Transfer on death deed in Oregon

Oregon at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Oregon law

Transfer on death deed

Law

ORS 93.948-93.985 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Deed records of the county clerk for 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 Oregon

• What the law does. A recorded transfer on death deed passes the owner's Oregon real property to named beneficiaries at death without probate and can be revoked during life.
• Signing. The owner (transferor) signs. The deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, and Oregon deeds must be signed by the grantor and acknowledged before a notary or judge; the statutory form has a notary acknowledgment. No witnesses are required. Capacity is the same as needed to make a will. A deed made by fraud, duress or undue influence is void; challenges must be filed within 18 months after death.
• Recording. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death or it is not effective. There is no deadline after signing.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. Effective without notice, delivery, acceptance, or payment.
• Form. Optional statutory TOD deed form in ORS 93.975 and revocation form in ORS 93.977.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with an acknowledged and recorded (before death) later TOD deed, instrument of revocation, or inter vivos deed of the property. Tearing up or marking a recorded deed does not revoke it. An agent may revoke only if the deed expressly allows. Divorce or annulment after recording revokes gifts to the former spouse. The statute lists no will as a way to revoke.
• Beneficiaries. Any person, including a trust or entity, named individually; class designations are void. Primary and alternate beneficiaries allowed. A beneficiary who does not survive the owner lapses; co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship and a lapsed share goes to the others.

After the owner dies

• Where. County clerk (recording) of the county where the property is located
• Steps. The Oregon act does not prescribe a beneficiary affidavit. Washington County's official page says ownership changes due to death are made by recording a certified copy of the Short Form Death Certificate. The beneficiary takes subject to mortgages and liens and without warranty of title.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate is not enough, the estate can enforce allowed claims and spouse/child statutory allowances against TOD property, shared among TOD properties by net value; it must start within 18 months after death. The beneficiary also takes subject to a state Medicaid claim or lien if the probate estate cannot pay it. Oregon may recover Medicaid paid at 55+, or at any age while permanently institutionalized in a nursing facility or other medical institution, from any recipient of property the person held at death; recovery waits until after a surviving spouse dies and while a child under 21 or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child survives.
• Surviving spouse. The act is subject to Oregon's elective share and spouse/child allowance laws (ORS 112.455-112.555, 114.015).

Good to know in Oregon

• Joint owners: if a joint owner signs and is survived by another joint owner, the survivor keeps the property; the TOD deed works only if the signer is the last surviving joint owner (ORS 93.969(3)).
• A parent who deserted or neglected the owner can lose a TOD gift by court petition (ORS 93.983-93.985).
• During life the deed does not affect Medicaid eligibility of the owner or beneficiary (ORS 93.967(4)).
• 2025 SB 1029 (estate recovery changes) did not pass.

Official pages

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

Sources

• ORS chapter 93 (2025 edition), §§ 93.948-93.985, 93.410 (read October 28, 2026)
• ORS chapter 416, § 416.350 estate recovery (read October 28, 2026)
• Washington County OR - Changes to Property Ownership (read October 28, 2026)
• SB 1029 (2025) measure overview (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.