Law Outside the Box

Under Minnesota law, the transfer of the real estate with a TODD becomes effective only after the death of the real estate owner.  In other words, if your mother Doris has a TODD prepared and filed today designating her home to you, the transfer of her home to you does not happen until after your mother Doris passes away.  This is assuming that your mother Doris still owns her home at the time she dies and that she has not otherwise revoked the TODD. 

For your mother Doris, it is important to note that she can still sell the home at any time regardless of the existence of the TODD.  She should also know that she can revoke the TODD at any time as long as she files a TODD revocation form with the County to cancel the TODD she prepared.

For more information, see Minn. Stat. § 507.071.

If you decide to revoke your TODD, you must file and record the TODD revocation document before you die.  In other words, if you have the TODD revocation document prepared while you are alive but rather than file it with the County, you decide to hold onto it in your safe, it is as though the document was never prepared.  Why?  Because it must be filed and recorded before you die to be valid.  After you pass away, it is illegal for your next-of-kin to then file a TODD you signed while you were still alive.

For more information, see Minn. Stat. § 507.071.

Yes, as long as you are still alive (and competent).  You can revoke or change your TODD whenever you wish.  In our illustration above, we see how one former beneficiary has been locked out from his inheritance!  There will be no entry for Michael at these gates.

Let’s say you prepared and filed a TODD naming your two children, Michael and Homer, as beneficiaries of your home.  Two years from now, you decide that you would prefer to give your home to your new wife, Matilda, when you pass away.  You can file a document with the County to revoke the TODD and there is nothing your children Michael or Homer can do to prevent it. 

In the alternative, you can file a new TODD naming your new wife Matilda as beneficiary.  That new TODD naming Matilda will trump the earlier TODD naming your children as beneficiaries of your home.

The best method to handle a situation like this is to file a document with the County revoking the TODD naming your two children as beneficiaries.  Then after that document is filed, submit a new TODD naming your new wife as beneficiary.  That way, you reduce any potential confusion regarding your true intentions.

Note: a revocation of the TODD must be recorded with the County prior to your death if you are wishing to have the original beneficiaries removed but not replaced. 

For more information, see Minn. Stat. § 507.071.

If all beneficiaries designated in the Transfer on Death Deed (TODD) die before you, no transfer shall occur and the TODD is void.  It is important to note this because I have prepared a number of TODDs for clients where they have named a single beneficiary such as an only child and not taken into account if that child predeceases the client, then the TODD becomes void.  Of course there are solutions around this dilemma. 

To maximize the effectiveness of the TODD, it is recommended that you monitor the situation periodically to ensure that the TODD is still valid for the purposes you have intended.  This may include having back-up beneficiary designations as well as other more traditional methods like using a trust to ensure that your wishes are carried out as you intended.

For more information, see Minn. Stat. § 507.071.