Transfer-on-death deed (Howell-pattern)
Passes your home straight to the person you name at your death — skipping probate. You keep full possession and use of it for life. Attorney-drafted.
What it is
A transfer-on-death deed lets you direct that real property — typically your home — passes to a named beneficiary at your death, outside the probate estate.
As of Kentucky's 2026 legislative session, Kentucky has not enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (URPTODA); there is no statutory "TOD deed" short form for real property in Kentucky law. The pass-at-death function is achieved instead through a custom-drafted deed combining a retained life estate (with full present possession and use during your lifetime) with a deferred-possession beneficiary clause — the kind of deed the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld in Howell v. Herald, 197 S.W.3d 505 (Ky. 2006).
What's in it
Property identification and legal description verification. Retained life estate clause. Deferred-possession beneficiary clause per Howell-pattern. Recording-ready format per KRS Chapter 382.
You separately pay the recording fee to the county clerk where the property is located.
Who needs it
Under Kentucky law, preparing a deed for someone else is the practice of law, so anyone who prepares a deed for you must be a lawyer authorized to practice law in Kentucky. An individual may still prepare a deed they are a party to, as the one giving or the one receiving the property, if they are not paid to do it and do not claim to be a lawyer. We do not provide a self-execute template for any deed.
The $99 covers Johnson Legal's intake processing and D. Elton Johnson's drafting and verification of the specific deed for your Kentucky property — recorded-ready format per KRS Chapter 382, structured under the Howell-pattern (retained life estate with deferred-possession beneficiary clause).
Kentucky authority
Primary authority (mechanism): Howell v. Herald, 197 S.W.3d 505 (Ky. 2006): the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld deeds that gave land to the owner's niece while reserving a life estate for the owner, holding them delivered even though the owner's lawyer still held them when the owner died, so the land went to her and not into his estate; delivery turned on the owner's words and acts, since intent alone is not delivery. Supporting statute: KRS 381.040 (estates may commence in future by deed). Note: As of Kentucky's 2026 legislative session, Kentucky has not enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (URPTODA) for real property (SB 34 (2026 RS) did not become law).
What happens after you start
Your draft is assembled from your answers, reviewed by D. Elton Johnson before delivery, and sent to you via secure one-time-use download link. The delivery includes the document itself, a Kentucky-specific signing instructions packet, and a receipt.
The information on this page is general — it is not legal advice for your specific situation. Bluegrass Cornerstone is a service of Johnson Legal PLLC, a Kentucky law firm. When you engage Cornerstone, you engage Johnson Legal PLLC under a standard attorney-client relationship.
