Maine Transfer on Death Deeds

A transfer on death (TOD) deed is like a regular deed you might use to transfer your Maine real estate, but with a crucial difference: It doesn't take effect until your death. At your death, the real estate goes automatically to the person you named to inherit it (your "beneficiary"), without the need for probate court proceedings. (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 6-401 and following.)

You must sign the deed and get your signature notarized, and then record (file) the deed with the county registry of deeds before your death. Otherwise, it won't be valid.

You can make a Maine transfer on death deed with WillMaker.

How the TOD Deed Works

The beneficiary's rights. The person you name in the deed to inherit the property doesn't have any legal right to it until your death—or, if you own the property as "joint tenants" with someone else, until the last surviving owner dies. (More on this below.) The beneficiary doesn't sign the deed, but it's a good idea to let the beneficiary know you've recorded it. Otherwise, he or she might not know about it, even after your death.

Earlier wills or TOD deeds. If you have made a will or previous TOD deed that leaves the property to someone, your new TOD deed will override it.

Your rights. You keep complete ownership of, and control over, the real estate while you're alive. You pay the taxes on it, and it's not protected from your creditors. You can sell it, give it away, or mortgage it. Because you're not making a gift of the property, there's no federal gift tax.

Medicaid. Creating a TOD deed won't affect whether or not you are eligible for Medicaid. Because you own the property and are not actually giving it away during your lifetime, a TOD deed won't help you "spend down" your assets to help you qualify for Medicaid. Beware, though, that if you do end up receiving Medicaid benefits—for example, to pay for nursing home care—your home might be liable for reimbursement of Medicaid expenditures. If you have questions, consult a local attorney.

Other creditor claims. Even though your TOD deed transfers your property outside of probate, if your probate property isn't enough to satisfy certain creditor claims and statutory allowances (certain amounts your spouse and children are entitled to at your death, set out by law), your beneficiary might be liable for these claims, up to the value of the property.

Revoking the deed. If you later change your mind about who you want to inherit the property, you are not locked in. You have two options: (1) sign and record a revocation or (2) record another TOD deed, leaving the property to someone else. You cannot use your will to revoke or override a TOD deed.

How ownership is transferred. To get title to the property after your death, the beneficiary must record a notarized "notice of death affidavit" in the county registry of deeds. No probate is necessary.

Use Nolo's Quicken WillMaker to make a transfer on death deed in any state that allows it. You can also use WillMaker to create other estate planning documents, such as a will, health care directive, power of attorney, and more.

Special Rules for Co-Owned Property

If you own the property with someone else, how to proceed depends on how you and the other co-owners hold title to the property. If you don't know how you hold title, start by looking at the deed that transferred the property to you. It might say, for example, "to Ellen Bauman and Edward M. Bauman, as joint tenants," or "to Jonathan G. Costa and Sandra L. White, as tenants in common."

There are two common ways to co-own property in Maine:

Joint tenancy (also called "joint tenancy with right of survivorship"). If you co-own real estate as joint tenants with right of survivorship, when one co-owner dies, that co-owner's share of the property will automatically go to the surviving co-owner(s). You can make a TOD deed together with the other joint tenant(s) or you can make one on your own, but it's important to understand the difference.

When you make a TOD deed together with the other joint tenant(s), you are naming someone to receive the property after all of the joint tenants have died.

Example: Claire and Kendra co-own their home as joint tenants. They make a TOD deed together and name Oscar as the beneficiary. When Claire dies, Claire's half of the home goes to Kendra, who becomes the sole owner of the entire home. When Kendra dies, the home goes to Oscar under the TOD deed.

If you make a TOD deed on your own, without the other joint tenants, the deed will be effective only if you are the last surviving owner of the property. If you die first, the surviving co-owner(s) will own the property, and the TOD deed won't have any effect.

Tenancy in common. If your deed doesn't state how you own the property, you and your co-owners are presumed to own it as tenants in common, unless you've agreed otherwise in writing. If you own your property as a tenant in common, it's best to create a TOD deed on your own (without the other tenants in common). That TOD deed will transfer only your share of the property to the TOD beneficiary when you die.

