Revoke a Transfer on Death Deed in California

By recording a revocation. Probate Code §5644 provides the statutory form: you sign it in front of two witnesses who are both present at the same time, have your own signature notarized, and record it with the county recorder where the property sits. The witnesses do not need to be notarized. It must reach the recorder within 60 days of notarization. Nothing else revokes a TOD deed on its own — not a letter to the beneficiary, not a will, not tearing up your copy.

No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. A TOD deed cannot be revoked by will, and leaving the property to someone else in your will does not override it. The recorded deed controls. People discover this after a death, when the will says one thing and the county record says another, and the record wins.

The revocation has no effect and the original TOD deed stays in force. You are not barred from trying again — you would sign and notarize a fresh revocation and record that one inside its own 60 days. The risk is the gap: if you die during a period when the old deed is live and the revocation was never validly recorded, the beneficiary you meant to remove inherits.

Yes — two, both present at the same time, witnessing you sign or acknowledge the form. This requirement was added in 2022. Their signatures do not need notarizing; yours does. Choose witnesses with no interest in the property. A beneficiary can technically witness, but doing so invites exactly the kind of challenge you are trying to avoid, so use neutral people.

Do not rely on it. The dissolution judgment settles who owns what between you, but it does not reach into a recorded TOD deed and rewrite it. The safe course is to revoke, or record a new TOD deed naming someone else. If the judgment also awarded you the property outright, you may need a divorce transfer deed as well — send us the judgment and the recorded deed and we will tell you which documents apply.

No. A TOD deed only affects the share owned by the person who signed it, and a revocation works the same way — it cancels your deed only. If a co-owner recorded one on their interest, theirs stands until they revoke it themselves. Each owner acts separately, and we prepare each revocation separately.

It depends on what you want to end up with. If you want the property to pass under your trust or your will instead, revoke. If you simply want a different beneficiary, a new recorded TOD deed supersedes the old one — though recording a revocation first removes any argument about which controls. Both are $325. Tell us the outcome you want and we will tell you which route gets there.

Usually yes, and it is a loose end we see often. If the property was deeded into the trust, the TOD deed has nothing left to act on — but the stale record still sits there, and a title company will raise it. If the property was never actually deeded in, you may have a TOD deed and an unfunded trust pointing in different directions. Send us both and we will tell you what needs recording.

No. A TOD deed transfers nothing during your lifetime, so revoking it transfers nothing either — there is no change in ownership and no reassessment. That is different from actually deeding the property to someone, which can trigger reassessment depending on who receives it. We are not tax advisors; if you are considering a lifetime transfer instead, speak to a CPA first.

Yes, at the same flat fee — what matters is where the property is. The complication is the witnesses: you need two people physically present with you at signing, plus a notary. From another state, any notary licensed where you live. From abroad, the acknowledgment is normally taken at a U.S. embassy or consulate — and you must arrange the two witnesses yourself, which some consulates will not provide. Tell us where you are signing and we will plan the 60 days around it.

We prepare the revocation within 24 hours of intake, and once it comes back signed and notarized we e-record it the same business day in counties that accept electronic recording. Because the 60-day clock starts at notarization, not at signing intent, do not sign it early and sit on it — sign when you are ready to send it straight back.

You can — the §5644 form is a public statutory form and self-help centers have it. Where people come unstuck is not the form: it is the legal description copied off the tax bill instead of the recorded deed, the witness requirement missed entirely, the recording reference to the original TOD deed left blank, or the 60 days quietly expiring. Any one of those and the revocation fails, usually without anyone noticing until it matters.

The recorded TOD deed you want to revoke — or the property address and APN so we can pull it — and your name exactly as it appears on it. If a title company or escrow officer asked you to clear the deed, send their written note; it tells us exactly what they need to see. Intake takes about ten minutes and nothing is charged until we confirm the flat fee.

A flat $325, quoted before you pay anything, plus the county recording fee at cost — typically $40 to $130 depending on the county and page count. There are no court fees, because nothing is filed with a court. If you need a new TOD deed or a trust transfer deed alongside the revocation, we quote the set together.

Not for the document. Preparing and recording a statutory revocation is document work a California Registered Legal Document Assistant does at your direction under Business and Professions Code §6400. TruPoint Legal is LDA #268, registered and bonded in Santa Clara County. An attorney is the right call if someone is disputing the deed, if there is a question about capacity or undue influence, or if the transferor has already died — those are contested matters we cannot handle.

No. A revocation only works during the transferor’s lifetime, and a TOD deed cannot be revoked after death by anyone — not the family, not the executor. What happens next depends on the deed and the estate, and if you believe the deed was invalid or obtained improperly, that is a matter for a probate attorney rather than a document preparer. If the deed was valid, the beneficiary usually records an affidavit of death to complete the transfer, which we can prepare.