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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
HOUSE BILL 3676 By: Provenzano
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to transfer-on-death deeds; amending
58 O.S. 2021, Section 1252, as amended by Sections 1,
Chapter 101, O.S.L. 2023, and 1253 (58 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 1252), which relate to transfer-on-
death deeds; requiring grantor attestation and
address of beneficiary; stating effect of
nonacceptance and lapsed interest; providing
allocation of cost attributable to nonacceptance;
providing for a good-cause exception; providing for
construction of act; requiring transfer-on-death
deeds to include list of requirements to keep
property out of probate; and providing an effective
date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 58 O.S. 2021, Section 1252, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 101, O.S.L. 2023 (58 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 1252), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1252. A. An interest in real estate may be titled in
transfer-on-death form by recording a deed, signed by the record
owner of the interest, designating a grantee beneficiary or
beneficiaries of the interest. The deed shall transfer ownership of
the interest upon the death of the owner. A transfer-on-death deed
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need not be supported by consideration. For purposes of the
Nontestamentary Transfer of Property Act, an "interest in real
estate" means any estate or interest in, over or under land,
including surface, minerals, structures and fixtures.
B. The signature, consent or agreement of or notice to a
grantee beneficiary or beneficiaries of a transfer-on-death deed
shall not be required for any purpose during the lifetime of the
record owner.
C. A designated grantee beneficiary may accept real estate
pursuant to a transfer-on-death deed only on behalf of himself,
herself, or a legal entity over which he or she has proper
authority. A beneficiary shall not accept such real estate on
behalf of another designated beneficiary.
D. Each designated grantee beneficiary wishing to accept real
estate pursuant to a transfer-on-death deed shall execute an
affidavit affirming:
1. Verification of the record owner's death;
2. Whether the record owner and the designated beneficiary were
married at the time of the record owner's death; and
3. A legal description of the real estate.
E. The grantee shall attach a copy of the record owner's death
certificate to the beneficiary affidavit. For a record owner's
death occurring on or after November 1, 2011, the beneficiary shall
record the affidavit and related documents with the office of the
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county clerk where the real estate is located within nine (9) months
of the grantor's death, otherwise the interest in the property
reverts to the deceased grantor's estate; provided, however, for a
record owner's death occurring before November 1, 2011, such
recording of the affidavit and related documents by the beneficiary
shall not be subject to the nine-month time limitation.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 26 of Title 16 of the
Oklahoma Statutes, an affidavit properly sworn to before a notary
shall be received for record and recorded by the county clerk
without having been acknowledged and, when recorded, shall be
effective as if it had been acknowledged.
F. A beneficiary affidavit recorded pursuant to this section
before November 1, 2023, in which one or more, but not all, named
beneficiaries of a transfer-on-death deed explicitly accepts the
interests being conveyed by the deed on behalf of all or some of the
beneficiaries named therein shall be effective to accept such
interests if executed by at least one of the named beneficiaries
accepting such interests.
G. 1. A transfer-on-death deed presented for recording on or
after November 1, 2026, shall include, on the face of the deed or in
a separate instrument recorded contemporaneously with the deed, a
grantor attestation executed by the record owner stating:
a. the name of each designated grantee beneficiary,
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b. the last known legal mailing address of each
designated grantee beneficiary, and
c. that the record owner has provided written notice to
each designated grantee beneficiary that:
(1) the beneficiary has been named in a transfer-on-
death deed for the described real property, and
(2) upon the death of the record owner, the
beneficiary must record the affidavit and related
documents required by the subsection E of this
section within nine (9) months of the record
owner's death or the beneficiary's interest will
revert to the record owner's estate.
2. The grantor attestation required by this subsection shall
not require the signature, consent, agreement, or acknowledgment of
any designated grantee beneficiary and shall not create any present
interest in the real estate.
3. Failure to substantially comply with this subsection shall
not invalidate an otherwise valid transfer-on-death deed, but may be
considered by a court in determining good cause under subsection J
of this section.
H. 1. When a designated grantee beneficiary fails to timely
record the affidavit and related documents required by subsection E
of this section, the interest of that beneficiary shall lapse and
revert to the estate of the deceased record owner and shall be
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administered and distributed as estate property pursuant to the
deceased record owner's will or, if none, the laws of intestate
succession; provided, however, that a will shall govern the
distribution of such reverted interest only if the will was executed
contemporaneously with, or subsequent to, the recording of the
transfer-on-death deed. A will executed prior to the recording of a
transfer-on-death deed shall not be construed to control or revive
the disposition of any interest affected by the transfer-on-death
deed.
2. A designated grantee beneficiary whose interest has lapsed
under subsection E of this section shall have no right, title, or
claim to the lapsed interest by virtue of the transfer-on-death deed
and may share in such lapsed interest only to the extent the
beneficiary is otherwise entitled as an heir or devisee of the
deceased record owner.
3. A designated grantee beneficiary whose interest lapses under
this section shall have no claim for compensation, restitution,
damages, or equitable relief against any other grantee beneficiary,
heir, or estate representative based on the loss of that interest or
the reversion of the property to the estate.
