Transfer on death deed in Delaware

Delaware at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Delaware law

Transfer on death deed

Law

25 Del. C. §§ 201-221 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

2

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Recorder of deeds of the county where the property is located

After-death document

Optional notice of death of transferor filed with the Register of Wills (form if adopted) with the death certificate

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Delaware

• What the law does. An owner can sign, have witnessed and notarized, and record a deed that passes Delaware real estate to named individuals at death, revocable during life.
• Signing. The owner signs a deed with the formalities of a recordable deed, including notarization of all required signatures. Two witnesses must sign, at least one of whom is not a beneficiary. Capacity needed is the same as for a will.
• Recording. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death in the county recorder of deeds office. No deadline after signing. An unrecorded deed has no effect.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No consideration, and no notice, delivery, or acceptance by the beneficiary during the owner's life.
• Form. Optional statutory form in 25 Del. C. § 216 (with witness affirmation); revocation form in § 217.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke only by a recorded instrument: a later TOD deed, a revocation (statutory form), or a regular deed that expressly revokes it, acknowledged after the original, witnessed by two people, and recorded before death. Tearing up a recorded deed does not revoke it. Joint owners' deed is revoked only by all living joint owners. The statutory form says it cannot be revoked by will.
• Beneficiaries. Only individuals can be beneficiaries (the statute defines beneficiary as an individual). An alternate may be named on the statutory form. A beneficiary must survive the owner or the share lapses; a lapsed share of a co-beneficiary goes to the others. Multiple beneficiaries take equal shares with no right of survivorship.

After the owner dies

• Document. Optional notice of death of transferor filed with the Register of Wills (form if adopted) with the death certificate
• Where. Register of Wills (notice); the deed itself is already recorded with the county recorder of deeds
• Steps. Title passes immediately at death. The beneficiary may file the death certificate with the Register of Wills, with a notice form if the Register has adopted one. The Office of Vital Statistics must give the beneficiary a certified death certificate. If a probate estate is opened, the property must be listed on the inventory. Not filing these does not invalidate the deed. Example: the Sussex County Register of Wills publishes a notarized 'Affidavit to the Sussex County Register of Wills, Real Property Transferred on Death Deed' that attaches a certified death certificate and gives the parcel number, the TOD deed's book and page, and who received the property.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate cannot pay allowed claims or statutory allowances to a surviving spouse or child, the estate can enforce them against the TOD property, split by net value. A proceeding must start within 8 months after death. During the owner's life the deed does not affect public-assistance eligibility. The official sources do not say how Medicaid estate recovery applies to TOD property; ask the state Medicaid agency.
• Surviving spouse. Statutory allowances to a surviving spouse or child can be enforced against the property if the probate estate is short.

Good to know in Delaware

• Applies to deeds of owners who die on or after 2025-12-04, whenever the deed was made (§ 203). Enacted by 85 Del. Laws c. 212 (HS 1 for HB 147).
• If other joint owners with survivorship outlive the owner, they take the property, not the TOD beneficiary (§ 213(c)).
• The beneficiary takes subject to mortgages and liens; no warranty of title.
• Challenges to validity or revocation go to the Court of Chancery (§ 219).
• The executor or administrator may access and safeguard the owner's personal property kept at the home (§ 218(e)).

Official pages

• Delaware TOD deed form
• Delaware statute
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Delaware handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• Delaware Code Title 25, Chapter 2 Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (read October 28, 2026)
• Delaware General Assembly HB 147 bill detail (read October 28, 2026)
• Sussex County Register of Wills: Affidavit, Real Property Transferred on Death Deed (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.