A Georgia beneficiary deed (formally called a transfer-on-death deed) costs $25 to record at the county clerk’s office. Attorney preparation fees vary by firm and were not verified to a specific amount by independent sources. The $25 recording fee is the only cost confirmed by primary sources. That low entry cost is why investors consider it. But the cost comparison that matters is not what the deed costs to file. It is what the deed costs when it does not work, when the beneficiary predeceases you, when the required post-death affidavit is never filed, when you become incapacitated and no one can manage the property, or when Medicaid comes looking after you die. A Georgia beneficiary deed carries specific costs: what you pay to record it, what you pay if it fails, and how that compares to a revocable trust.
How Much Does a Beneficiary Deed Cost in Georgia
A Georgia beneficiary deed costs $25 to record. That is the only cost most people see. What they miss is the post-death affidavit requirement (Georgia removed the fixed nine-month deadline for deaths on or after July 1, 2026), the lapse rule if the beneficiary dies first, and the fact that the deed does nothing if you become incapacitated. A beneficiary deed has a specific cost, and specific gaps in what it does not cover.
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What a Georgia Beneficiary Deed Is
A Georgia beneficiary deed (also called a transfer-on-death deed) is governed by O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 et seq., enacted by SB 420 and effective July 1, 2024. Under § 44-17-2(a), the deed transfers ownership of real property to a named beneficiary at the owner’s death without requiring consideration. The beneficiary receives no vested interest during the owner’s lifetime. The owner retains full control. They can sell, mortgage, or revoke the deed at any time. The deed has no effect until the owner dies. For a single-property owner with a clear successor and no incapacity risk, a beneficiary deed is a simple probate-avoidance tool. For a rental property investor, it is the wrong instrument for reasons that cost money to discover after the fact.
What a Georgia Beneficiary Deed Actually Costs
Recording fee: $25 flat statewide under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77. Minor e-recording surcharges ($0.50–$2.00) may apply in some counties. No PT-61 Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration is required at recording time. The deed creates a future, revocable interest, not a present transfer. A PT-61 is required post-death when the beneficiary files the acceptance affidavit. Attorney preparation: No specific flat fee is verified by independent sources. Advertised prices vary by firm. If you use an attorney to prepare the deed, expect to pay a preparation fee on top of the $25 recording cost. If you use a self-help document service, you carry the risk that the deed was drafted incorrectly. What the deed itself costs is not the problem. The problem is what happens when the deed does not perform as expected.
The Post-Death Affidavit Requirement
Georgia’s beneficiary deed does not transfer property automatically. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2(c) and (d), the beneficiary must record an affidavit confirming:
- The owner’s date of death
- The owner’s marital status at time of death
- The legal description of the property
For a death occurring before July 1, 2026, Georgia law required this affidavit within nine months or the property interest reverted to the decedent’s estate and went through probate. House Bill 413 (Ga. L. 2026, p. 15), effective April 22, 2026, removed that fixed deadline for a death occurring on or after July 1, 2026. There is no longer a set window the beneficiary must record the affidavit within. The affidavit still must be signed and recorded to complete the transfer; nothing forces a specific timeline for doing so anymore. A revocable trust does not require a post-death affidavit at all. The successor trustee takes over on the date of death. No affidavit. No court. A beneficiary deed still requires the affidavit. Georgia just no longer forces a fixed deadline for filing it.
What Happens If the Beneficiary Dies First
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-5, if the sole beneficiary predeceases the owner, the transfer lapses and is deemed revoked. Georgia’s anti-lapse statute (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-64) applies only to wills, not to TOD deeds. There is no automatic pass-through to the deceased beneficiary’s children or heirs. If you named your adult child as beneficiary and that child dies before you, the deed has no effect. The property goes through probate as if the deed never existed. You can name contingent beneficiaries or multiple beneficiaries to reduce this risk. But each change requires a new deed to be prepared, executed, and recorded.
One Deed Per Property
A beneficiary deed covers one property per deed. A rental property investor with three properties needs three separate deeds, each prepared, executed, notarized, and recorded separately. A revocable trust is a single document that holds an unlimited number of properties, in Georgia and in every other state where you own real estate. For a full breakdown of what transferring a property into a trust actually costs, see How Much Does It Cost to Transfer Property Into a Trust in Georgia. For a five-property portfolio, five separate beneficiary deeds add five separate failure points, five separate recording fees, five separate post-death affidavits to file, and five separate opportunities for the wrong outcome at the wrong moment.
No Incapacity Protection
A beneficiary deed does nothing during your lifetime. If you become incapacitated (through a stroke, dementia, or any other condition), the deed does not authorize your beneficiary to collect rent, pay property taxes, make repairs, sell the property, or refinance it. You are still the owner. The deed has not transferred anything yet. Without a trust with a successor trustee, your family would need to go to court for a guardianship or conservatorship to manage your rental properties while you are alive. That is a separate court proceeding, with its own attorney fees and timeline, that a revocable trust eliminates entirely.
