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Source of Title Blog

Ohio Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit: Life Estate and the Remainder
by Robert Franco | 2018/09/16 |

This issue has come up three times over the past couple of weeks and it has me a bit perplexed.  Can an owner designate as beneficiaries in his Transfer of Death (TOD) Designation Affidavit one beneficiary to receive a life estate and another to receive the remainder?  In two cases, I had clients that wanted such a result, in another someone sent me a TOD Designation Affidavit that purported to designate one beneficiary as a life tenant and another as remainderman.  I did a little reading and I'm not certain it works... but I think it probably should.

Source of Title Blog ::

In Ohio, R.C. § 5302.22 states that "any individual who, under the Revised Code or the common law of this state, owns real property or any interest in real property as the sole owner, as a tenant in common, or as a survivorship tenant, or together with the individual's spouse owns an indivisible interest in real property as tenants by the entireties, may designate the entire interest, or any specified part that is less than the entire interest, in that real property as transferable on death to a designated beneficiary or beneficiaries by executing, together with the individual's spouse, if any, a transfer on death designation affidavit as provided in this section."

Among the requirement for a TOD Designation Affidavit is "if less than the entire interest in real property is to be transferred on death under the affidavit, a statement of the specific interest or part of the interest in the real property that is to be so transferred."  The reference to a "part of the interest," sure makes it sound like an owner can designate something other an a fee simple absolute interest - a life estate is a "part that is less than the entire interest" in real property.  And, this doesn't seem like an unusual thing to want to do. 

Certainly, an owner can make a present transfer of a life estate to one person, and designate the remainder to another.  An owner can also make a similar testamentary disposition of the property by will to be effective upon his death.  So, why not allow the same thing to be done by TOD Designation Affidavit? 

R.C. § 5302.23 specifies that "an interest of a deceased owner shall be transferred to the transfer on death beneficiaries who are identified in the affidavit by name and who survive the deceased owner or that are in existence on the date of the deceased owner's death.  If there is a designation of more than one transfer on death beneficiary, the beneficiaries shall take title to the interest in equal shares as tenants in common, unless the deceased owner has specifically designated other than equal shares or has designated that the beneficiaries take title as survivorship tenants."  It does not include an option for multiple designated beneficiaries to take take title to different estates, such as a life estate and a remainder.  

So, on one hand the statute seems to broadly permit creating such an interest, but on the other it narrowly specifies how multiple beneficiaries take title upon the death of the owner.  The two statutes are somewhat contradictory.  

Personally, I do not think there should be a problem creating such a designation.  It is simple, and apparently people want to be able to do it as part of a probate avoidance estate plan.  Maybe this was an oversight when the legislation was drafted, and they just didn't anticipate this creative use.  Or, perhaps they did consider it and they decided that this was too complicated to do without the oversight of the probate court.  I am not sure.

But, I have decided to err on the side of caution and if I do attempt to create such an affidavit for a client it will come with a stern warning that it may not be effective, which could result in a probate estate.  Of course, I will add the same distribution scheme to the will, just in case.   

Have any of you seen a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit creating a life estate and remainder?  Do other states account for this in their statutes?  Do you think it's authorized by the Ohio statute?

 

 




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Categories: Ohio Legislation, Real Estate Law

1009 words | 8593 views | 1 comments | log in or register to post a comment


I don't think a Life Tenancy can be created by TODDA
I think there is a problem with doing this. R.C. 5302.23(B)(6) states as follows:
"A fee simple title or any fractional interest in a fee simple title may be subjected to a transfer on death beneficiary designation."

Further, R.C. 5302.23(B)(7)(a) states as follows:
"A transfer on death beneficiary takes only the interest that the deceased owner or owners of the interest held on the date of death, subject to all encumbrances, reservations, and exceptions."

1) Given that a life estate is neither a fee simple interest, nor a fractional interest in a fee simple interest; and,
2) Given that the affiant did not have a life tenancy or a remainder interest in the premises, and the beneficiaries named in the affidavit take only the interest the deceased had:
The beneficiaries must take fee simple title and cannot take a life tenancy or a remainder interest.
 
by Keith Barton | 2022/10/19 | log in or register to post a reply
Source of Title Blog

Robert A. FrancoThe focus of this blog will be on sharing my thoughts and concerns related to the small title agents and abstractors. The industry has changed dramatically over the past ten years and I believe that we are just seeing the beginning. As the evolution continues, what will become of the many small independent title professionals who have long been the cornerstone of the industry?

Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE

 

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