---
title: "South Dakota Transfer-on-Death Deed | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/south-dakota/transfer-on-death-deed/
description: "South Dakota authorizes a recorded, revocable transfer-on-death deed, but estate-recovery consequences require separate analysis."
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.
---
South Dakota · Asset Protection Tool

# South Dakota Transfer-on-Death Deed

Last updated 2026-10-20

South Dakota has adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, which lets a property owner pass real estate to one or more named beneficiaries automatically at death through a recorded deed. Under SDCL 29A-6-403 and SDCL 29A-6-405, that deed stays revocable during the owner's lifetime no matter what language appears in the deed or any other document.

The same statutory framework makes clear the deed can take effect without the beneficiary receiving notice, without delivery, without the beneficiary accepting it while the owner is alive, and without any consideration changing hands. Those are probate-law mechanics — SDCL 29A-6-409 doesn't answer the separate questions of Medicaid eligibility or what happens during estate recovery.

## Sources and official resources

- [South Dakota DSS: Medicaid Coverage Groups](https://dss.sd.gov/economicassistance/medical_programs.aspx)
- [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 South Dakota guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/south-dakota/)