Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transfer On Death Deeds topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to require notice to municipalities when beneficiaries of transfer-on-death deeds die
Summary
The Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee heard testimony on SB 42, sponsored by Sen. Jim Gray, which would require beneficiaries of transfer-on-death deeds to file a death affidavit or similar notice so municipalities know when ownership has effectively changed.
The Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee opened a hearing on SB 42, sponsored by Senator James Gray, on a proposal that would require beneficiaries named on transfer-on-death deeds to file paperwork notifying municipal authorities when a beneficiary dies.
Supporters told the committee the bill corrects a gap created when the transfer-on-death deed statutes took effect and left no mechanism for municipalities to learn that a named beneficiary has died. That gap, they said, can leave property listed in municipal records under the wrong person and let exemptions or credits remain attached to properties no longer qualified.
“[T]he statute, when it went into effect, provided no mechanism for a community to be notified when the beneficiary of a debt deed passes away,” said Jimmy Schoer, who identified himself as “chief of staff” in his testimony. Schoer told the committee there are about 137 transfer-on-death deeds currently recorded in the state (two counties were not accessed in his count) and that municipalities need an administrative way to update ownership for tax billing, utility billing and land-use notifications.
Senator Gray, the prime sponsor, said the bill “requires beneficiaries of a transfer on death, to actually file some paperwork,” and framed it as a technical fix aimed at ensuring records reflect current ownership when a beneficiary dies.
Kate Horgan, testifying for the New Hampshire Association of Counties on behalf of registers of deeds, told the committee that registers of deeds worked with the New Hampshire Municipal Association on the draft language and “fully support it” and would hope the committee moves the bill forward.
Committee members asked practical questions about whether one transfer-on-death deed can cover multiple properties and whether the proposed requirement should compel beneficiaries to transmit the recorded deed to towns directly instead of filing a separate affidavit. Schoer said he had “not seen a deed transfer on death deed that process[es] more than one property” but acknowledged the statute could be drafted to reference multiple properties if recorded that way. He also said clerks and the Secretary of State’s office generally cannot share vital records that would otherwise notify municipalities of a death, making the affidavit a possible administrative solution.
No formal action was taken during the hearing. The committee closed the public testimony on SB 42 after supporters and a registers-of-deeds representative spoke. The bill will remain at the committee stage pending further consideration or amendment.
