A genuinely recent addition
Delaware recently adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, codified at 25 Del. C. Chapter 2. It lets an owner record a deed naming a beneficiary who receives real property automatically at death, without probate court proceedings.
Notarization AND two witnesses
Here's Delaware's most distinctive execution requirement: every required signature on the deed must be notarized, and the deed also needs two witnesses, with at least one of those witnesses being someone who is not a beneficiary under the deed. This combined requirement is genuinely stricter than most other states, which typically require either notarization or witnesses, but rarely both together at this level of detail. The rule specifically excluding a beneficiary from serving as the sole qualifying witness reflects a deliberate conflict-of-interest safeguard, built directly into the execution formalities themselves.
The beneficiary doesn't need to know
The deed is effective without notice or delivery to, or acceptance by, the designated beneficiary during the transferor's lifetime, and without any consideration changing hands. A property owner can complete and record a valid Delaware TOD deed without ever telling the named beneficiary it exists.
Revocation and joint ownership
The deed remains revocable until death, through a later TOD deed, an express revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it — each of these revoking instruments must itself be acknowledged, witnessed by two people, and recorded before the transferor's death. A will cannot revoke a Delaware TOD deed. Where the transferor is a joint owner, the property belongs to the surviving joint owner or owners with right of survivorship if the transferor is survived by other joint owners; the TOD deed only becomes effective if the transferor turns out to be the last surviving joint owner.
A real, relatively short creditor deadline
After the transferor's death, the property doesn't shield itself from creditor claims. If the probate estate proves insufficient to cover allowed claims against it, the estate may reach the TOD-deeded property — but must actually sue the beneficiary within 8 months to do so. This is a genuinely shorter window than the one-year deadline several other states use for the equivalent claim, making prompt estate administration meaningfully important for anyone relying on a Delaware TOD deed.
Medicaid's broader reach
Delaware Medicaid can recover from all real property within its statutory "estate" definition, and separately from any property subject to a lifetime lien — a genuinely broad reach that a TOD deed, by itself, does not fully avoid. Anyone considering a TOD deed specifically as part of Medicaid or long-term-care planning should discuss this reach directly with an elder law attorney rather than assuming the deed alone accomplishes that protective goal.
Multiple beneficiaries and lapse
A named beneficiary must survive the transferor, or their gift lapses entirely. Multiple beneficiaries take equal undivided shares with no right of survivorship between them by default, and a lapsed share shifts proportionally to the surviving beneficiaries. The property passes without any warranty of title, and subject to existing mortgages, liens, and other interests already attached to it.
Joint ownership still comes first
See our guide to Delaware joint tenancy rules for how the underlying co-ownership question gets decided, including Delaware's requirement that joint tenancy be expressly created in the first place.