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: West Virginia’s Uniform Act does something worth using: it expressly authorises contingent beneficiaries in the deed itself, so you can name who takes if your first choice does not survive you.
The authorising section names contingent beneficiaries
An individual may transfer property to one or more beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries effective at the transferor’s death by a transfer on death deed.
— W. Va. Code 36-12-1 et seq. (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)
Many transfer on death statutes speak only of beneficiaries and leave predecease to a default rule. Naming a contingent beneficiary in the deed means you decide the fallback rather than the statute deciding it — and it costs nothing to do at the time of drafting.
The requirements
A transfer on death deed: must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed; must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death; and must be recorded before the transferor’s death.
— W. Va. Code 36-12-1 et seq. (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) (subsections joined for readability; no words added)
No notice, no consideration — and no revocation by act
A transfer on death deed is effective without: (1) Notice or delivery to or acceptance by the designated beneficiary during the transferor’s life; or (2) Consideration.
— W. Va. Code 36-12-1 et seq. (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)
Section 36-12-11 is headed “Revocation by instrument authorized; revocation by act not permitted.” As in Montana, Maine and the District of Columbia, destroying the document achieves nothing — only a further recorded instrument revokes it.
Nothing passes at recording
The statute is explicit that nothing is passed to the beneficiary at the time of recording and the deed remains revocable until the death of the transferor. Recording is not a gift, and it does not tie your hands.
Name a contingent beneficiary while you are at it
West Virginia section 36-12-5 expressly authorises contingent beneficiaries in the deed itself, which answers the question most of these deeds leave open: who takes if your first choice does not survive you. LawDepot builds a West Virginia transfer on death deed. Nothing passes at recording, and recording before death is what makes it work.
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
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link, and it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
What a transfer on death deed does not do
- It moves one parcel, not an estate. It avoids probate on that property; everything else is untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- It does not take effect until death — the owner keeps full control and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement.
- It does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment passes with it.
- It does not override how the property is titled. Joint ownership and survivorship rights generally come first.
Honest gaps
We have quoted §§ 36-12-5, 36-12-9 and 36-12-10 and read 36-12-6, 36-12-8 and 36-12-11 from the published West Virginia Code. The full revocation subsections and the provisions on creditor claims 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://code.wvlegislature.gov/36-12-5/ 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.