Transfer on death deed in New York

New York at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in New York law

Transfer on death deed

Law

N.Y. Real Property Law § 424

Notary

Required

Witnesses

2

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

County clerk's office of the county where the property is located

After-death document

Notice of Transfer on Death Deed with proof of death (county clerk practice; statute silent)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in New York

• What the law does. An individual can transfer New York real property to beneficiaries effective at death by a transfer on death deed recorded before death.
• Signing. The owner signs; two witnesses who were present at the same time must sign, and the deed must be acknowledged before a notary public. It must have the elements of a recordable deed and state that the transfer occurs at death. Capacity is the same as for a will. (Current text as revised 2024-07-26.)
• Recording. Must be recorded before the owner's death in the county clerk's office, like any other deed; no deadline counted from signing. Unrecorded at death = no effect.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. Effective without notice, delivery, acceptance, or consideration.
• Form. Optional statutory forms in RPL § 424(15) (deed, with witness lines) and § 424(16) (revocation); some county clerks (e.g. Monroe) post forms.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with a later TOD deed, a revocation instrument, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it, acknowledged after the original and recorded before death in the county clerk's office. Not by an act on the deed and, per the statutory form, not by will. Divorce/annulment affects it as under EPTL 5-1.4.
• Beneficiaries. Any person (individuals, entities, governmental bodies). An alternate beneficiary may be named. A beneficiary must survive the owner or the gift lapses; co-beneficiaries take equal shares without survivorship, and a lapsed share passes to the others.

After the owner dies

• Document. Notice of Transfer on Death Deed with proof of death (county clerk practice; statute silent)
• Where. County clerk of the county where the property is located
• Steps. RPL § 424 does not set a post-death filing. The Monroe County Clerk's policy says a 'Notice of Transfer on Death Deed' may be recorded with proof of death such as a death certificate, possibly with TP-584/RP-5217 forms and fees; practice may differ by county. A beneficiary may renounce like a will gift.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate is insufficient for allowed claims or statutory allowances to a spouse or child, the estate may enforce them against TOD property, apportioned by net value. A proceeding must start within 18 months after death. The statute does not address Medicaid recovery specifically.
• Surviving spouse. Statutory allowances to a surviving spouse or child can be enforced against TOD property when the estate is insufficient (RPL § 424(14)); § 424 does not otherwise address elective share.

Good to know in New York

• Effective date: L.2024, ch. 56 (S8306-C, signed 2024-04-20), Part O § 13 makes § 424 effective the ninetieth day after it became law (2024-07-19, also stated by the Monroe County Clerk); it applies to TOD deeds made before, on or after that date by owners dying on or after it.
• Monroe County Clerk: no TP-584/RP-5217 expected when recording the TOD deed itself; amendments not accepted, record a revocation then a new deed.
• Beneficiary takes subject to mortgages and liens; no warranty of title.
• Joint owners (incl. tenants by the entirety): survivor takes; deed works only if the transferor is the last surviving joint owner.

Official pages

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

Sources

• N.Y. Real Property Law § 424 (NYSenate.gov) (read October 28, 2026)
• Monroe County Clerk TODD recording policy (01/2025) (read October 28, 2026)
• S8306-C (L.2024 ch. 56), Part O § 13 (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.