An Arkansas beneficiary deed lets you name someone to receive your real property when you die, without probate. You fill out the statutory form, sign it in front of a notary, and record it with the county recorder before your death. Creating the deed costs nothing; recording it runs $15 to $20 in most cases. You keep full control of the property while you’re alive and can revoke or replace the deed whenever you want.
What the Deed Does (and Doesn’t Do) While You’re Alive
Under Arkansas Code 18-12-608, a beneficiary deed transfers your ownership interest in real property to a named person, but only upon your death. Until that moment, the beneficiary has no legal rights to the property. You can sell it, mortgage it, lease it, or do anything else an owner would normally do, and the beneficiary cannot interfere.1Justia. Arkansas Code 18-12-608 – Beneficiary Deeds – Terms – Recording Required
When you die, ownership passes automatically to the beneficiary, subject to any mortgages, liens, or encumbrances that exist at the time of your death, whether they were created before or after you signed the deed. The beneficiary takes the property with its debts.
If you sign more than one beneficiary deed for the same property, the one you signed last before your death controls, even if an earlier deed was recorded first.
Information to Gather Before You Fill Anything Out
Pull your current deed first. You need the full legal description of the property, which uses metes-and-bounds measurements or lot-and-block numbers to define the boundaries. Copy it exactly. A street address is not a legal description and will not work. If you can’t find the deed, the county recorder’s office or your title insurance company can provide a copy.
You also need your own full legal name and mailing address exactly as they appear on the current deed, and the full legal name of each beneficiary. If you name more than one beneficiary, decide how they should hold title. Joint tenants with right of survivorship means that if one beneficiary later dies, the survivor automatically gets the deceased beneficiary’s share. Tenants in common means each beneficiary’s share passes through their own estate.
Filling Out the Statutory Form
Arkansas law provides a statutory form that your deed must substantially follow. The form states that for a non-monetary, intangible consideration, you convey the described property to your named beneficiary effective on your death.1Justia. Arkansas Code 18-12-608 – Beneficiary Deeds – Terms – Recording Required
At the top, include the required notice stating that the deed must be recorded before the grantor’s death to be effective. Fill in the grantor’s name and address, the beneficiary’s name, and the complete legal description. Leave room at the bottom for your signature and the notary’s acknowledgment.
One gap in the statute is worth planning around. The law does not say what happens if your named beneficiary dies before you do. Unlike a will, there is no built-in mechanism that redirects the property to the beneficiary’s heirs. If your beneficiary predeceases you and you don’t execute a new deed, the property may end up passing through your estate anyway. Name an alternate beneficiary, or review the deed periodically to confirm your chosen recipient is still living.
If You Own the Property With Someone Else
If you own property with someone else as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, both owners can sign a single beneficiary deed naming a beneficiary to receive the property after the last surviving owner dies. The deed takes effect only when the final owner passes.
If only one joint owner signs, the deed is valid only if that person happens to be the last surviving owner. If the non-signing owner outlives the signer, the deed is completely invalid, and the property stays with the survivor with no beneficiary designation. For certainty, both owners should sign.
Signing in Front of a Notary
The grantor must sign the deed in front of a notary public, who then completes an acknowledgment certificate confirming your identity and that the signature is genuine. Arkansas Code 16-47-207 provides standard forms for the notary’s certificate. The beneficiary does not sign and does not need to know the deed exists.
Notaries are available at most banks, shipping stores, libraries, and law offices, and fees vary. Notarization is not optional. Without it, the recorder will not accept the document, and an unrecorded deed is invalid.
Recording the Deed With the County
Recording is the step that makes the deed legally effective. A beneficiary deed that is not recorded before the grantor’s death has no effect at all. File the completed, notarized deed with the county recorder in the county where the property is located.
Fees
Arkansas charges a uniform recording fee of $15 for the first page and $5 for each additional page. Most beneficiary deeds fit on one or two pages, so expect $15 to $20.2Justia. Arkansas Code 21-6-306 – Recorders
Formatting
The recorder will reject documents that don’t meet formatting standards. Your deed must be on 8.5-by-11-inch paper, with a 2.5-inch margin at the top right of the first page for the recorder’s file stamp, half-inch margins on the sides and bottom of all pages, and a 2.5-inch margin at the bottom of the last page. The document must be legible and include the title of the document and the names of the grantor and grantee.3Justia. Arkansas Code 14-15-402 – Instruments to Be Recorded
The recorder has discretion to waive these requirements for good cause, but a non-conforming document that gets accepted anyway carries an extra $25 fee.
Recording by Mail
If you record by mail rather than in person, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can return the original recorded document. Call the recorder’s office first to confirm they accept mail submissions; procedures vary by county.
Changing or Revoking the Deed
You can revoke a beneficiary deed at any point during your lifetime. The process mirrors the original filing: sign a revocation instrument, have it notarized, and record it in the same county where the beneficiary deed was filed. The revocation must be recorded before your death or it has no effect.
Arkansas provides a statutory revocation form. It identifies the original deed by its recording information (book, page, or instrument number) and states that you revoke it. You don’t need a reason, and you don’t need to tell the beneficiary. To swap in a different beneficiary, you can record a new beneficiary deed at the same time.
If multiple owners signed the original deed but only one owner signs the revocation, the revocation works only if that person is the last surviving owner. The safest route is to have all original grantors sign.
What the Beneficiary Does After You Die
Ownership transfers automatically at death, but the beneficiary still needs to update the public record. That usually means obtaining a certified death certificate from the Arkansas Department of Health or the county where the death occurred, recording an affidavit of survivorship along with the certified death certificate at the county recorder’s office where the property is located, and contacting the county assessor to redirect future property tax bills.
None of this requires probate. The beneficiary handles it directly with the county.
Taxes
Property received through a beneficiary deed gets a stepped-up tax basis under federal law. The beneficiary’s cost basis for capital gains purposes is the property’s fair market value on the date of your death, not what you originally paid.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent
That matters when property has appreciated. Say you bought your home for $80,000 and it’s worth $250,000 when you die. Gifted during your lifetime, the recipient inherits your $80,000 basis and owes capital gains tax on $170,000 of appreciation at sale. With a beneficiary deed, the basis resets to $250,000, and the beneficiary owes nothing if they sell at that price.
Arkansas imposes a real property transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration on transactions exceeding $100.5Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Real Property Transfer Tax Because a beneficiary deed involves no monetary consideration, this tax generally does not apply to the transfer at death.
Medicaid Estate Recovery
If you’ve received Medicaid benefits, particularly for nursing facility care, the state may seek to recover those costs from your estate after you die. Federal law requires states to pursue recovery for recipients age 55 and older who received nursing home or home-and-community-based services.6Medicaid.gov. Estate Recovery
The Arkansas Department of Human Services has indicated that assets passing directly to a beneficiary outside of probate may not be subject to estate recovery claims.7Arkansas Department of Human Services. Your Guide to Medicaid Estate Recovery in Arkansas Federal law also prohibits estate recovery when the deceased is survived by a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child of any age. Medicaid rules are complex and can change, and federal law lets states expand their definition of “estate” for recovery purposes. If Medicaid recovery is a concern, talk to an elder law attorney before executing a beneficiary deed.