The Medicaid Question — Unsettled in Georgia
If you are over 55 and you receive Medicaid long-term care services, Georgia’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) can make a claim against your estate after you die to recover what Medicaid paid. Whether a Georgia TOD deed protects against MERP clawback is genuinely unsettled as of 2024. Georgia’s MERP regulation (GAC 111-3-8) defines “estate” broadly, including property passing by “joint tenancy, right of survivorship, life estate, survivorship, trust, annuity, or any other arrangement.” That language is potentially broad enough to capture TOD deed transfers. No Georgia court or regulatory guidance has resolved this question under the 2024 statute. A revocable trust also does not guarantee MERP protection. But the trust offers planning tools a beneficiary deed does not: the ability to hold property in a subtrust with specific terms and the ability to restructure before a Medicaid application. If Medicaid planning is relevant to your situation, neither a beneficiary deed nor a revocable trust alone resolves the question. This requires specific Medicaid planning advice.
What a Revocable Trust Covers That a Beneficiary Deed Does Not
| Feature | Beneficiary Deed | Revocable Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Avoids probate at death | Yes, once affidavit is filed | Yes, automatically |
| Covers incapacity | No | Yes, successor trustee takes over |
| Covers multiple properties | One deed per property | All properties in one instrument |
| Covers out-of-state properties | Separate deed in each state’s format | One trust, deeds in each state |
| Anti-lapse protection if beneficiary dies first | No | Yes, successor beneficiary provisions |
| Protects against creditors | No | No (revocable trust = owner’s asset) |
| Medicaid recovery protection | Unsettled | Unsettled, requires separate planning |
| Cost | $25 recording fee + attorney prep | $3,000–$8,500 complete setup |
The beneficiary deed costs less at filing. The revocable trust costs less across a lifetime of property management, incapacity risk, and multi-property succession.
When a Beneficiary Deed Makes Sense
A beneficiary deed is appropriate for a narrow set of situations: a single property, a clear and healthy beneficiary, no incapacity risk, no multi-state holdings, and no Medicaid exposure. For most rental property investors in Georgia, none of those conditions hold cleanly. For a rental portfolio, even a two-property portfolio, a revocable trust is the structure that actually covers what needs to be covered. See Estate Planning for Your Real Estate Portfolio for a full overview of how the trust structure works for Georgia investors. For a cost comparison between a beneficiary deed and the full LLC-plus-trust structure, see Best Way to Hold Rental Properties in Georgia for Estate Planning. For a detailed head-to-head comparison, see Beneficiary Deed vs. Trust for Georgia Rental Properties. For the full pricing breakdown on a revocable trust, see How Much Does Estate Planning Cost for a Real Estate Investor in Georgia.
The Process
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Melissa Breyer
Georgia Estate Planning Attorney
Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs and drafts every plan at The Hive Law after the initial call. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Recording a Georgia beneficiary deed costs $25 statewide, a flat fee under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77. Minor e-recording surcharges may apply. Attorney preparation fees vary by firm. No PT-61 transfer tax is due at recording time.
Yes, but only once the beneficiary files a post-death affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-2(c) and (d). For a death before July 1, 2026, Georgia required that affidavit within nine months or the property reverted to the estate and went through probate. House Bill 413, effective April 22, 2026, removed that fixed deadline for a death on or after July 1, 2026. The affidavit must still be filed to complete the transfer, but no set window forces when. The probate bypass is conditional, not automatic.
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-17-5, the transfer lapses and is deemed revoked. The property falls back into your estate and goes through probate as if the deed never existed. You can name contingent beneficiaries to reduce this risk, but each change requires a new deed.
A beneficiary deed cannot cover multiple rental properties. Each beneficiary deed covers one specific property. A revocable trust is a single instrument that holds all properties under one document.
Whether a beneficiary deed protects against Medicaid estate recovery is genuinely unsettled as of 2024. Georgia’s MERP regulation (GAC 111-3-8) defines estate broadly enough to potentially capture TOD deed transfers. No court or regulatory guidance has resolved this under the 2024 statute. This requires specific advice from a Medicaid planning attorney.
A beneficiary deed does not help if you become incapacitated. A beneficiary deed has no effect during your lifetime. Your family would need a court-supervised guardianship or conservatorship, a separate proceeding that a revocable trust eliminates.
A Georgia beneficiary deed is not the same as a Lady Bird deed. A Lady Bird deed is not recognized in Georgia. Georgia enacted its own TOD deed law in 2024 (O.C.G.A. § 44-17-1 et seq.). Georgia does not recognize Lady Bird deeds.
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