Definition
Transfer-on-Death Deed
Also called: TOD deed, beneficiary deed, Lady Bird deed
A transfer-on-death deed names who receives a property automatically when the owner dies, letting the home bypass probate. Not every state offers them; Florida's related tool is the enhanced life estate ('Lady Bird') deed.
Where valid, a TOD or beneficiary deed keeps full control with the owner during life — they can sell, mortgage, or revoke — and transfers title at death by operation of law, with the beneficiary typically recording a death certificate rather than opening probate.
For heirs, the significance is speed and authority: a house that passed by deed can usually be sold without waiting on a probate case. Whether a particular deed did what the family thinks it did is a question for the recorded document and a local attorney.
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