Establishes "Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act."

A1819

ASSEMBLY, No. 1819

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Miller

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "Uniform Real Property Transfer on
Death Act."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning transfer on death deeds and supplementing
Title 3B of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.�

���� 2.��� As used in P.L.��� ,
c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Beneficiary� means a person
that receives property under a transfer on death deed.

���� �Designated beneficiary� means
a person designated to receive property in a transfer on death deed.

���� �Joint owner� means an
individual who owns property concurrently with one or more other individuals
with a right of survivorship, and includes a joint tenant.� �Joint owner� does
not include a tenant in common.

���� �Person� means an individual,
corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability
company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or
governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial
entity.�

���� �Property� means an interest
in real property located in this State which is transferable on the death of
the owner.

���� �Transfer on death deed� means
a deed authorized under
P.L. , c. (pending before
the Legislature as this bill).

���� �Transferor� means an
individual who makes a transfer on death deed.

���� 3.��� a.�������� An individual
18 or more years of age and of sound mind may transfer property to one or more
beneficiaries effective at the transferor�s death by a transfer on death deed.

���� b.��� A transfer on death
deed:

���� (1) is revocable even if the
deed or another instrument contains a provision to the contrary;

���� (2) is nontestamentary;

���� (3) except as otherwise
provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, shall contain the essential
elements and formalities of a properly recorded inter vivos deed and be
acknowledged in accordance with R.S.46:14-2.1;

���� (4)�� shall state that the
transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor�s death;
and

���� (5)�� shall be recorded before
the transferor�s death in the public records with the County Clerk of the
county where the property is located.

���� c.���� A transfer on death
deed is effective without:

���� (1) notice or delivery to or
acceptance by the designated beneficiary during the transferor�s life; or

���� (2) consideration.

���� 4.��� a.� Subject to
subsection b. of this section, an instrument is effective to revoke a recorded
transfer on death deed, or any part of it, only if the instrument:

���� (1)�� is acknowledged by the
transferor after the acknowledgement of the deed being revoked and recorded
before the transferor�s death in the public records with the County Clerk of
the county where the deed is recorded; and

���� (2) is one of the following:

���� (a) a subsequent transfer on
death deed that revokes the deed, or part of the deed, expressly or by
inconsistency;

���� (b) an instrument of
revocation that expressly revokes the deed or part of the deed; or

���� (c) an inter vivos deed that
expressly revokes the transfer on death deed or part of the deed.

���� b.��� If a transfer on death
deed is made by more than one transferor:

���� (1) revocation by a transferor
does not affect the deed as to the interest of another transferor; and

���� (2) a deed of joint owners is
revoked only if it is revoked by all of the living joint owners.

���� c.���� After a transfer on
death deed is recorded, it may not be revoked by a revocatory act on the deed.�
For purposes of this subsection, a �revocatory act� includes burning, tearing,
obliterating, or destroying the deed or any part of it

���� d.��� This section shall not
limit the effect of an inter vivos transfer of the property.

���� 5.��� During the transferor�s
life, a transfer on death deed shall not:

���� a.���� affect an interest or
right of:

���� (1) the transferor or any
other owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property;

���� (2)�� a transferee, even if
the transferee has an actual or constructive notice of the deed;

���� (3)�� a secured or unsecured
creditor or future creditor of the transferor, even if the creditor has actual
or constructive notice of the deed;

���� b.��� affect the transferor�s
or designated beneficiary�s eligibility for any form of public assistance;

���� c.���� create a legal or
equitable interest in favor of the designated beneficiary; or

���� d.��� subject the property to
the claims or process of a creditor of the designated beneficiary.

���� 6.��� a.�������� Except as
provided in the transfer on death deed, this section, or N.J.S.3B:3-14, on the
death of the transferor, the following shall apply to the property that is the
subject of a transfer on death deed and owned by the transferor at death:

���� (1)�� Subject to paragraph
(2), the interest in the property is transferred to the designated beneficiary
in accordance with the deed.

���� (2)�� The interest of a
designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated beneficiary surviving
the transferor.� The interest of a designated beneficiary that fails to survive
the transferor lapses.

���� (3)�� Subject to paragraph
(4), concurrent interests are transferred to the beneficiaries in equal and
undivided shares with no right of survivorship.

���� (4)�� If the transferor has
identified two or more designated beneficiaries to receive concurrent interest
in the property, the share of one which lapses or fails for any reason is
transferred to the other, or to the others in proportion to the interest of each
in the remaining part of the property held concurrently.

���� b.��� A beneficiary shall take
the property subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, assignments, contracts,
mortgages, liens, and other interests to which the property is subject at the
transferor�s death.� For purposes of this subsection, the recording of the
transfer on death deed is deemed to have occurred at the transferor�s death.

