Texas deed questions, answered plainly.

A Transfer on Death Deed, or TODD, is a written and recorded deed that lets a Texas real property owner name one or more beneficiaries to receive the property at death without probate. It is signed and recorded during life, but it does not change ownership until death.

A TODD can transfer Texas real property, such as a house, condominium, vacant land, mineral interest, or fractional real estate interest. It does not transfer cars, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, household goods, or real estate in another state.

A beneficiary can be one or more individuals, a trust, a charity, a business entity, or another person or organization that can legally hold title to Texas real estate. The beneficiary does not have to be a relative.

Yes. A TODD must be recorded in the county deed records before the owner's death. A signed and notarized TODD that is left unrecorded transfers nothing.

Yes, that is its main purpose. The property passes by operation of the recorded TODD at death, so that specific real estate does not need probate to transfer title. Other assets may still require probate.

A Lady Bird deed, formally an enhanced life estate deed, lets you name beneficiaries to receive real estate at your death while you keep control during life. You can still sell, mortgage, lease, give away, or revoke the deed without beneficiary permission.

A regular life estate gives beneficiaries a present future interest, which can limit your ability to sell or change the property without them. A Lady Bird deed keeps you in control because you retain enhanced powers to sell, mortgage, give away, or revoke.

You keep essentially every right you had before signing. You can live in the property, rent it, keep income, sell it, refinance it, gift it, revoke the deed, and remain responsible for taxes, insurance, and upkeep.

If you still own the property at death, title passes automatically to the named remainder beneficiaries without probate. Beneficiaries usually record a certified death certificate and sometimes an affidavit to clear title.

It depends on your property, family situation, title needs, capacity concerns, and planning goals. A TODD is often a straightforward probate-avoidance tool; a Lady Bird deed may be useful when extra flexibility, warranty language, or power-of-attorney signing issues matter.

Both can keep the property outside the probate estate, which is important because Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery is generally limited to probate assets. Lady Bird deeds have the longer Medicaid-planning history, but TODDs are also probate-avoidance tools.

Yes. A TODD cannot be created or revoked through a power of attorney, passes without warranty, may leave a creditor exposure period after death, and cannot be overridden by a will. Careful beneficiary and contingency drafting matters.

Yes. There is no Texas statute defining Lady Bird deeds, so drafting language and title-company acceptance matter. They can also be awkward with multiple beneficiaries or if no backup beneficiary is named.

A Transfer on Death Deed costs $500, and a Lady Bird deed costs $600. The flat fee includes attorney preparation and review, a confirmation call, one review opportunity before signing, signing and notarization instructions, county recording, and return of the recorded deed.

You will need the property address, legal description, owner names and mailing addresses, beneficiary names and mailing addresses, and payment. A simple deed is drafted within 24 hours after the confirmation call and payment, excluding weekends and holidays.

The process is designed to be handled online or by phone. You answer questions, confirm details with the attorney, receive signing instructions, notarize the deed, return it, and EZ Law records it.

You may use any lawful notary. The notary fee is paid directly to the notary and is not included in the flat fee. EZ Law provides signing and notarization instructions.

The legal description is usually found in your prior deed or county property records. If you do not have it, legal description retrieval is available for a flat $20 add-on.

For a TODD, transfer happens at the owner's death. For a Lady Bird deed, the remainder beneficiaries take if the owner dies still owning the property. During life, the owner keeps control.

No. The beneficiary does not need notice, consent, or a signature for the TODD to be valid. The beneficiary's role comes after death, when they may accept the property by recording the appropriate death documentation, or disclaim the gift if they do not want it.

No. A recorded deed becomes part of the public real property records. Anyone searching county records may be able to see the recorded deed.

Common mistakes include failing to record before death, using the wrong legal description, signing a TODD by power of attorney, missing notarization, omitting required transfer-at-death language, naming no backup beneficiary, and using weak Lady Bird deed language.

The TODD is invalid. Texas law requires the deed to be recorded before death in the county deed records. Recording it after death cannot fix the problem.

A will does not revoke or override a recorded TODD. A will also generally does not control property that passes outside probate by a valid Lady Bird deed. Changes should be made by the correct deed or revocation document during life.

Texas law does not allow a TODD to be created or revoked by an agent under power of attorney. A Lady Bird deed may be signed by an agent if the power of attorney gives proper real-property authority and meets Texas requirements.