Transfer-on-death deeds in Maryland

A transfer-on-death deed lets a Maryland homeowner name who will receive the home at their death, while keeping full ownership and control during their life. Maryland’s law allowing these deeds, the Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act, took effect on October 1, 2026. This guide explains how the deed works under that law. It is part of our guides to deed transfers for Maryland families, and like every guide here it is general information, not advice for your situation.

What it does, and what it does not do

During your life, nothing changes. The deed gives the beneficiaries no interest in the property while you are alive. You can still sell it, refinance it or give it away, and you do not need their signature. Your creditors’ rights are unchanged, the beneficiaries’ creditors cannot reach the property, and the deed does not affect your or the beneficiary’s eligibility for public assistance during your life.

At your death, the property passes to the beneficiaries you named who survive you, without probate for that property. If a beneficiary does not survive you, their share lapses unless the deed names an alternate. If you name more than one beneficiary and do not say how they will hold title, they take it as joint tenants with right of survivorship.

What the beneficiaries take with it. They receive the property subject to any mortgage, liens and other claims on it at your death, and without any promise about the title.

Some family rules still apply. The transfer is subject to Maryland’s rules on a surviving spouse’s elective share, a child born after the deed, and revocation by divorce or by a later marriage followed by children. The notes on the state’s form give two examples: a deed naming your spouse is treated as revoked if you later divorce, and a deed is treated as revoked if you later marry and have children with your new spouse.

If you own the home jointly. When a joint owner with a right of survivorship (including a spouse holding as tenants by the entirety) signs a transfer-on-death deed and dies first, the surviving owner still owns the whole home. The deed takes effect on the death of the last surviving owner.

How to make one

A transfer-on-death deed must:

• meet the usual Maryland requirements for a deed: the names of the owner and the beneficiaries, a description of the property, and the interest being granted;
• say that the transfer happens at the owner’s death;
• be signed by an owner who has the same mental capacity the law requires to make a will;
• be acknowledged before a notary. The notice on the state’s form says the notary cannot be a relative of any beneficiary or owner; and
• be recorded in the land records of the county where the property is, before the owner dies. A deed that is signed but not recorded before death has no effect.

The beneficiaries do not need to be told, sign or accept anything while the owner is alive, and no payment is needed. The state’s form notes still recommend telling them, because keeping it secret can cause complications later.

Maryland law includes a fill-in form for a transfer-on-death deed. Its own notes warn that it may not suit owners whose name has changed since they bought the property, who own with other people, or who want to name several beneficiaries, and they recommend talking to a lawyer first.

Changing your mind

A transfer-on-death deed can always be revoked, even if it says it cannot. To revoke a recorded deed, the owner records one of these in the county land records before death: a revocation, a new transfer-on-death deed that replaces it, or a deed of the property to someone else that revokes it. A will cannot revoke a recorded transfer-on-death deed. When two or more owners sign one deed, it is revoked only if all the living joint owners revoke it.

After the owner dies

The property belongs to the beneficiaries at the moment of death; no court order or new deed is needed to make the transfer happen. A beneficiary may record a notice of the owner’s death in the county land records, using the form in the law, which tells the state assessment office who now owns the property and whether a beneficiary lives in it. A beneficiary who does not want the property can disclaim it under Maryland’s disclaimer law. When the beneficiaries later sell or refinance, the title search will look for the recorded deed, any revocation and the notice of death. Our guide to transferring a deed after a death covers the other ways a home passes at death.

Taxes and recording costs

• Recordation and state transfer tax. A transfer-on-death deed is not subject to recordation tax or the state transfer tax if the property is the owner’s primary or secondary residence.
• Recording. The clerk can record a transfer-on-death deed without the county’s tax-paid endorsement that other deeds need, but the clerk may refuse one that does not come with the land records intake sheet.
• Inheritance tax. A transfer-on-death deed does not avoid Maryland inheritance tax. The state form’s notes say the beneficiary may need to pay it.

Is it the right tool?

A transfer-on-death deed is one option alongside a will, a trust, or adding a name to the deed now. Each has different effects on control, taxes, creditors and family members, and some families’ plans also involve long-term care or a beneficiary who receives public benefits. Talk to an estate planning attorney before you choose. A deed that gives away the property now, such as a quitclaim deed to a child, is not the same thing and cannot be undone on your own.