Transfer on Death Deed in New Hampshire: Recording and Revocation

A transfer on death deed in New Hampshire lets you name someone to inherit your real estate the moment you die, without probate and without giving up any control while you are alive. The option has existed since July 1, 2024, when the state enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act under RSA Chapter 563-D. One detail trips people up more than any other: the deed must be recorded at the county registry of deeds within 60 days of signing, and before your death, or it is void.¹

The deed creates no present interest in the property. You can sell, mortgage, or revoke it whenever you want, and the beneficiary has no say. They do not need to sign it, accept it, or even know it exists for it to be valid.

What Makes the Deed Valid

A TOD deed has to clear every requirement in the statute. There is no partial credit.

It has to meet the same formalities as any other New Hampshire deed. You sign it and acknowledge it before a notary public, justice of the peace, or commissioner.² The deed must include the mailing address of each beneficiary and a proper legal description of the property.

On top of that, the statute requires three things specific to TOD deeds: the document must bear the title “Transfer on Death Deed,” it must contain language making the transfer effective only at your death, and it must be recorded by the earlier of 60 days after execution or your date of death.¹

You must be at least 18 and mentally competent to sign. Any interest in real property in New Hampshire can be transferred this way — single-family homes, condominiums, multi-unit buildings, commercial property, vacant land.³

Ownership structure matters. If property is held in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, that survivorship right beats the TOD deed. When one joint owner dies, the property goes to the surviving joint owner automatically, and the TOD deed does nothing. It only takes effect when the last surviving joint owner dies.⁴

Recording the Deed

Signing the deed is not enough. Putting it in a drawer, a safe deposit box, or with your will does not preserve it. It has to be recorded at the county registry of deeds where the property sits, and it has to happen by the earlier of 60 days after you sign or the day you die.¹ Miss that window and the deed is void. The property then passes through probate under your will or the intestacy rules.

The document has to be an original or certified copy, legibly printed on standard-sized paper. Some counties require a cover sheet or specific indexing information. Recording fees vary by county, and many counties also assess a $25 LCHIP (Land and Community Heritage Investment Program) surcharge on deed recordings.⁵

Recording a TOD deed does not trigger New Hampshire’s real estate transfer tax. The statute explicitly exempts TOD deeds under RSA 563-D where no consideration is exchanged, and the transfer that happens at death is also exempt.⁶

Naming Beneficiaries

You can name any individual, charity, business, or other entity. Each beneficiary must be identified by full legal name.

If you name more than one, say how they will hold title. By default, multiple beneficiaries take equal, undivided shares as tenants in common, with no survivorship rights between them. If you want them to hold as joint tenants with survivorship rights, the deed has to say so explicitly.⁴

If a Beneficiary Dies Before You

A beneficiary who dies before you has their share lapse. When you have named several and one predeceases you, that share passes proportionally to the survivors unless the deed says otherwise.⁴ If you named only one beneficiary and that person dies first, the deed becomes ineffective and the property goes through probate. A deed naming a single person who dies before you accomplishes nothing. Naming a contingent beneficiary or reviewing the deed periodically avoids that outcome.

Nothing in the statute requires you to tell your beneficiary about the deed, but doing so is practical. A beneficiary who does not know the deed exists may not file the required affidavit after your death, could miss property tax deadlines, or might not realize they are inheriting a mortgage.

Changing or Revoking the Deed

You can revoke a TOD deed at any point before you die. The beneficiary has no vested interest, so no permission is required. What is required is a proper recorded instrument. Tearing up the original does nothing. Writing a revocation and never recording it does nothing.⁷

Three instruments can revoke a TOD deed:

A new TOD deed that either expressly revokes the previous one or does so by inconsistency.
A standalone instrument of revocation that expressly revokes the deed. The statute provides an optional form.⁸
A conventional deed transferring the property that expressly revokes the TOD deed.

