---
title: "North Dakota Transfer-on-Death Deed | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/north-dakota/transfer-on-death-deed/
description: "North Dakota authorizes a revocable, recorded transfer-on-death deed, but the deed remains subject to estate creditor claims in stated circumstances."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
North Dakota · Asset Protection Tool

# North Dakota Transfer-on-Death Deed

Last updated 2026-10-20

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.

## Sources and official resources

- [North Dakota HHS: Medicaid Eligibility](https://www.hhs.nd.gov/healthcare/medicaid/eligibility)
- [U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)
- [CMS: 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/cib04272026.pdf)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

[← Back to the full North Dakota guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/north-dakota/)