Washington's Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act lets someone pass Washington real estate to one or more beneficiaries effective only at death, using a transfer-on-death deed. The law covers qualifying deeds signed before, on, or after June 12, 2014, as long as the property owner dies on or after that date.
To work, the deed needs the same essential elements and formalities as any recordable deed made during life, has to say plainly that the transfer takes effect at death, and must be recorded in the county auditor's office — in the county where the property sits — before the owner dies.
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