Can A Will Revoke A Transfer On Death Deed?

The Texas Transfer on Death Deed allows owners of real estate to transfer property to their beneficiaries outside the probate process.

The deed works like a beneficiary designation on a retirement plan or an insurance policy. It allows you to name a primary and contingent beneficiary who will inherit your real property after you die.

This is good news for many Texans with modest estates whose only probate asset is their home.

But suppose some time after you create the deed, you change your mind about who you want the beneficiary to be. Is it possible for you state in a Last Will and Testament that the property that was the subject of the transfer on death deed should pass to someone else?

No.

The statute specifically states that a Will may not revoke or supersede a transfer on death deed. If you wish to revoke the deed, it will be necessary for you to:

1. Sign a new Transfer on Death Deed that expressly revokes the prior one or specifies that the property should pass to someone else;
2. Sign a separate document that expressly revokes the prior Transfer on Death Deed.

The revocation must be signed and notarized by the Grantor and recorded before the Grantor’s death in the deed records of the county clerk’s office of the county were the deed being revoked is recorded.