South Dakota · SDCL 29A-6-401–433South Dakota transfer on death deeds: the rules and what they mean for a buyer

South Dakota's Real Property Transfer on Death Act (SDCL 29A-6-401–29A-6-433) lets property pass to beneficiaries effective at the transferor's death (§29A-6-403). The deed is revocable (§29A-6-405), takes the capacity required for a will (§29A-6-407), and must have the elements of a recordable deed under the standards of title, state that the transfer occurs at death, and be recorded before death with the register of deeds of the county where the property is (§29A-6-408). It can be revoked only by a recorded instrument acknowledged after the deed (§29A-6-410) – burning or tearing the recorded deed doesn't revoke it (§29A-6-412) – and an agent under a power of attorney can't make or change the beneficiary unless expressly authorized (§29A-6-426). During life it doesn't affect the owner's right to transfer or encumber the property (§29A-6-414). A beneficiary must survive the transferor by 120 hours unless the deed waives it (§29A-6-415), takes subject to all mortgages and liens (§29A-6-416), and gets no warranty of title (§29A-6-418). The transfer is recorded by an affidavit of confirmation signed by a beneficiary, verified under oath, with certified death certificates and a statement that the Department of Social Services was notified of the death (§29A-6-427). A creditor or personal representative must sue the beneficiary within six months after death; a medical assistance claim, within the shorter of two years or six months after notice to the Department (§29A-6-421). A good-faith purchaser or lender for value from the beneficiary after the death takes free of claims of the estate, its creditors and heirs, absent actual knowledge that the transfer was improper or the affidavit untrue (§29A-6-425).