Does California’s New “Revocable Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed” Increase Risk of Elder Abuse and Estate Costs?
Colleagues in California recently shared with me information on California’s adoption of statutory recognition of “Transfer on Death Deeds” or TODs under AB 139. The law was signed by the Governor on September 21, 2015 and became effective on January 1, 2016. The law includes “simple” forms, both for establishing the “revocable” transfer of title, and for any “revocation” of such a deed. Proponents of the legislation cite simplicity and low cost as advantages of using such deeds. The legislative history for the law explains:
The bill would provide, among other things, that the deed, during the owner’s life, does not affect his or her ownership rights and, specifically, is part of the owner’s estate for the purpose of Medi-Cal eligibility and reimbursement. The bill would void a revocable TOD deed if, at the time of the owner’s death, the property is titled in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship. The bill would establish priorities for creditor claims against the owner and the beneficiary of the deed in connection with the property transferred and limits on the liability of the beneficiary. The bill would establish a process for contesting the transfer of real property by a revocable TOD deed. The bill would make other conforming and technical changes. The bill would require the California Law Revision Commission to study and make recommendations regarding the revocable TOD deed to the Legislature by January 1, 2020.
Critics of the law, including California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), warn that despite the “simple” label, the appropriate use of such transfers in estate planning is anything but simple, and such deeds pose another opportunity for undue influence and manipulation of elders.
The spring issue of CANHR’s Advocate newsletter (available via subscription, following a “donation” to the organization) further comments:
It is important to note that thousands of California citizens who are 55 years of age or older and who have recently signed up for health care under California’s Medic-Cal expansion program will now have their estates subject to Medi-Cal recovery when they die. If their homes were transferred before their deaths, transferred to an irrevocable trust or if they transferred the property and retained an irrevocable life estate (another cheap, but effective way to transfer property) there will be no estate claim on the home. But, because the [new law’s] TOD is revocable and the transfer and the transfer of the property under a TOD does not occur until the death of the owner, these TODs are subject to estate recovery, which means that those same low-income elders, who are likely to execute TODs will also be more likely to be on Medi-Cal and thus [inadvertently] subject their estates to recovery.
CANHR is “embarking on a campaign to educate consumers about the impact” of the new California law.