Transfer on death deed in Mississippi

Mississippi at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Mississippi law

Transfer-on-death deed

Law

Miss. Code Ann. §§ 91-27-1 to 91-27-37 (Mississippi Real Property Transfer-On-Death Act; 2020 S.B. 2851)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Deed records of the chancery clerk of the county where the property is located

After-death document

No specific filing named in the law

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Mississippi

• What the law does. An individual can record a revocable deed that passes their Mississippi real property to named beneficiaries at death, without probate.
• Signing. The owner signs a deed with the elements of a recordable deed, stating that the transfer occurs at death. It must be acknowledged under Mississippi's deed acknowledgment law (Title 89, ch. 3). It does not need will formalities, so no witnesses are required. The capacity needed is the same as for a contract, not a will. A power of attorney can be used only if it specifically authorizes TOD deeds.
• Recording. To be effective, the deed must be recorded with the chancery clerk before the owner's death. The Act sets no deadline in days after signing.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No payment is needed. The beneficiary does not have to be told, receive the deed, or accept it during the owner's life.
• Form. Optional statutory forms in § 91-27-33 (Revocable Transfer-on-Death Deed) and § 91-27-35 (revocation), each with an acknowledgment block.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with a later TOD deed or a revocation instrument. It must be acknowledged after the deed it revokes and recorded with the chancery clerk before death. A will does not revoke it. A final divorce judgment revokes the deed as to the ex-spouse. A recorded lifetime conveyance of the property voids the deed as to that interest. When joint owners sign one TOD deed, all living joint owners must revoke it.
• Beneficiaries. Any person (individual, trust, or entity) can be named, plus an optional alternate (statutory form). A beneficiary must survive the owner, or that share lapses. Co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship, and a lapsed share goes to the others. If a joint owner with survivorship dies first, the property goes to the surviving joint owner.

After the owner dies

• Where. Chancery clerk of the county where the property is located (presumed; the Act names no after-death filing)
• Steps. Title passes to the beneficiary at the owner's death (§ 91-27-27). The Act names no affidavit or other document for the beneficiary to record after death; ask the chancery clerk of the county what it needs. A beneficiary may disclaim under the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. The beneficiary takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and other interests that exist at death. Unlike the uniform act, Mississippi's act has no section making the beneficiary liable for the owner's unsecured debts. The official sources we reviewed do not say whether Medicaid estate recovery can reach TOD property.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to the spouse's statutory right to renounce a will (§ 91-5-25). During the owner's life the deed does not affect homestead rights or homestead/65+/disability/veteran property-tax exemptions.

Good to know in Mississippi

• The rules here come from the Legislature's text of S.B. 2851 (2020), the act that created Mississippi's TOD deed.
• The Act applies to TOD deeds executed and acknowledged on or after July 1, 2020, by owners who die on or after that date (§ 91-27-5).
• During the owner's life, the deed does not trigger a mortgage due-on-sale clause or affect public-assistance eligibility (§ 91-27-23).
• The deed carries no warranty of title (§ 91-27-27).

Official pages

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

Sources

• Mississippi S.B. 2851 (2020) - Mississippi Real Property Transfer-On-Death Act (Legislature PDF) (read October 28, 2026)
• Internet Archive copy of the Legislature PDF of S.B. 2851 (official site down 2026-10-28) (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.