Transfer-on-Death Deeds in Pennsylvania (They Don't Exist)

Pennsylvania does not recognize transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds for real estate. If you've read elsewhere that you can sign a "beneficiary deed" or "TOD deed" to keep your Pennsylvania home out of probate, that information is from another state. It does not work here.

What the TOD deed is — and where it works

A TOD deed lets a property owner name a beneficiary who automatically takes title at the owner's death, bypassing probate. Roughly 30 states authorize it — Pennsylvania is not among them.

Pennsylvania has considered TOD-deed legislation more than once and has not enacted it. Until the legislature does, any "TOD deed" recorded against Pennsylvania real estate is a nullity.

What Pennsylvania does allow for non-probate transfers of accounts

The TOD label is valid in Pennsylvania for financial assets:

• Bank accounts can be set up as "payable on death" (POD)
• Brokerage accounts can be registered "transfer on death" (TOD)
• Retirement and life insurance always pass by beneficiary designation

These transfers happen outside probate, at the institution, with no court involvement.

How to keep PA real estate out of probate

The three legitimate Pennsylvania paths:

1. Revocable living trust — deed the property to your trust during your lifetime; it passes under the trust at death. The cleanest, most flexible option. See our revocable living trust guide.
2. Joint ownership with right of survivorship — works automatically between spouses (tenancy by the entireties); risky between parents and children (creditor exposure, loss of step-up in basis, inheritance-tax surprises).
3. Life estate deed — the owner keeps a life estate; a named remainderman takes title at death. Useful in narrow situations (Medicaid planning), but it permanently locks in the future ownership and limits the owner's flexibility to sell or refinance.

Bottom line

If keeping your home out of probate is the goal, the answer in Pennsylvania is almost always a revocable trust — not a TOD deed that has no legal effect here. For the broader probate-avoidance toolkit, see how to avoid probate in Pennsylvania.