Transfer on Death Deeds in Virginia: What Happens to a Richmond-Area Home Sale When the Owner Has Named a Beneficiary

Published October 20, 2026

A transfer on death deed lets a Virginia homeowner name who gets the house at death, without giving that person any rights while the owner is alive. Under section 64.2-624 of the Code of Virginia, an individual may transfer property to one or more beneficiaries effective at the transferor’s death by this kind of deed. For a Richmond-area home sale, that single feature drives the answer to most questions: while the owner lives, the owner can still sell, and after the owner dies, the beneficiary takes the house with whatever debts and liens were attached to it.

This guide reads the statute for homes in the city of Richmond, Henrico County and Chesterfield County. It is part of our series on selling a home through a life event, which starts with selling an inherited home. It is general information, not legal advice. A Virginia attorney should review any deed.

What the deed does, and what it does not do while the owner is alive

The deed takes effect only at death. Section 64.2-631 says that during the transferor’s life, the deed does not affect any interest or right of the transferor or another owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property. It does not create a legal or equitable interest for the designated beneficiary, and it does not subject the property to the beneficiary’s creditors. It also does not affect the rights of the transferor’s existing creditors, or anyone to whom the owner has already transferred an interest.

For a seller, the practical meaning is direct. An owner who has recorded a transfer on death deed can still list the house, sign a contract and close, and the beneficiary has no legal right to stop the sale. The Code says an instrument that conveys the property to someone else, so the transferor is no longer the owner at death, revokes the transfer on death deed. Neither notice to the beneficiary nor the beneficiary’s acceptance is needed for the deed to be effective, according to section 64.2-629, and no consideration is needed either.

What a valid deed requires

The formal requirements are in section 64.2-628. The deed must contain the essential elements of a properly recordable deed and state that the transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death. It must be recorded before the transferor’s death in the land records of the clerk’s office of the circuit court in the jurisdiction where the property is located, and the clerk indexes it under the transferor’s name as grantor. If the property has joint owners, the deed is effective only if all joint owners sign it. Unless the transfer is for consideration, the deed is exempt from recordation tax under the Code section the statute cites. The capacity needed to make or revoke the deed is the same as the capacity needed to make a will, under section 64.2-627.

Two details catch people. First, a deed that was signed but never recorded before death does not work, and the statute’s own optional form says so in capital letters. Second, a Richmond-area owner should record in the right place: the city or county where the house sits. Our guide to pulling a deed, plat and chain of title shows how to find what is recorded against a property, including any transfer on death deed.

What happens to a sale after the owner dies

At death, section 64.2-632 sets the rules. The interest vests in the designated beneficiary under the deed. A beneficiary’s interest depends on surviving the owner, and it lapses if the beneficiary does not. If there are several beneficiaries, they take equal undivided shares with no right of survivorship, though the share of one who fails passes to the others in proportion. A divorce or annulment after the deed is signed revokes a transfer to a former spouse unless the deed says otherwise. And a beneficiary takes the property subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, contracts, mortgages, liens and other interests attached to it at death, and without any covenant or warranty of title.

The creditor rule matters most for a sale. Under section 64.2-634, property transferred by the deed is subject to the transferor’s creditor claims, estate administration costs, funeral expenses and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children, to the extent the probate estate cannot cover them. A proceeding to enforce that liability must start within one year of death. We have not seen guidance from a Virginia title insurer on how it treats that year, so ask your title company early. Our expectation, not a rule, is that a buyer will want a clear answer about it before closing.

Multiple beneficiaries and a sale decision

Because shared beneficiaries hold equal undivided shares, selling the house usually takes all of them to agree, or a legal process if they do not. Our guide to when co-owners disagree about selling a home covers the options for that situation, and the guide to selling a home held in a trust compares what changes when the house sits in a trust instead. If the owner is still alive and wants to add or remove names, read adding or removing a name on your deed before assuming a transfer on death deed is the right tool.

How a transfer on death deed is revoked

The deed can be revoked, but only the right way. Section 64.2-630 says a recorded deed can be revoked only by a recorded instrument, such as a new transfer on death deed that expressly revokes the old one, a later deed that names an inconsistent beneficiary, an instrument of revocation or an ordinary deed that conveys the property to someone else. The instrument must be acknowledged and recorded before death. Tearing up or marking the original or a copy does not count. If there are joint owners, one owner’s revocation does not affect another’s interest, and joint owners’ deed is revoked only if all living joint owners revoke.

That is why a seller or heir should search the land records for every deed, not only the first one. The most recent recorded instrument controls.