House Bill 1793, known as the "Tennessee Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act," establishes a new chapter in the Tennessee Code Annotated that allows individuals to transfer property to designated beneficiaries upon their death through a "transfer on death deed." The bill defines key terms such as "beneficiary," "designated beneficiary," and "transferor," and stipulates that these deeds are revocable and nontestamentary. It outlines the requirements for creating a valid transfer on death deed, including the necessity for it to be recorded before the transferor's death, while ensuring that the transferor retains control over their property during their lifetime and that the designated beneficiary does not acquire any legal interest until the transferor's death.

In addition to establishing provisions for transfer on death deeds, the bill amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated to incorporate these deeds into existing laws, including a new subdivision in Section 31-7-112(a) and modifications to Section 66-24-101(a)(12) to clarify property descriptions. It also introduces a new subsection to Section 55-3-118, allowing vehicle owners to designate a beneficiary for title transfer upon death, and updates Section 55-6-101(a)(4) to replace "destroyed certificate" with "destroyed certificate or a subsequent transfer on death certificate of title." Furthermore, the bill adds a subdivision to Section 67-4-409(a)(1)(C) to include TOD deeds under certain tax provisions. The act will take effect upon becoming law for form preparation and rule promulgation, with substantive provisions applying starting July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 31-7-112(a), 31-7-112, 66-24-101(a)(12), 66-24-101, 55-3-118, 55-6-101(a)(4), 55-6-101, 67-4-409(a)(1)(C), 67-4-409