MT Senate Bill 225

The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) describes the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act as follows: It “enables an owner of real property to pass real property simply and directly to a beneficiary on the owner’s death without probate. The property passes by operation of law by means of a recorded transfer on death (TOD) deed. During the owner’s lifetime, the beneficiary of a TOD deed has no interest in the property and the owner retains full power to transfer or encumber the property or to revoke the deed. On the owner’s death, the property passes to the beneficiary, much like the survivorship feature of joint tenancy. The TOD deed offers a number of advantages over joint tenancy. Because the TOD deed does not convey an immediate interest to the beneficiary, the property is not subject partition or to the beneficiary’s creditors. The deed remains revocable, enabling the owner to make a different disposition of the property. It does not trigger an acceleration clause in a mortgage or a property tax reassessment during the transferor’s life. Nor does it create adverse Medicaid consequences for either the owner or the beneficiary. A decedent routinely passes personal property to a named beneficiary outside of probate. Common examples include a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy or pension plan, registration of securities in TOD form, and a pay on death bank account. But a straightforward, inexpensive, and reliable means of passing real property (which may be the decedent’s major asset) directly to a beneficiary is not generally available.”

Read Senate Bill 225.