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Rep. David Jenkins presents substitute to fix Georgia transfer-on-death deeds
Summary
The Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committee heard a substitute for House Bill 413 to clarify how transfer-on-death deeds operate — addressing affidavit acceptance, tax-form timing and unintended loss of homestead exemptions — and voted unanimously to pass it to the Senate floor.
Representative David Jenkins presented a substitute for House Bill 413 to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs during a late-night session, saying the measure refines a 2024 law on transfer-on-death deeds and fixes problems that have emerged in practice.
LaShay Calloway, an attorney with Calloway Law and member of the Georgia Real Estate Closing Attorneys Association, told the committee the deed allows property owners to name beneficiaries who can accept title after the owner dies without going through probate. "The transfer on death deed is a deed that allows people to transfer their property by signing a deed similar to a warranty deed," Calloway said.
Calloway and Jenkins said the substitute mainly clarifies procedural details that have caused unintended consequences. She explained that acceptance requires an affidavit filed with a death certificate and that the timing of filing the PT-61 transfer-tax form is central: when the PT-61 is filed with the deed, tax officials have treated the property as already transferred, which in some cases has led to homeowners inadvertently losing their homestead exemptions. "That's how they're inadvertently mistakenly losing their homestead right right now," Calloway said.
Committee members asked routine and practical questions. Senator Kemp asked how a beneficiary accepts a transfer; Calloway said the beneficiary files an affidavit and a death certificate with the clerk. On whether the homestead exemption moves to a beneficiary, Calloway answered no: the exemption is tied to the person and does not transfer with title at acceptance.
The presentation also distinguished transfer-on-death deeds from joint tenancy with rights of survivorship and noted benefits for heirs: because title does not transfer until acceptance, beneficiaries typically retain the step-up in tax basis they would otherwise receive at death. Calloway said the substitute also adds flexibility — for example, alternate beneficiaries and clearer revocation-by-sale language — and was drafted with input from industry stakeholders including Fidelity National Financial, the Georgia Association of Realtors and the clerks' offices.
After discussion the committee moved and seconded passage of the substitute. Senator Kemp moved to pass the substitute for House Bill 413 (LC 492832S); Senator Howard seconded, and the committee approved the measure by voice vote, the chair saying it "carries unanimously." The committee record shows the bill will proceed to the Senate floor for further consideration.
