HB 899: Property; transfer-on-death deeds; modify certain provisions

Georgia lets property owners record a transfer-on-death deed (O.C.G.A. Chapter 17 of Title 44) naming a beneficiary who receives the property when the owner dies, without going through probate. This bill rewrites large parts of that law. It says a beneficiary does not automatically own the property at death; instead, ownership passes only after the beneficiary files a sworn affidavit and records it with the county superior court clerk, a step the bill calls acceptance. It also bars an attorney-in-fact from signing a transfer-on-death deed for someone else, allows owners to name backup beneficiaries or a trust as beneficiary, and removes the ability to file a real estate transfer tax form with these deeds. The bill gives an estate's personal representative new authority to pay a property's mortgage, taxes, and urgent repairs while waiting for a beneficiary to accept, and lets the estate place a lien for unpaid costs. It also lowers the number of witnesses needed to revoke a transfer-on-death deed from two to one, changes what happens if a beneficiary dies before accepting the property, and gives these deeds priority over unsecured debts and, in most cases, priority over year's support claims. It also lets named beneficiaries get a copy of the owner's death certificate. The changes take effect once the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature.

• Requires a named beneficiary to file and record a sworn affidavit before actually receiving ownership of the property, instead of getting it automatically when the owner dies.
• Bars anyone acting as an attorney-in-fact (a person given power of attorney) from signing a transfer-on-death deed or a revocation of one for the property owner.
• Lets a property owner name backup beneficiaries and allows a trust to be named as beneficiary of a transfer-on-death deed.
• Removes the requirement to file a real estate transfer tax form with a transfer-on-death deed.
• Lets an estate's personal representative pay a property's mortgage, taxes, and urgent repairs before a beneficiary accepts it, and place a lien on the property to recover unpaid costs.
• Reduces the number of witnesses needed to revoke a transfer-on-death deed from two to one and gives these deeds priority over unsecured debts and, in most cases, over year's support claims.

Georgia property owners who use transfer-on-death deeds, the family members or trusts named as beneficiaries, personal representatives handling estates, county superior court clerks who record these documents, and probate courts handling year's support petitions for surviving spouses and minor children.

Beneficiaries would need to complete a formal acceptance process, including recording an affidavit and death certificate, before they legally own inherited property, changing what had been an automatic transfer at death. Estates gain new power to protect property from foreclosure or damage while that process plays out, and these deeds would generally outrank unsecured creditors and year's support claims.

• Section 1 lets a named beneficiary of a transfer-on-death deed get a certified copy of the owner's death certificate from vital records (O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26).
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2 so ownership passes only after a beneficiary executes and records an acceptance affidavit, bars attorneys-in-fact from executing these deeds, and allows contingent beneficiaries and trust beneficiaries.
• Section 2 also gives a solvent estate's personal representative authority to pay mortgage, tax, and urgent repair costs on the property and to place a special lien for unpaid amounts, enforced like a mechanic's lien.
• Section 2 lets an insolvent estate's representative sell property facing imminent foreclosure, condemnation, or destruction if no beneficiary has completed acceptance, applying proceeds to debts.
• Section 3 cuts the witnesses required to revoke a transfer-on-death deed from two to one, removes the attorney-in-fact's ability to sign a revocation, and treats a later sale or conveyance by the owner as an automatic revocation.
• Section 4 says a beneficiary takes ownership upon acceptance rather than at the owner's death, and splits a deceased beneficiary's lapsed share among surviving beneficiaries instead of sending it back to the estate.
• Section 4 also gives transfer-on-death deeds priority over the record owner's unsecured debts filed after death, unless the property is unredeemed.
• Section 5 amends Georgia's year's support law (O.C.G.A. § 53-3-5) so transfer-on-death deeds generally take precedence over a surviving spouse's or minor child's year's support claim.

1. 2026-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-04-02House Hopper (House)

• David Jenkins (R, HD-136)Primary sponsor
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-73)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)

• transfer-on-death deeds
• estate planning
• property law
• probate and estates
• real estate