The House That Skips Probate
ORC 5302.22 — a transfer on death designation affidavit, and what it does not touch
A will sends a house through probate. Ohio offers a way for the house not to go there at all: a document recorded during the owner's life that names who takes it at death. It is one of the most useful instruments in the property chapters and one of the least known outside the people who draft them.
Who may make one, and what they may designate. Any individual who owns real property or an interest in it as a sole owner, as a tenant in common, or as a survivorship tenant, or together with a spouse as tenants by the entireties, may designate the entire interest, or any specified part of it, as transferable on death to a designated beneficiary or beneficiaries by executing a transfer on death designation affidavit.
The affidavit is recorded before death, and the transfer is confirmed after it. The transfer of the deceased owner's property as designated in the affidavit is recorded by presenting to the county auditor, and filing with the county recorder, an affidavit of confirmation executed by a beneficiary to whom the transfer is made. That affidavit is verified before a person authorised to administer oaths and is accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate.
Where the property was held in survivorship, title vests in the transfer on death beneficiary on the death of the last surviving survivorship tenant. The designation waits behind the survivorship rather than defeating it.
A lien rides through it. The rights of any lienholder, including a mortgagee, a judgment creditor or a mechanic's lien holder, are not affected by the designation of a transfer on death beneficiary. A house that passes this way passes with its mortgage on it, and the beneficiary takes what the owner had, encumbrances included.
The chapter also provides a form relating to Medicaid estate recovery to accompany a transfer on death affidavit, because a house passing outside probate does not on its own pass outside the state's claim after a death. That claim is its own section on this site.
| The step | The document |
|---|---|
| The stepDuring the owner's life | The documentThe transfer on death designation affidavit, executed and recorded |
| The stepAfter the death | The documentAn affidavit of confirmation by a beneficiary, verified, with a certified death certificate |
| The stepWhere it goes | The documentPresented to the county auditor and filed with the county recorder |
| The stepWhat it does not remove | The documentAny mortgage, judgment lien or mechanic's lien, and the Medicaid estate recovery claim |
What happens where a beneficiary dies first, contingent beneficiaries, the effect on a later will, the tax treatment, and whether a particular deed was validly executed and recorded are not on this page. Whether this instrument suits a particular family is exactly the kind of question a licensed Ohio attorney answers, and the county recorder's office holds the forms and the recording requirements.
Sources for this section (4)
- ORC 5302.22 — Transfer on death designation affidavit for real property
- ORC 5302.222 — Recording the transfer after death, and the affidavit of confirmation
- ORC 5302.221 — The Medicaid estate recovery form that accompanies a transfer on death affidavit
- ORC 5162.21 — Recovery from the estate of a person who received medicaid
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.