I. 1. In any probate, quiet title, partition, or other
judicial proceeding in which it is determined that an interest has
lapsed and reverted to the estate under subsection E of this
section, and the proceeding would not have been necessary but for
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the failure of a designated grantee beneficiary to timely accept
that interest, the court shall allocate the reasonable attorney
fees, court costs, title expenses, publication costs, and other
reasonable administrative expenses incurred to establish, clear,
administer, or distribute the lapsed interest ("covered costs") as
follows:
a. covered costs shall be paid first from the lapsed
interest to the extent practicable, and
b. to the extent covered costs are not fully satisfied
from the lapsed interest, covered costs shall be
charged first against any distribution otherwise
payable from the estate to the designated grantee
beneficiary whose failure to accept caused the lapse,
including any distribution such beneficiary would
otherwise receive as an heir or devisee.
2. The allocation required by this subsection is intended to
prevent shifting costs caused by nonacceptance onto compliant
beneficiaries and heirs and shall not require proof of malicious
intent.
J. 1. Upon petition by the designated grantee beneficiary
whose interest lapsed, the court may modify the allocation in
subsection I of this section only upon a finding, by clear and
convincing evidence, that the failure to timely accept was caused
by:
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a. legal incapacity during the acceptance period,
b. lack of actual notice, notwithstanding substantial
compliance with subsection G of this section, or
c. other circumstances beyond the beneficiary's
reasonable control that made timely recording
impossible.
2. Disagreement with the transfer-on-death deed, strategic
delay, refusal to cooperate, or an intent to force probate shall not
constitute good cause.
K. Nothing in this section shall be construed to:
1. Shorten or extend the nine-month acceptance period set forth
in subsection E of this section;
2. Permit acceptance by one designated grantee beneficiary on
behalf of another designated grantee beneficiary; or
3. Impair the rights of creditors under existing law.
L. A transfer-on-death deed presented for recording on or after
November 1, 2026, shall include, on the face of the deed or in a
separate instrument recorded contemporaneously with the deed, a list
of requirements for the beneficiary to keep the property described
upon the transfer-on-death deed from being subject to probate. The
requirements that are required to be listed are as follows:
1. The beneficiary must record, in the county where the
property is located, a beneficiary affidavit accepting the property
pursuant to subsection D of this section;
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2. The beneficiary shall attach a copy of the record owner's
death certificate to the beneficiary affidavit pursuant to
subsection E of this section; and
3. The beneficiary affidavit and copy of the record owner's
death certificate must be recorded in the county where the property
is located within nine (9) months of the record owner's death.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 58 O.S. 2021, Section 1253, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1253. An interest in real estate is titled in transfer-
on-death form by executing, acknowledging and recording in the
office of the county clerk in the county where the real estate is
located, prior to the death of the owner, a deed in substantially
the following form:
___________________ (name of owner) being of competent mind and
having the legal capacity to execute this document, as owner
transfers on death to ____________________ (name of beneficiary) as
grantee beneficiary, the following described interest in real
estate: (here insert description of the interest in real estate).
THIS TRANSFER-ON-DEATH DEED IS REVOCABLE. IT DOES NOT TRANSFER ANY
OWNERSHIP UNTIL THE DEATH OF THE OWNER. IT REVOKES ALL PRIOR
BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS BY THIS OWNER FOR THIS INTEREST IN REAL
ESTATE. THE GRANTOR HAS THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW OR RESCIND THIS DEED
AT ANY TIME. ANY BENEFICIARY NAMED IN THIS DEED IS HEREBY ADVISED
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THAT THIS DEED MAY BE WITHDRAWN OR RESCINDED WHETHER OR NOT MONEY OR
ANY OTHER CONSIDERATION WAS PAID OR GIVEN.
UPON THE DEATH OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED OWNER, THE ABOVE-MENTIONED
BENEFICIARY, SHALL HAVE NINE (9) MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF THE DEATH
OF THE OWNER IN ORDER TO ACCEPT THE ABOVE DESCRIBED. BENEFICIARY
MAY ACCEPT THE PROPERTY BY RECORDING IN THE COUNTY WHERE THE
PROPERTY IS LOCATED A BENEFICIARY AFFIDAVIT. SUCH AFFIDAVIT SHALL
BE COMPLETED PURSUANT TO SECTION 1252 OF TITLE 58 OF THE OKLAHOMA
STATUTES AND SHALL INLCUDE A COPY OF THE DEATH CERTIFICATE OF THE
ABOVE-MENTIONED OWNER.
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY OF ___________
Before me, on this day personally appeared __________,
___________, and ___________, the owner of the land described in
this deed, and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are
subscribed below in their respective capacities, and the owner of
the land declared to me and to the witnesses in my presence that the
deed is a revocable transfer-on-death of the real estate described
therein, and the witnesses declared in the presence of the owner of
the real estate and in my presence that the owner of the land
declared to them that the deed is a revocable transfer-on-death of
the real estate described therein and that the owner of the land
wanted each of them to sign it as a witness, and that each witness
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did sign the same as witness in the presence of the owner of the
land and in my presence.
_______________________
(name of owner)
_______________________
(witness)
_______________________
(witness)
Subscribed and acknowledged before me by ______________, the owner
of the land, and _____________ and _______________, witnesses, this
___ day of __________ (month), _____ (year).
____________________________
(signature of notary public)
(Seal)
My commission expires ___________ (date).
Instead of the words "transfer-on-death" the abbreviation "TOD" may
be used.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-15183 JL 01/14/26