Enacted in 2014
Washington adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act in 2014, codified at RCW 64.80, effective June 12, 2014. An owner can record a deed naming a beneficiary who receives real estate automatically at death, entirely outside probate. The chapter hasn't been substantively amended since it took effect, so the same basic framework has applied for over a decade.
No excise tax on recording
Recording a TOD deed doesn't trigger Washington's real estate excise tax. Because the recording isn't treated as a "sale" under RCW 82.45.010(1), the transfer is exempt from the excise tax at the time the deed is recorded — the usual cost of a real estate transfer in Washington doesn't apply here.
The community property twist
A married couple who both sign a TOD deed together on community property runs into a rule that surprises some owners: the transfer doesn't take effect at the first spouse's death. Because the deed covers the whole community property interest rather than splitting it between the spouses, it only becomes effective when the second spouse dies. For a couple who wants the surviving spouse to have unencumbered control of the property immediately after the first death, this timing is worth understanding before relying on a jointly signed community property TOD deed alone.
Signed and notarized, no witnesses
Executing a Washington TOD deed follows the ordinary formality for any deed in the state: the owner signs it and has the signature acknowledged before a notary. There's no separate witness requirement on top of that. The deed only has effect if it's recorded with the county auditor before the owner — or the last surviving owner — dies; an unrecorded deed, or one recorded after death, does nothing.
Not a foreclosure workaround
The statute is explicit about one limit: a transfer-on-death deed can't be used to effect a deed in lieu of foreclosure. It's designed as a straightforward estate-planning tool, not a substitute in a foreclosure proceeding.
How it compares to community property with an agreement
A TOD deed and a Community Property Agreement can both keep a house out of probate, but they work differently. A Community Property Agreement covers all of a couple's community property at once, by contract, and typically vests everything in the survivor at the first spouse's death. A TOD deed applies to one specific piece of real estate, and — for community property signed by both spouses — waits until the second spouse's death to take effect.