���� c.���� If the transferor is a
joint owner and is:

���� (1) survived by one or more
other joint owners, the property that is subject of the transfer on death deed
belongs to the surviving joint owners or owners with right of survivorship; or

���� (2) the last surviving joint
owner, the transfer on death deed is effective.

���� d.��� A transfer on death deed
transfers property without covenant or warranty of title even if the deed
contains a contrary provision.

���� e.���� A beneficiary may
disclaim all or part of the beneficiary�s interest in accordance with the
requirements of a disclaimer as provided for in chapter 9 of Title 3B of the
New Jersey Statutes.

���� 7.��� a.� To the extent the
transferor�s probate estate is insufficient to satisfy an allowed claim against
the estate or a statutory allowance to a surviving spouse or child, the estate
may enforce the liability against the property transferred at the transferor�s
death by a transfer on death deed.

���� b.��� If more than one
property is transferred by one or more transfer on death deeds, the liability
under subsection a. is appropriated among the properties in proportion to their
net values at the transferor�s death.

���� c.���� A proceeding to enforce
the liability under this section shall be commenced no later than 18 months
after the transferor�s death.

���� 8.��� P.L.��� , c.����
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not affect any
method of the transfer of property otherwise permitted under the laws of this
State.

���� 9.��� P.L.��� , c.����
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) limits, modifies,
and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. s.7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or
supersede s.101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. s.7001(c), or authorize electronic
delivery of any of the notices described in s.103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C.
s.7003(b).

���� 10.� If any provision of this
act or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act which
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this
end the provisions of this act are severable.

���� 11.� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall apply to a transfer on death deed made before, on,
or after the effective date of P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill) by a transferor dying on or after the effective
date of P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill).

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
�Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act� (act).� The act was promulgated
by the Uniform Law Commission in 2009.

���� The act permits an individual
to transfer property to one or more designated beneficiaries at the
transferor�s death by means of a transfer on death (TOD) deed.� A �designated
beneficiary� means a person designated to receive property in a TOD deed.� A transfer
on death deed is a revocable instrument and is nontestamentary.� Further, the
instrument is required to contain the essential elements and formalities of a
properly recorded inter vivos deed and be acknowledged in accordance with State
law.� A transfer on death deed is effective without notice or delivery to the
designated beneficiary, acceptance by the designated beneficiary, or
consideration.

���� The bill applies to all TOD
deeds made before, on, or after the effective date of the bill by a transferor
dying on or after the effective date of the bill.

���� The following rules apply to
the property that is subject of a TOD deed and owned by the transferor at
death:

���� (1) the interest in the
property is transferred to the designated beneficiary in accordance with the
deed. The interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated
beneficiary surviving the transferor.� The interest of a designated beneficiary
that fails to survive the transferor lapses.

���� (2) concurrent interests are
transferred to the beneficiaries in equal and undivided shares with no right of
survivorship. If the transferor has identified two or more designated
beneficiaries to receive concurrent interest in the property, the share of one
which lapses or fails for any reason is transferred to the other, or to the
others in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the
property held concurrently.

���� An individual may revoke a
recorded TOD deed, or any part of the deed, if the instrument: (1) is one of
the following: (a) a subsequent TOD deed that revokes the deed in whole or part
expressly or by inconsistency; (b) an instrument of revocation that expressly
revokes the deed in whole or part; or (c) an inter vivos deed that expressly
revokes the TOD deed in whole or in part; and (2) is acknowledged by the
transferor after the acknowledgement of the deed being revoked and recorded in
accordance with State law.

���� A TOD deed prepared under the
bill does not: (1) affect an interest or right of the transferor or any other
owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property; (2) affect an
interest or right of a transferee, even if the transferee has an actual or
constructive notice of the deed; (3) affect an interest of right of a secured
or unsecured creditor or future creditor of the transferor, even if the
creditor has actual or constructive notice of the deed; (4) affect the
transferor�s or designated beneficiary�s eligibility for any form of public
assistance; (5) create a legal or equitable interest in favor of the designated
beneficiary; or (6) subject the property to the claims or process of a creditor
of the designated beneficiary.

���� If a transfer is made by more
than one transferor: (1) revocation by a transferor does not affect the deed as
to the interest of another transferor; and (2) a deed of joint owners is only
revoked if it is revoked by all of the living joint owners.� If a transferor is
a joint owner and is: (1) survived by one or more other joint owners, the
property that is subject to the TOD deed belongs to the surviving joint owners
or owners with right of survivorship; or (2) the last surviving joint owner,
the TOD deed is effective.

���� Finally, the bill provides
that if a transferor�s probate estate is insufficient to satisfy allowed
claims, the estate is permitted to enforce the liability against the property
transferred.