Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Arizona has this instrument, but calls it a beneficiary deed — so searching for a “transfer on death deed” in Arizona turns up less than it should. It is the same idea: a deed that conveys nothing until you die, recorded in advance.
The statute
A deed that conveys an interest in real property, including any debt secured by a lien on real property, to a grantee beneficiary designated by the owner and that expressly states that the deed is effective on the death of the owner transfers that interest to the designated grantee beneficiary effective on the death of the owner, subject to all conveyances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, security pledges and other encumbrances made by the owner.
— A.R.S. § 33-405 (Beneficiary deeds; recording; definitions) (subsections joined for readability; no words added)
The two rules that decide whether it works
1. Record it before death. The statute requires the beneficiary deed to be recorded in the county recorder’s office before the death of the owner or the last surviving owner. An unrecorded beneficiary deed found in a drawer after a death does nothing at all — this is the single most common way these fail.
2. Revocation must also be recorded. A beneficiary deed can be revoked at any time, by any owner who executed it. But the revocation is only effective if it is executed and recorded the same way. Tearing up your copy does not revoke it.
It carries the encumbrances with it
The statute is explicit that the interest passes subject to all mortgages, deeds of trust, liens and other encumbrances the owner made. The beneficiary inherits the debt along with the house.
It can name a trust
Arizona allows a beneficiary deed to transfer to the trustee of a trust even if the trust is revocable — useful where a trust already exists and the deed is the cheaper way to move one parcel into it at death.
If a beneficiary deed is what you want
Arizona records this under its own name, a beneficiary deed under A.R.S. section 33-405, and the two rules above decide whether it works. LawDepot builds the same instrument and treats a beneficiary deed and a transfer on death deed as one document. What makes it effective in Arizona is recording it with the county recorder before death, exactly as the statute quoted above requires.
LawDepot prices a single document at $7.50 to $119, and its category subscriptions start at $107.88 a year, with the all-documents plan at $155.88 a year (LawDepot pricing page, read 2026-09-02).
Create a transfer on death deed
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What a transfer on death deed does not do
- It moves one parcel, not an estate. It avoids probate on that property. Bank accounts, vehicles and everything else are untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- It does not take effect until death, so the owner keeps full control — and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement or knowledge.
- It does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment against the property passes with it.
- It does not decide what happens if the beneficiary dies first. That is governed by statute and is one of the most common surprises.
Honest gaps
We have quoted A.R.S. § 33-405 on the core rule, recording and revocation. The subsections on multiple owners, joint tenancy and the effect of a later conveyance are not reproduced here. This is the statute, not legal advice. Deed drafting, title and recording practice vary by county, and a property with a mortgage, co-owners or a disputed title is one to take to a lawyer in the state.
Source note. Read from https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00405.htm on 2026-08-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits or the document is signed, and formalities differ from state to state — execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs.
A transfer-on-death deed keeps one asset out of probate; whether the rest of the estate has to go through it is a separate test, and the answer is on when probate is required in Arizona, which gives Arizona’s qualifying value for the small-estate route and what that route does not reach.