Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio

You need to file the deed with the County Recorder's office in the county where the property is located in Ohio.

Dear Inquirer: Ohio's �Transfer on Death� Deed law, effective on August 29, 2000, dramatically changed and simplified transfers of real property and interests in real property to designated beneficiaries, without any need for Probate Court filing, review, or approval.

This new procedure will save you money and time. The new deed form requires only that you name yourself and each and all of your intended beneficiaries, to whom your real property and interests in land will transfer upon your death, as Grantors, without the necessity for complicated, costly procedures, or Probate Court filings. There is only a small recording fee payable to the County Recorder, for filing a certified copy of the Death Certificate, together with the executed TOD form, properly witnessed and notarized.

Husbands and wives may now arrange for such real property transfers on death to each other and/or to children or others named as Grantees, without any need for formal Will provisions, or other complicated filings or expense. And, the new deed form may be rewritten, modified or changed at any time before the death of the owner of the property, by simply preparing and signing a new �Transfer on Death� deed form, naming new intended beneficiaries as Grantees, and destroying the earlier documents.

The estate of the Grantor may require additional probate proceedings in the state of residence at the time of death, but the TOD for real property in Ohio must be recorded in the county where the property is located, in order to be an effective transfwer of title.

Retain an experienced Attorney to advise and guide you, since while the procedure appears realtively simple and uncomplicated, there are, nevertheless, specific requirements to conform with the applicable laws and rules, in order to be an effective legal document.

Good luck!

Sincerely, J. Norman Stark

Thank you.