Deeds for Estate Planning: Warranty, Quitclaim, TOD, and Lady Bird
Choosing among deed types to fund trusts or transfer at death, and the title, tax, and Medicaid consequences of each.
What this guide covers
- Use warranty (or a proper trust-transfer) deeds over bare quitclaims where title insurance and warranties matter.
- Funding a personal residence into your own revocable trust preserves step-up and is protected from due-on-sale by Garn-St Germain.
- TOD deeds (~30 states) and Lady Bird deeds (a few states) avoid probate with retained control and a step-up; Lady Bird deeds aid Medicaid planning.
- Coordinate deed-based transfers with the trust so they do not fragment the plan.
The full guide includes the detailed analysis, worked examples, statutory citations, and related resources below.
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Educational reference, not legal advice. Prepared for licensed professionals as general reference; not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. Law varies by state and changes over time — verify transfer-tax figures and statutory citations against current primary authority. This resource was last updated 2026-07-31. Estateur is not a law firm.