Transfer on death deed in Wisconsin

Wisconsin at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Wisconsin law

Transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary designation for real property (TOD deed)

Law

Wis. Stat. § 705.15

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Register of deeds of the county where the real property is located

After-death document

Termination of Decedent's Interest (application under Wis. Stat. § 867.046(2); combined HT-110/TOD-110 form)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

No state form

Your checklist

Pick where you are. It runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent.

Making a valid TOD deed in Wisconsin

• What the law does. An owner can record a document naming a TOD beneficiary who takes Wisconsin real estate at the owner's death (or last owner's death) without probate.
• Signing. The owner(s) sign; marital property needs both spouses' signatures. To be recorded, signatures must be acknowledged before a notary or authenticated (e.g., by a Wisconsin attorney). Capacity is the same as for making a will.
• Recording. The designation is not effective unless it and the recording fees are submitted for recording before the death of the sole owner or last surviving owner. No deadline after signing. Exempt from real estate transfer fee.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. The statute does not require payment or acceptance; the designation does not affect ownership until death.
• Form. No state-published TOD deed form. After death, county registers of deeds use the 'Termination of Decedent's Interest' form (2017 combined HT-110/TOD-110).

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke by a later recorded TOD document (express or inconsistent), a recorded instrument of revocation, or a recorded deed that expressly revokes it; it must be acknowledged after the original and submitted for recording before death. Joint tenants or survivorship-marital-property spouses must all revoke. Selling the property during life still works. These rules were added by 2025 Wis. Act 60 (published Dec. 10, 2025).
• Beneficiaries. Any 'person' (individuals, trusts, entities); primary and contingent beneficiaries allowed. If a beneficiary dies first, that beneficiary's issue may take under the anti-lapse rule (s. 854.06(3)); if no one qualifies, the property goes to the owner's estate. Chapter 854 rules (including revocation on divorce) apply.

After the owner dies

• Document. Termination of Decedent's Interest (application under Wis. Stat. § 867.046(2); combined HT-110/TOD-110 form)
• Where. Register of deeds of the county where the property is located
• Deadline. None for the beneficiary; if no confirmation is started within 90 days after death, any interested person may apply
• Steps. The TOD beneficiary signs the application and verifies it under oath before the register of deeds or a notary, and records it with a copy of the recorded TOD deed, the legal description, a copy of the prior year's property tax bill (a county may waive recording it), and an electronic real estate transfer return receipt (exemption 11m). The current statute does not list a death certificate; ask the register of deeds what it requires. Alternatively, the beneficiary can get a court certificate (§ 867.046(1m)) or confirm in probate.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. The beneficiary takes subject to liens and encumbrances. Medicaid estate recovery reaches property the recipient had an interest in at death, including assets passing by survivorship, revocable trust 'or any other arrangement'. Any claim to recover the property is barred unless a lawsuit and lis pendens are filed within 120 days after death.
• Surviving spouse. For marital property, both spouses must sign the designation; survivorship marital property passes on the last spouse's death.

Good to know in Wisconsin

• The designation can use the words 'transfer on death' or 'TOD' after the owner's name and before the beneficiary's name.
• Wisconsin's TOD deed law is 2005 Wis. Act 206, published April 10, 2006 (effective the next day).
• A similar TOD designation exists for farm implements (§ 705.18), out of scope.

Official pages

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

Sources

• Wis. Stat. § 705.15 (read October 28, 2026)
• Wis. Stat. § 867.046 Summary confirmation of interest (read October 28, 2026)
• Wis. Stat. § 49.849 Recovery (property of a decedent) (read October 28, 2026)
• Wis. Stat. § 77.25 Transfer fee exemptions (read October 28, 2026)
• Wis. Stat. §§ 706.05, 706.06 Recording / authentication (read October 28, 2026)
• 2025 Wisconsin Act 60 (read October 28, 2026)
• 2005 Wisconsin Act 206 (read October 28, 2026)
• Dane County Register of Deeds, combined HT-110/TOD-110 notice (read October 28, 2026)
• Waukesha County: Instructions for Termination of Decedent's Interest form (rev. 3/5/2020) (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.