Example: Raymond and Jack, who are brothers, own a house together as tenants in common. Raymond signs a TOD deed that leaves his half-interest to his daughter. At Raymond's death, his daughter will become a tenant in common with Jack.

If you're not sure how you co-own the property or whether or not your spouse has any rights to it, consult a lawyer. While the guidance here fits most situations, if you have a complicated situation or more complex aims, you should turn to a lawyer for a more tailored solution.

Revoking a jointly made deed. If you sign a TOD deed with a co-owner, the effect of revocation depends on how you co-own the property and who does the revoking.

If you co-own the property as joint tenants and/or with "right of survivorship," your co-owner will automatically own the entire property upon your death (and vice versa). So:

• Revoking the deed by yourself has no effect unless you are the last surviving co-owner.
• While you are both alive, you and your co-owner can revoke the deed together at any time.

If you co-own the property as tenants in common, we do not suggest making a TOD deed with your co-owner in the first place (see above). But if you did, here is how revocation would work:

• Revoking the deed by yourself will affect only your interest in the property. The deed would no longer pass your share of the property, but it would still pass the co-owner's share of the property to the TOD beneficiary.
• If you both revoke the deed, it will be entirely revoked.

Note on trust property. If you hold real estate in a trust, you probably won't need to use a TOD deed, because trust property doesn't need to go through probate anyway. If for some reason you want to use a TOD deed instead, you'll probably need to transfer the property out of the trust first. Talk to a lawyer about your estate plan.

Naming Beneficiaries

You can name anyone you please to inherit your real estate—a person, more than one person, or an organization such as a favorite charity. But if you want to name more than one person, or a minor, there are some issues you should consider.

More than one beneficiary. Before you name multiple beneficiaries on your transfer on death deed, make sure you consider 1) how the co-beneficiaries will hold title to the property after you die, 2) what will happen if one of the co-beneficiaries dies before you do, and 3) how the beneficiaries will feel about co-owning the property.

As to the first issue, when you make WillMaker's transfer on death deed for Maine, your property will transfer to your beneficiaries in equal shares with no right of survivorship. This is the default under Maine law. In other words, your beneficiaries will own your property as tenants in common and each beneficiary will be free to leave his or her share to someone else or to sell that share of the property.

Example: You name Tim, Stephanie, and Rebekah as your TOD beneficiaries. After you die, they will own the property as tenants in common. Tim leaves his one-third share of the property to his son Cameron in his will. Stephanie sells her one-third share of the property to Anya. After Tim dies, Cameron, Anya, and Rebekah own the property.

As to the second issue, if one or more of the beneficiaries dies before you do, their share or shares of the property will be transferred to the surviving beneficiaries.

Example: You name Tim, Stephanie, and Rebekah as your TOD beneficiaries. Tim dies before you do. Stephanie and Rebekah would each inherit half the property. They would own it as tenants in common, and are each free to sell or leave their half of the property to someone else.

Finally, think carefully about how your beneficiaries will feel about owning the property together. Co-ownership is cumbersome and often causes tension. For example, one co-owner could force a sale of the property even if the other co-owners didn't want to sell.

Children under 18. Think twice about naming a child under age 18 as a beneficiary. A child can take title to the property, but an adult will need to manage it.

When making a TOD deed with WillMaker, you can name an adult "custodian" under the Maine Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) to manage the property. Under Maine's UTMA, the beneficiary becomes the outright owner of the property at a specified age ranging from 18 to 21.

You may have other options for naming an adult property manager, including:

• using your will to name a property guardian who will take care of any property you leave to your own young children, including property transferred by this deed, and
• setting up a trust for a child and naming the trust as the TOD beneficiary.

For more information, see Naming a Minor Beneficiary for Transfer on Death Deeds. For help setting up a property management method, consult a qualified estate planning lawyer.

Alternate beneficiaries. If you wish, you can name an alternate (successor) beneficiary. This beneficiary will inherit the property if your first-choice beneficiary (or all of them, if you named more than one) die before you do.

