Lady Bird Deeds vs Transfer on Death Deed
In Texas, the default for real property – i.e. land and everything attached to that land—is to wind up in the homeowner’s probate estate. What this means is that when the homeowner dies, their real estate is subject to the probate process in order to transfer title. What many people don’t realize, however, is that real estate can avoid probate with proper planning. The three best ways to accomplish avoiding probate for real property are: (1) Transfer property into a Trust; (2) Transfer on Death Deed; and (3) Lady Bird Deed. For more information on Trusts, click here. For the purpose of this post, we are going to focus on options 2 and 3, the Transfer on Death Deed and the Lady Bird Deed. Transfer on Death Deeds A Transfer on Death Deed (“TODD”) is a statutory mechanism to designate who will own real property after you die. With a TODD you get to keep all ownership rights to the property during your lifetime so that you can sell it or use it as collateral on a loan. Even after filing a TODD, it is a revocable document so you can alter the beneficiaries or revoke the TODD altogether.
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