Enacted in 2015
The Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act, Estates Code Chapter 114, was added by Senate Bill 462 in 2015, effective September 1 of that year. An owner can record a deed that expressly transfers real property to a designated beneficiary, effective only at the owner's death and entirely outside probate.
A 120-hour survival requirement
Under § 114.103, a designated beneficiary has to survive the transferor by 120 hours for the transfer to actually happen. If the beneficiary doesn't survive that long, their share lapses and instead gets distributed as if the TOD deed were a devise made in a will — so the deed's own beneficiary designation isn't necessarily the final word if the beneficiary dies close in time to the owner. When multiple beneficiaries are named, subject to that same 120-hour rule, they take the property in equal and undivided shares with no right of survivorship between them, unless the deed specifically provides otherwise.
Joint ownership still comes first
A TOD deed doesn't override an existing joint ownership with right of survivorship. If the transferor was a joint owner with right of survivorship and is survived by one or more of the other joint owners, the property simply belongs to those survivors — the deed's named beneficiary gets nothing. The TOD deed only becomes effective for that property if the transferor turns out to be the last surviving joint owner. Texas's statutory definition of "joint owner with right of survivorship" specifically excludes a tenant in common or an owner of community property, so those categories aren't affected by this rule the same way.
Doesn't touch homestead rights
Even once a TOD deed is fully effective, it doesn't override the surviving spouse's homestead rights under the Texas Constitution. Those constitutional protections can affect who actually has the right to live in or control the property, separate from who holds legal title under the deed — a distinction that matters for a surviving spouse even after a TOD deed has transferred ownership to someone else.
Beats a will, regardless of timing
A properly filed TOD deed governs over a will in every case, whether the will was written before or after the deed was recorded. An owner who wants to change who inherits the property after recording a TOD deed needs to actually revoke or amend the deed itself — simply writing a new will naming someone else isn't enough to redirect the property.
Creditors still have a path
Texas law sets out a specific process for creditors of the deceased owner to make a claim against property transferred by a TOD deed. The deed shifts who holds title, but it doesn't erase the transferor's outstanding debts from reaching the property through that separate claims process.