---
title: "Wisconsin Transfer-on-Death Deed | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/wisconsin/transfer-on-death-deed/
description: "Wisconsin authorizes a recorded real-property TOD designation, but its expanded recovery program can reach non-probate property."
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.
---
Wisconsin · Asset Protection Tool

# Wisconsin Transfer-on-Death Deed

Last updated 2026-10-20

**Quick answer:** Yes. Wisconsin allows a transfer-on-death designation for real estate under Wis. Stat. § 705.15, and ownership doesn't change until the last owner dies. 2025 Wisconsin Act 60, signed December 9, 2025, updated the revocation rules.

Wisconsin has its own statutory real-property transfer tool, commonly called a transfer-on-death deed or TOD designation, governed by Wis. Stat. § 705.15. According to the State Bar of Wisconsin's current explanation, a TOD beneficiary designation doesn't touch ownership at all until the death of the sole owner or the last surviving owner — it sits dormant during the owner's lifetime.

That dormancy is relevant to probate planning, but it doesn't mean a present-day gift has occurred just because someone recorded a designation. Wisconsin lawmakers recently revisited the statute: 2025 Wisconsin Act 60, signed December 9, 2025, updated the TOD statute's revocation rules, so families relying on older guidance should confirm they're working from the current version of the law.

## Sources and official resources

- [Wisconsin DHS: Consumer Guide, Long-Term Care Insurance](https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/guide/insltc.htm)
- [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.

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