A home with a transfer-on-death deed

A revocable transfer-on-death (TOD) deed lets a California homeowner — the "transferor" — name a beneficiary who receives the real property at death without probate (Probate Code §§5600–5696). This page covers what the named beneficiary does after the transferor dies, when a valid TOD deed is already on record.

It looks simple: record one affidavit and the house is yours. But "record one affidavit" hides the work. Before that affidavit is worth filing you have to confirm the deed is actually still in force, copy a legal description exactly, gather a certified death certificate, complete a property-tax report, and understand a creditor-claims window that can reach the property after death. Miss one of those and the recorder rejects the packet — or worse, a creditor or the assessor surfaces a problem months later. Here is the whole thing.

Everything a TOD-deed transfer actually involves

It is rarely just the affidavit. A complete after-death TOD-deed matter typically includes:

• Confirming a valid, current TOD deed. The transfer only works if the transferor recorded a valid revocable TOD deed during life and never revoked it, sold the property, or signed a later deed that superseded it. A TOD deed is revocable, so this check comes first — building on a voided deed wastes the entire filing.
• Affidavit of Death of Transferor. The change-of-ownership affidavit your County Recorder requires to establish that the transferor died and the property passed to the named beneficiary.
• The exact legal description. The affidavit must carry the legal description copied word-for-word from the recorded TOD deed. A transcription error here is a common reason a packet is bounced at recording.
• Certified copy of the death certificate. Obtained from the county where the transferor died and recorded together with the affidavit.
• Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR). The report the assessor uses to evaluate the transfer for property-tax purposes; it is recorded with the affidavit.
• Recording with the County Recorder. The affidavit, certified death certificate, and PCOR are recorded together with the County Recorder for the county where the property sits — meeting that recorder's margin, cover-page and formatting rules. There is no court hearing.
• Creditor-claims exposure + notice to heirs. A TOD-deed beneficiary takes the property subject to the transferor's debts. For a period after death the property can still be reached by the transferor's unsecured creditors and, where it applies, Medi-Cal estate recovery, and the beneficiary should serve notice on the transferor's heirs. This is a real risk to understand before relying on the property.
• Property-tax / Prop 19 follow-through. The change is reported through the PCOR. A transfer to children is only partially excluded under Proposition 19, so reassessment — a new, higher tax basis — may apply.

Where do-it-yourself filers get stuck

It isn't recording the affidavit that's hard — it's everything that has to be true and tracked around it. Confirming the TOD deed is still valid and current is the first trap: a later deed or a sale can have silently voided it, and nothing on the original deed warns you. Transcribing the legal description exactly, satisfying recorder formatting rules, and obtaining a certified (not plain) death certificate each trip people up at the counter.

The harder, quieter risks come after. The creditor-claims window and any required notice to the transferor's heirs are easy to skip — until a creditor or Medi-Cal estate recovery reaches the property you thought was clear. And the PCOR + Proposition 19 question — whether the transfer is excluded or triggers reassessment — is one most filers don't even know to ask. People typically do this once, in the middle of grief, with no warning when one of these pieces slips.

How ProbateClear and your LDA handle it

We start by confirming the recorded TOD deed is valid and still in force, then prepare the affidavit of death with the legal description copied exactly from that deed and assemble the PCOR. We tell you how to obtain the certified death certificate, explain the creditor-claims exposure and serve notice on the transferor's heirs where that applies, and flag the Proposition 19 question so reassessment doesn't surprise you. A licensed Legal Document Assistant then records the full packet with the right County Recorder, meeting its formatting rules.

If there's no valid recorded TOD deed — or it was revoked or superseded — a different path, such as a succession-to-real-property petition, applies, and our screener determines which. You get one flat fee and a tracked process instead of a stack of steps you didn't know existed. We prepare the post-death paperwork only; we do not provide estate planning, draft new TOD deeds, or give legal advice.

How it works

1. We confirm the TOD deed is valid and still in forceThis process only works if the transferor recorded a valid revocable TOD deed during life — and never revoked it, sold the property, or signed a later deed. We check the recorded deed first, because a superseding deed or sale silently voids the transfer.
2. We prepare the affidavit of deathWe draft the affidavit of death of transferor (the change-of-ownership affidavit your county recorder requires) and copy the exact legal description from the recorded TOD deed — word for word, because a transcription error in the legal description can be rejected at recording.
3. We assemble the death certificate and PCORWe tell you how to obtain a certified copy of the transferor's death certificate and we complete the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) the assessor uses to evaluate the transfer.
4. We handle the creditor-claims exposure and notice to heirsA TOD-deed beneficiary takes the property subject to the transferor's debts for a period after death. We explain that claims window, and we serve notice on the transferor's heirs where that applies so the exposure is handled, not ignored.
5. Your LDA records the packet with the County RecorderThe affidavit, the certified death certificate, and the PCOR are recorded together with the County Recorder where the property is located — meeting that recorder's formatting and cover-page rules. There is no court hearing.
6. We track the property-tax / Prop 19 questionThe transfer is reported through the PCOR. A transfer to children is only partially excluded under Proposition 19, so reassessment may apply — we flag whether the change triggers a new tax basis rather than letting it surprise you later.