Leave your home to family, not probate
A transfer on death deed lets your California home pass straight to the people you name — without a court case, and without giving up any control while you’re alive. One missing witness or a missed recording window can void it, so we prepare it with the exact language the law requires and e-record it correctly the first time. Flat $325, all 58 California counties.
Meet Quinnie Do
Quinnie is a Registered Legal Document Assistant, a Registered IRS Tax Preparer, and a Commissioned Notary Public who has prepared and e-recorded thousands of California deeds across all 58 counties. Because she is also a notary, she can notarize your deed in the San Jose office and e-record it the same day. She serves clients in English and Vietnamese, with Spanish through an on-staff partner.
How a transfer on death deed avoids probate in California
A transfer on death deed is a recorded document that names who receives your home when you die, without transferring any ownership while you are alive. You keep full control — you can sell, refinance, or revoke it at any time — and at your death the home passes to your named beneficiaries without a probate case. It became available in California in 2016, and the requirements were updated in 2022.
The deed only works if it is prepared, witnessed, and recorded exactly as the law requires: notarized, signed before two adult witnesses who are not the beneficiaries, and recorded with the county within 60 days of notarization and before death. TruPoint Legal prepares the statutory deed with the correct property description and named beneficiaries and e-records it the same business day, in any of California’s 58 counties, for a flat $325. A California attorney typically charges $1,000–$2,000 for a single deed.
Prepared and reviewed by Quinnie Do, Registered Legal Document Assistant #268, Santa Clara County (verify ↗).
Is this deed right for your situation?
Recognize your situation below. You tell us the outcome you want; we prepare the deed for it.
Homeowners & seniors
Your home is your main asset and you want it to pass straight to the people you choose. This document names them now and keeps your full control until death.
Adult children & heirs
A parent wants you to inherit the family home without a court. This deed lets the property reach you after their death without a probate case.
Families with one main asset
A single home is the estate and a full trust feels like more than you need. This is the lower-cost way to keep that home out of probate.
A small mistake sends the home back to probate
This deed only works if it is executed and recorded exactly as California requires. When it isn’t, it can be ineffective — and the property lands in the very process it was meant to avoid.
Missing or wrong witnesses
The 2022 rules require notarization plus two adult witnesses who are not the beneficiaries. Skip a witness, or let a beneficiary witness the signing, and the document can fail.
A missed recording window
It must be recorded with the county within 60 days of notarization, and before death. Miss that window and it never takes effect.
Property that doesn’t qualify
It covers a primary home of one to four units or a single condominium. Rentals, commercial buildings, and vacant land do not qualify.
A beneficiary who dies first
If the named person passes before the owner and the deed is never updated, that share can lapse and the home may end up in probate.
Names that don’t match title
The owner’s name and the legal description must match the existing recorded title exactly, or the recorder may reject the filing.
Planning only for death
It does nothing if the owner becomes incapacitated. Many owners pair it with other documents — we explain the options and you choose.
What a transfer on death deed costs
Setting up a living trust to avoid probate typically runs more, and probate itself can cost a family thousands. For a single primary home, this deed is the lower-cost probate-avoidance option — and your exact total is confirmed before any work begins.
- Statutory deed drafted with the required witness and notarization language
- Legal description verified against your recorded title
- Your named beneficiaries and vesting handled correctly
- Same-day e-recording in any of 58 California counties, recorded copy returned
- When the owner passes, the beneficiary records an affidavit of death of transferor
- Filed with the certified death certificate — no court hearing
- We prepare and e-record this step for your family when the time comes
Optional add-ons — itemized, never bundled
This deed is not a sale, so documentary transfer tax does not apply at recording. County recording and government fees are collected at intake and remitted to the county on your behalf — they are not TruPoint fees. Your exact total is confirmed before we begin.
From call to recorded copy, in three steps
You start the intake
You tell us the property, who you want to inherit it, and how you hold title today on our online intake form. No hourly billing — your flat fee is set up front.
We prepare the deed
We draft the California statutory deed with the exact witness and notarization language, the correct legal description, and your beneficiaries. You sign with our in-office notary and two qualifying witnesses.
We e-record it
We record it with the county within the required window and return your recorded copy — same business day where the county records electronically, in any of California’s 58 counties.
Why a free form is the expensive option
The statutory form is free at county websites. The risk isn’t finding it — it’s completing, witnessing, and recording it so it actually works.
A common do-it-yourself mistake is having a beneficiary witness the signing, or missing the 60-day recording window entirely — so the document a family thought protected them has no legal effect, and the home lands in 9 to 18 months of probate. If the property description or the owner’s name doesn’t match the recorded title exactly, the recorder rejects it. We match it to your current title, prepare it to the county’s requirements, and e-record it inside the window — you decide who inherits, we make the document hold.
This deed passes one home. A living trust can cover everything.
A transfer on death deed is the simplest way to pass a single property without probate — and for many people that’s exactly enough. If you own more than one property, want to set conditions, or plan for multiple beneficiaries, a living trust does more. We prepare either one at your direction.
Transfer on death deed
- Passes a single primary residence to your named beneficiaries
- Fully revocable — you keep control and can change it any time
- Lower-cost path when a single home is the whole estate
Living trust
- Holds every property and other assets under one plan
- Lets you set shares, ages, and who manages it — and change them
- Covers incapacity and out-of-state property a single deed can’t
Not sure which fits? Compare a living trust, or talk it through — you decide, and we prepare whichever you choose.
Common questions about this deed
How do I leave my house to my kids without probate in California?
What is a transfer on death deed in California?
How much does a transfer on death deed cost in California?
Do I need witnesses for a transfer on death deed in California?
Is there a deadline to record a transfer on death deed?
What property qualifies for a transfer on death deed in California?
Which is cheaper — a TOD deed or a living trust?
Can I change or cancel a transfer on death deed?
What happens if my beneficiary dies before I do?
What does my beneficiary do after I pass away?
Can a Legal Document Assistant prepare a transfer on death deed in San Jose?
Also available in Tiếng Việt · Español · We speak English
Other ways we help you transfer a home
Get your situation reviewed — no obligation
Tell us about your home and who you want to inherit it. We confirm your flat fee up front, prepare the deed with the exact language the law requires, and e-record it in any of California’s 58 counties — often the same day.