---
title: "Tennessee Transfer-on-Death Deed | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/transfer-on-death-deed/
description: "Tennessee’s TOD deed is nontestamentary, but beneficiaries take subject to TennCare claims and other interests."
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.
---
Tennessee · Asset Protection Tool

# Tennessee Transfer-on-Death Deed

Last updated 2026-10-20

**Quick answer:** Yes. Tennessee has adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, so owners can use a transfer-on-death deed for real estate. The beneficiary still takes the property subject to claims that existed at the owner's death.

Tennessee enacted its own version of the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, creating a transfer-on-death deed framework for real estate. The Act specifically labels this deed nontestamentary — meaning it transfers title directly rather than operating through a will.

Having this statute puts Tennessee in a different category from states that rely only on a retained life estate or a revocable trust for the same kind of probate planning. But nontestamentary status doesn't turn the deed into a settled Medicaid-planning solution — a beneficiary who receives property this way still takes it subject to whatever claims and interests existed at the owner's death.

## Sources and official resources

- [TennCare: CHOICES](https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/long-term-services-supports/choices.html)
- [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 Tennessee guide](https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/tennessee/)