Maryland's New Transfer on Death Deed Starts Oct 1 — What Agents Need to Know

Maryland's Transfer on Death deed becomes law on October 1, 2026 — and it changes how your clients can pass property to their kids without probate. In this month's CTN Legal Hour, Tom Rodden and Rhett Donnelly of Community Title Network break it all down. In this episode: Transfer on Death deeds — effective October 1, 2026 TOD deeds vs. life estates vs. adding the kids to title Why adding kids to title early can hand them a surprise tax bill Life estate deeds — with and without reservation of powers New Montgomery County jurisdictional addendum to the MR contract (Form 1322) The new MoCo disclosure & resale addendum that replaced the REA form The GCAR appraisal-contingency box agents keep missing Post-settlement occupancy — the 60-day cap Security deposit release timing & damage claims What happens when the seller moves out early Why the seller still has to hand over a key at closing Forest conservation easement disclosure errors HAMP second liens that don't show on mortgage statements Contract extensions for unmarketable title Tenants by the entirety vs. tenants in common Guardianship signing authority Chapters 00:00 Intro & open forum 01:15 Forest conservation easement disclosure errors (Type 1 vs Type 2) 06:24 HAMP second liens that don't show on mortgage statements 13:50 Unmarketable title on closing day: MR ¶49 vs GCAR extensions 19:36 Today's agenda 22:07 Deceased spouse on title: tenants by the entirety vs tenants in common 30:52 Guardianship: who signs when an owner lacks capacity 38:03 GCAR financing & appraisal contingency — the box agents miss 39:47 Montgomery County jurisdictional addendum (Form 1322) explained 45:22 Property condition date when there's a pre-inspection 49:10 New MoCo disclosure & resale addendum (REA form is gone) 55:13 Post-settlement occupancy: MR vs GCAR payment structures 57:15 Seller moves out early — does anything change? 63:59 Security deposit release timing & damage claims 68:12 The 60-day cap: license vs landlord-tenant 70:55 Keys at closing 71:44 Adding kids to title: the cost-basis trap 75:01 Life estate deeds — with and without reservation of powers 79:54 Transfer on Death deeds — effective October 1, 2026 85:01 Recording, race-notice & stepped-up basis 89:51 Wrap-up & October session ———————— Community Title Network provides residential and commercial settlement services across Maryland, DC, and Virginia. CTN Legal Hour meets the third Wednesday of every month — next session is in October. Have a contract question? Send it to Tom or Rhett and we'll cover it on the next Legal Hour. 🌐 Learn more: [CTN website] 📞 Contact: [phone/email] This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. #MarylandRealEstate #TitleCompany #TransferOnDeathDeed #PostSettlementOccupancy #MontgomeryCounty #GCAR #MarylandRealtors #RealEstateAgents #CTNLegalHour #CommunityTitleNetwork