North Dakota Transfer-on-Death Deed

North Dakota has adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, codified in Century Code chapter 30.1-32.1. The statute lets an individual transfer North Dakota real property to one or more named beneficiaries, effective only at the transferor's death, through a transfer-on-death deed. The law explicitly makes the deed revocable and nontestamentary — so it's a state-recognized deed mechanism in its own right, not simply a borrowed Lady Bird deed concept from another state.

To be valid, a TOD deed needs the essential elements and formalities of a standard recordable deed made during the owner's life, must state that the transfer happens only at the transferor's death, must use the words "transfer on death deed" or "TOD" in its title, and must be recorded in the county recorder's office — covering the property's location — before the owner dies. That recording-before-death requirement is non-negotiable; a beneficiary designation buried in an unrecorded paper or a will doesn't meet the statute's bar.