Bulletin: OH2010001

Dear Associates:

Senate Bill 124 was signed by Governor Strickland on December 28, 2009 and takes effect immediately.  The bill changes the transfer on death (TOD) designation instrument from a deed to an affidavit, allows real property owners holding title in survivorship tenancy to execute such an affidavit and clarifies the status of a trustee of a trust as a TOD beneficiary and the dower rights of the spouse of the property owner. 

In addition, the bill requires a county recorder to accept for recording an instrument or document that does not conform to the format requirements without charging the additional $20.00 fees under existing law for incidental information not essential to the recording process or the legal validity of the instrument or document. 

Highlights of the Bill are as follows: SUMMARY 

• Changes the transfer on death designation instrument from a deed to an affidavit.
   
• Allows an individual who owns real property or any interest in real property as a survivorship tenant to execute a transfer on death designation affidavit.
   
• Allows an individual who together with the individual’s spouse owns real property or an interest in real property as tenants by the entireties (pursuant to a deed recorded between February 9, 1972, and April 3, 1985) to execute a transfer on death designation affidavit.
  
  
• Specifies the information that a transfer on death designation must include.
  
  
• Provides that any person who knowingly makes a false statement in a transfer on death designation affidavit or an affidavit of confirmation is guilty of falsification.
  
  
• Requires the county recorder to receive the transfer on death designation affidavit and cause it to be recorded in the same manner as deeds are recorded.
  
  
• Requires that the transfer of a deceased owner’s real property or interest in real property as designated in a transfer on death designation affidavit be recorded by presenting to the county auditor and filing with the county recorder an affidavit of confirmation executed by an transfer on death beneficiary to whom the transfer is made and specifies the information that must be contained in the affidavit of confirmation.
  
  
• Modifies the characteristics and ramifications that the real property or an interest in real property that is the subject of a transfer on death designation affidavit must have.
  
  
• Provides that the bill does not affect any deed that was executed and recorded prior to the effective date of the bill and does not affect any transfer on death beneficiary designation made pursuant to R.C. 5302.22 as it existed prior to the effective date of the bill.
  
  
• Specifies that a nontestamentary instrument includes, but is not limited to, a transfer on death designation affidavit.
  
  
• Requires a county recorder to accept for recording an instrument or document that does not conform to the format requirements without charging the additional fees under existing law for incidental information not essential to the recording process or the legal validity of the instrument or document.  Fees shall not be charged for page numbers, hand-written, typed or printed initials, bar codes, copyright information, trailing portions of signatures, plat description of any oil and gas well location or drilling unit or lease, or any other incidental information that is not essential to the recording process or to the legal validity of the instrument or document and that may appear in either of the side margins or in the bottom margin.  In addition, notary stamps and seals and any signatures and initials that may appear within the instrument or document need not satisfy the font size requirement. 

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Frank Long at 800-909-3574 or 614-818-1393 or by email at flong@stewart.com.
If you have questions relating to this bulletin, please contact your local underwriting personnel or Stewart Legal Services.

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