Whichever route you take, the revoking document must be signed, acknowledged before a notary, and recorded by the earlier of 60 days from execution or your death. The same recording deadline that applies to the original deed applies to any revocation.⁷ If more than one TOD deed exists for the same property, the most recently recorded one controls.

For jointly owned property, all living joint owners must agree to revoke. One joint owner revoking alone affects only that owner’s interest.

What Happens When You Die

The property transfers automatically to the named beneficiary. No court order, no executor, no probate. But the beneficiary has work to do to clean up the record and deal with what comes attached.

The Notice of Death Affidavit

Within 60 days of your death, each beneficiary should file a notice of death affidavit with the county registry of deeds where the property is located. The affidavit must include the beneficiary’s name and address, the property’s street address, the date and recording information of the TOD deed, your name, your date and place of death, and the address where future tax bills should be sent. It has to be notarized.⁹

Title still passes by operation of law even if no affidavit is filed. In practice, though, skipping it leaves the public record unclear, and the beneficiary will run into problems when they try to sell, refinance, or get title insurance.

Mortgages and Liens Come With the Property

The property transfers subject to any existing mortgage, tax lien, or other encumbrance. A TOD deed does not erase debt. If you owed $150,000 on a mortgage when you died, the beneficiary receives the property with that $150,000 balance still attached. They can pay it off, refinance, or sell the property to satisfy the lender, but they cannot take the property free and clear while the debt sits unpaid.

No Warranty of Title

A TOD deed transfers property without any warranty or covenant of title, even if the deed contains language suggesting otherwise.⁴ The beneficiary receives whatever interest you had, with no guarantee the title is clean. Older properties are especially likely to carry old liens or defects, and those come along for the ride.

What the Deed Does Not Protect Against

Skipping probate does not mean skipping your debts. If your probate estate lacks enough assets to pay allowed claims, creditors can reach property transferred through a TOD deed.¹⁰ When you transferred multiple properties by TOD deed, the liability is split proportionally based on each property’s net value at your death. There is a time limit: if no probate administration is opened within two years of your death, no proceeding to enforce this liability can be started.

Medicaid estate recovery is a related worry. New Hampshire’s Medicaid program can recover the cost of medical assistance from a deceased recipient’s estate, and the state’s recovery definition of “estate” already reaches property held in joint tenancy, life estates, and revocable trusts.¹¹ The recovery statute does not explicitly name TOD deeds, but the general creditor claim rule in RSA 563-D:16 could open TOD-transferred property to recovery when the probate estate falls short. If you have received or expect to receive Medicaid benefits, talk to an elder law attorney before assuming a TOD deed shields the home.

Taxes

New Hampshire has no estate or inheritance tax. The state repealed its legacy and succession tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2003, and the state estate tax return has not been required since January 1, 2005.¹² A beneficiary who receives property through a TOD deed owes the state nothing for the inheritance itself.

Beneficiaries also receive a stepped-up basis. The tax basis resets to fair market value as of your date of death.¹³ If you bought the home for $120,000 decades ago and it was worth $400,000 the day you died, your beneficiary’s basis is $400,000. Selling at that price produces no taxable capital gain. Selling later at $430,000 produces a gain of $30,000 rather than $310,000. A dated appraisal at or near the date of death protects the beneficiary if the IRS later questions the value.

1
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:19 – Optional Form of Transfer on Death Deed
2
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 477:3 – Deeds
3
LegiScan. New Hampshire 2022 SB243 Amended
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:13 – Effect of Transfer on Death Deed at Transferors Death
5
NH Deeds. Cheshire County Recording Fee Schedule
6
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 78-B:2 – Exceptions
7
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:11 – Revocation by Instrument Authorized, Revocation by Act Not Permitted
8
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:20 – Optional Form of Revocation
9
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:22 – Notice of Death Affidavit
10
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 563-D:16 – Liability for Creditor Claims and Statutory Allowances
11
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 167:14-a – Recovery of Assistance
12
NH Department of Revenue Administration. Inheritance and Estate Tax
13
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances