Minnesota · §507.071Minnesota transfer on death deed: how it works and selling the house after the owner dies

A Minnesota transfer on death deed (TODD) names who receives real property when the owner dies. Under Minnesota Statutes §507.071, a deed that expressly states it is effective only on the death of one or more grantor owners transfers the interest to the beneficiary at that death, subject to the survivorship rules; until then it has no effect on title. It is valid only if recorded in a county where part of the property lies before the grantor owner's death, and it must meet the usual deed requirements; it can be signed by an attorney-in-fact with authority to execute deeds. The owner can revoke it by recording a revocation before death, and if the owner later conveys the property to someone else by another deed, the TODD has no effect on the conveyed interest – so the owner can still sell. At death, the interest passes subject to all mortgages, liens, judgments and tax liens, to any claim of a surviving spouse who didn't join in or consent to the deed, and to medical assistance and other public assistance claims if the estate's other assets aren't enough – up to the value received. If a spouse who isn't an owner joins or consents in writing, that is conclusive proof the spouse gives up marital interests when the transfer takes effect. To clear title, a beneficiary applies to the county agency for a clearance certificate and records it, with an affidavit of identity and survivorship and a certified death record, in each county where the property lies; registered property doesn't get a new certificate of title until the clearance certificate is recorded. Where a beneficiary died first and others take in their place, a court order determining the beneficiaries must also be recorded.