Sample Legal Descriptions

Several kinds of legal descriptions are used in Maine. Just copy what's on the previous deed that transferred the property to you. Here are two examples:

• "Lot 12 as shown on a plan made for Salty Cove Association by Titus Associates dated July 3, 2011 and recorded in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds in Plan Book 214, Page 441."
• "Beginning at an iron pin found in the ground on the assumed northerly side line of the Yarmouth Road at the southwesterly corner of land now or formerly of Robert S. Jones (20035/120); Thence N 33° 55' 19" E along a stone wall and land of the said Jones and land now or formerly of Agatha D. Foley (3055/212) a distance of 790.10 feet to land now or formerly of Vincent K. Sawyer (15,111/21); Thence N 35° 43' 11" E along land of the said Sawyer and a stone wall 389.21 feet to a point …."

­If the legal description is too long to safely type out (they can even run several pages long), simply photocopy or scan and print it, and attach it to the transfer on death deed as "Exhibit A."

Common Questions About Maine Transfer on Death Deeds

The following Q&A is written by the Maine legislature. Read it carefully before creating your TOD deed in Maine. Note that in the Q&A, Maine sometimes uses the word "template" to refer to its statutory form TOD deed—that is, the sample fill-in-the-blank Maine TOD deed created by the legislature.

Common Questions About the Use of This Template

What does the Transfer on Death (TOD) deed do? When you die, this deed transfers the described property, subject to any liens or mortgages (or other encumbrances) on the property at your death. Probate is not required. The TOD deed has no effect until you die. You can revoke it at any time. You are also free to transfer the property to someone else during your lifetime. If you do not own any interest in the property when you die, this deed will have no effect.

How do I make a TOD deed? You may use this template to create a TOD deed but be aware that the registry of deeds of each Maine county has specific requirements for a document to be accepted for recording, including requirements related to the top, bottom and side margins. Have the TOD deed acknowledged before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments. Record the TOD deed in each county where any part of the property is located. The TOD deed has no effect unless it is acknowledged and recorded before your death.

Is the "legal description" of the property necessary? Yes.

How do I find the "legal description" of the property? This information may be on the deed you received when you became an owner of the property. This information may also be available in the registry of deeds for the county where the property is located. If you are not absolutely sure, consult a lawyer.

What is the proper form for the required acknowledgment of signatures on the TOD deed? Forms of acknowledgment may be found in Title 33, section 775 of the Maine Revised Statutes. You may also consult a notary public or a lawyer for the proper form of an acknowledgment.

Can I change my mind before I record the TOD deed? Yes. If you have not yet recorded the deed and want to change your mind, simply tear up or otherwise destroy the TOD deed.

How do I "record" the TOD deed? Take the completed and acknowledged TOD deed to the registry of deeds of the county where the property is located. Follow the instructions given by the register of deeds to make the TOD deed part of the official property records. If the property is in more than one county, you should record the TOD deed in each county.

Can I later revoke the TOD deed if I change my mind? Yes. You can revoke the TOD deed. No one, including the beneficiaries, can prevent you from revoking the TOD deed.

How do I revoke the TOD deed after it is recorded? There are three ways to revoke a recorded TOD deed: (1) Complete and acknowledge a revocation form, and record it in each county where the property is located. (2) Complete and acknowledge a new TOD deed that disposes of the same property, and record it in each county where the property is located. (3) Transfer the property to someone else during your lifetime by a recorded deed that expressly revokes the TOD deed. You may not revoke the TOD deed by will.

I am being pressured to make a TOD deed. What should I do? Do not make a TOD deed under pressure. Seek help from a trusted family member, friend, or lawyer.

Do I need to tell the beneficiaries about the TOD deed? No, but it is recommended. Secrecy can cause later complications and might make it easier for others to commit fraud.

I have other questions about this template. What should I do? This template TOD deed is designed to fit some but not all situations. If you have other questions, you are encouraged to consult a lawyer.

lf You Need Legal Advice

Accurate, plain-English legal information can help many people create useful legal documents. But general information is never a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want professional advice about the best way to craft or use legal documents in your particular circumstances, consult an attorney licensed to practice in Maine.