A new Georgia option, effective July 1, 2024
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 et seq., a Georgia property owner can now record a transfer-on-death deed (TODD) naming a beneficiary who receives the real estate automatically at death, entirely outside probate. Georgia adopted this later than most states that have one — before July 1, 2024, the only route to that outcome was a properly worded survivorship deed (see our guide to Georgia joint property rules) or a living trust.
The owner keeps full control while alive
Recording a TOD deed changes nothing about the owner's rights during life. The owner can sell the property, refinance it, mortgage it, or simply change their mind — the deed is fully revocable, typically by recording a later TOD deed or a formal revocation before death. The named beneficiary doesn't sign the deed, doesn't need to consent to it, and has no enforceable interest in the property until the owner actually dies.
What the beneficiary must do after death
The transfer isn't automatic on paper the way it is in substance. After the owner's death, the beneficiary must record an acceptance affidavit — along with a certified copy of the owner's death certificate — with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property sits. That recording is what actually clears title into the beneficiary's name; skipping it leaves the property in limbo rather than in probate, so it's a step worth doing promptly rather than an optional formality.
Who can't use it
The owner must sign the deed personally, with the same legal capacity Georgia requires to enter into a contract. An agent acting under a power of attorney is specifically barred from executing a TOD deed on someone else's behalf — there's no shortcut through an agent for a person who's already lost the capacity to sign for themselves.
How it compares to a survivorship deed
Both a TOD deed and a properly worded joint-tenancy-with-survivorship deed keep real estate out of Georgia probate, but they work differently. A survivorship deed makes the second person a co-owner immediately, with rights during the first owner's life. A TOD deed gives the beneficiary no rights at all until death — useful for someone who wants to name an heir without giving up any control, or without adding a co-owner whose own creditors or divorce could complicate the title in the meantime.