Transfer on death deed in West Virginia

West Virginia at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in West Virginia law

Transfer on death deed

Law

W. Va. Code §§ 36-12-1 to 36-12-17 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Office of the clerk of the county commission in the county where the property is located

After-death document

No specific filing named in the law

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

No state form

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in West Virginia

• What the law does. An individual can record a deed that passes West Virginia real estate to named beneficiaries at death without probate and can revoke it before death.
• Signing. The owner signs; the deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, and the county clerk records deeds that are acknowledged (or proved by two witnesses before the clerk). The beneficiary does not have to sign. Capacity is the same as for a will.
• Recording. It must be recorded before the owner dies. The statute sets no deadline after signing. It is exempt from the real estate transfer excise tax.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No payment, notice, delivery or acceptance by the beneficiary is needed.
• Form. No statutory or state-published TOD deed form found.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke by a later recorded TOD deed (express or inconsistent), a recorded instrument of revocation, or a later deed by the same owner conveying the property (even if it does not mention the TOD deed); it must be acknowledged after the original and recorded before death. Acts on the deed itself do not revoke it; the statute does not let a will revoke it. Joint owners' deed is revoked only by all living joint owners.
• Beneficiaries. Any 'person' (individuals, trusts, entities), and contingent beneficiaries may be named. A sole beneficiary who dies first lapses. Multiple beneficiaries take equal shares as tenants in common unless the deed says otherwise or names joint tenancy with survivorship; a lapsed share goes to the others.

After the owner dies

• Where. Clerk of the county commission where the property is located (if anything is recorded)
• Steps. Title passes at death to the beneficiary, subject to mortgages, liens and other interests, without warranty of title. The statute does not name an affidavit or other document for the beneficiary to record. If an estate is opened, the personal representative must list nonprobate real estate passing at death on the appraisement form. The beneficiary may disclaim.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. The West Virginia act has no section making the beneficiary liable for the owner's debts; the beneficiary takes subject to existing liens and encumbrances. Medicaid: the state may file a claim or lien against the 'estate' of a recipient 55+ (W. Va. Code § 9-5-11c); the statute does not say whether TOD property is included.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to listed provisions of chapters 41 and 42 (wills and descent, including the elective share, § 42-3-1 et seq.).

Good to know in West Virginia

• 2023 HB 3499 (effective June 8, 2023) amended the act: a later inter vivos deed by the same owner conveying the property now revokes the TOD deed even if it does not mention it (§ 36-12-11), and multiple beneficiaries take as tenants in common unless the deed specifies joint tenancy with survivorship (§ 36-12-13). Only the § 36-12-13 changes are limited to TOD deeds recorded after the effective date (§ 36-12-13(f)).
• If the owner holds as a tenant in common, the TOD deed covers only the owner's own interest (§ 36-12-13(d)).
• During the owner's life the deed does not affect the owner's or beneficiary's eligibility for any form of public assistance (§ 36-12-12(4)).
• Recorded deeds made before the act that show a clear TOD intent, or failed survivorship clauses, are liberally construed as TOD deeds (§ 36-12-15).
• The clerk may record a TOD deed without the grantee's signature (§ 39-1-2(b)(2)).
• SB 3 passed March 7, 2014, effective ninety days from passage (June 5, 2014, per the Legislature's bill history).
• West Virginia law names no after-death affidavit or filing; ask the county clerk what it needs.

Official pages

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

Sources

• W. Va. Code Chapter 36, Article 12 (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 36-12-9 Requirements (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 36-12-11 Revocation (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 36-12-13 Effect at death (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 39-1-2 Recording requirements (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 44-1-14 Appraisement incl. nonprobate real estate (read October 28, 2026)
• W. Va. Code § 9-5-11c Medicaid recovery (read October 28, 2026)
• 2014 SB 3 enrolled (effective 90 days from passage) (read October 28, 2026)
• WV Legislature SB 3 (2014) bill history; W. Va. Code § 36-12-12 (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.