Transfer on death deed in Illinois

Illinois at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Illinois law

Transfer on death instrument (TODI)

Law

755 ILCS 27 (Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

2

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Recorder of the county (or counties) where any part of the real property is located

After-death document

Notice of death affidavit (755 ILCS 27/75)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

No state form

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Making a valid TOD deed in Illinois

• What the law does. A recorded transfer on death instrument passes the owner's Illinois real property to the named beneficiaries at death. It is revocable and has no effect during life. It covered residential real estate from 2012-01-01 and all real property from 2022-01-01.
• Signing. The owner signs, or someone signs in the owner's presence and at the owner's direction. Two or more credible witnesses must attest in writing that the owner signed in their presence, freely, and appeared of sound mind. The owner's and witnesses' signatures are acknowledged before a notary. Without two witnesses the instrument is void. If a beneficiary or the beneficiary's spouse is a witness, that beneficiary's gift is void unless there are enough other witnesses. Capacity is the same as for making a will. An agent under a power of attorney cannot create or revoke a TODI.
• Recording. The TODI must state that the transfer occurs at the owner's death and must be recorded before the owner's death. Failing this, or failing the execution rules, makes it void. The Act sets no deadline after signing.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No notice or delivery to the beneficiary, no acceptance during life, and no consideration is needed.
• Form. There is no statutory form. Illinois Legal Aid Online has a TODI Easy Form and help with the Notice of Death Affidavit. Cook and Will County recorders post forms.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. The owner can revoke only with a later TODI or an express instrument of revocation. It must be signed, witnessed, and acknowledged like a TODI after the date of the original, and recorded before death where the original is recorded. A will, an unrecorded paper, or a physical act on the document cannot revoke it. A TODI signed by all joint owners is revoked only by all living joint owners. The last surviving joint owner can revoke it.
• Beneficiaries. Any person can be named: individuals, entities, or a trustee of an existing trust, a will trust, or a trust created in the TODI. Co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship, and a lapsed share goes to the others. If a sole beneficiary dies first, the property goes to the owner's estate. If a predeceased beneficiary is the owner's descendant, that beneficiary's descendants take the share per stirpes.

After the owner dies

• Document. Notice of death affidavit (755 ILCS 27/75)
• Where. Recorder of the county or counties where the real property is located
• Steps. Any beneficiary may record a notice of death affidavit to confirm title. It lists the beneficiaries, the legal description, address and PIN, the TODI date and recording number, the owner's date and place of death, and where tax bills go. It is acknowledged before a notary. Filing it is not required for title to pass. Illinois Legal Aid Online recommends filing it within two years after death, and the recorder may ask for the death certificate. A beneficiary may disclaim.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. After death, a beneficiary is subject to creditor, administration, funeral and burial, and statutory claims to the same extent as a beneficiary of a revocable trust under Illinois Trust Code section 505. Liability is split among multiple properties by net value. For Medicaid recovery, the 'estate' is generally the probate estate; it reaches assets passed to survivors through joint tenancy, living trust, or other arrangement only for a person who received benefits under a long-term care insurance policy (asset-disregard cases). Such a claim against those assets is not effective until recorded like a notice of lien. The statute does not name TODIs specifically.
• Surviving spouse. Unless the spouse waived the right in the TODI, a surviving spouse may renounce it. The spouse then gets one-third of the property if the owner left descendants, or one-half if not. The renunciation must be filed with the recorder within 7 months after death, or later if a court allows. No renunciation is allowed if the property goes to a trust solely for the spouse's lifetime benefit.

Good to know in Illinois

• A TODI does not sever a joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety. If not all joint owners sign, the last-to-die joint owner's designation controls (27/70).
• The beneficiary takes subject to mortgages, liens, and other interests at death. The property passes without warranty of title (27/65(b)-(c)).
• A lawsuit to contest a TODI must start by the earlier of 2 years after death or 6 months after letters of office are issued (27/90(a), as amended by P.A. 104-417, eff. 2025-08-15).
• The Act says a TODI or revocation 'shall be prepared only by a licensed attorney' but expressly lets owners prepare their own, and failing to use an attorney does not void it (27/95).
• A TODI does not affect the owner's or beneficiary's eligibility for public assistance during the owner's life (27/60(a)(4)).

Official pages

• Illinois TOD deed form
• Illinois statute
• Illinois self-help page
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Illinois handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• 755 ILCS 27, Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act (read October 28, 2026)
• 305 ILCS 5/5-13, Medicaid estate recovery (read October 28, 2026)
• Illinois Legal Aid Online, Creating a transfer on death instrument (read October 28, 2026)
• Cook County Clerk, recording forms (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.