brand-new statute with the country’s strictest signing rule.
Getting the formalities right once beats litigating them later. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. It asks about nine questions — age, investable assets, location — then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text.
Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Compare fees, scope, conflicts, credentials and fiduciary duty before you hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here — you stay on this page.