Passing Your Home to Heirs in New York: The Basics

In New York, a home passes at death in one of four main ways: by the deed itself (joint ownership with survivorship), by a transfer-on-death deed under Real Property Law § 424, through a trust, or through your will or the state’s intestacy rules in Surrogate’s Court. The first three can let the house skip probate; a will cannot, and with no will at all the law decides who gets it.

Co-op apartments are different because you own shares, not a deed, so the board and the proprietary lease have a say. This is general information; an estate attorney should review your situation before you sign anything.

The four ways a house passes

1. Joint ownership with survivorship

If you hold title as joint tenants with right of survivorship or, for married couples, as tenants by the entirety, the survivor owns the whole home automatically. New York presumes a deed to spouses creates a tenancy by the entirety unless it says otherwise, and that presumption also covers co-op shares and the proprietary lease for transfers on or after January 1, 1996 (EPTL § 6-2.2). Two or more unmarried people on a deed are presumed to be tenants in common, which has no survivorship: each share passes through the owner’s estate. Check your deed on ACRIS and see ways to hold title in New York.

2. The transfer-on-death (TOD) deed

New York’s Real Property Law § 424 lets an individual record a deed that transfers real property to named beneficiaries effective at death. The statute was last revised in 2024. It works like a beneficiary designation for a house:

• It must have the elements of a regular recordable deed and state that the transfer happens at your death.
• Two witnesses must sign while present at the same time, and you must acknowledge it before a notary.
• It must be recorded before you die. An unrecorded TOD deed does nothing.
• You need the same mental capacity as for a will.
• Beneficiaries don’t have to be told or accept it while you are alive, and they can renounce it later.
• During your life it changes nothing: you can still sell or mortgage the home, your creditors keep their rights, and the beneficiary has no interest.

Other rules worth knowing:

• If a beneficiary dies before you, that gift lapses; if you named several, the lapsed share goes to the others in proportion to their shares.
• If you owned the home jointly with survivorship, the surviving joint owner takes it first; the TOD deed applies only when the last owner dies.
• If your probate estate can’t pay your debts and expenses, the estate can make a claim against the TOD property within 18 months of death.
• Mortgages and liens stay on the property. The beneficiary takes the home subject to them, with no warranty of title.

3. A revocable living trust

You sign a trust, then deed the home to yourself as trustee. You keep control and can change the trust at any time. At death, your successor trustee transfers or sells the home under the trust’s instructions without probate. A trust handles things a TOD deed can’t: young or disabled beneficiaries, staggered gifts, backup heirs and managing the home during incapacity. It costs more to set up, and the deed transfer must actually be done. For a co-op, moving shares into a trust usually needs board consent.

4. A will (and what happens without one)

A will names who gets the home and who will handle the estate, but the home still goes through probate in Surrogate’s Court. Without a will, New York’s intestacy law decides:

That can leave a surviving spouse co-owning the family home with the children. New York’s small-estate procedure (personal property of $50,000 or less) does not apply to real property, so a house almost always needs full probate or administration if it was in the person’s sole name with no TOD deed or trust.

Co-op apartments: shares, not a deed

A co-op owner holds shares in the building corporation plus a proprietary lease. When the owner dies, the shares pass under the will, a trust or intestacy, but the heir does not automatically get to live there. The proprietary lease and bylaws control who may take over. Leases differ: check whether yours has special rules for a spouse or family member, and what board approval a new shareholder or occupant needs. Read your lease now, ask the managing agent what the board requires from heirs, and tell your executor. If heirs plan to sell, they usually still need board approval for the buyer; see selling a co-op.

Taxes your heirs should know about

• Stepped-up basis. The IRS sets an heir’s basis at the home’s fair market value on the date of death (or the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it). If the heir sells soon, there may be little or no capital gain. One exception: if the heir or their spouse gave the property to the person within a year before death, the old basis carries over. Model a later sale with the capital gains calculator.
• New York estate tax. An estate must file if the gross estate plus certain gifts is over the basic exclusion amount: $7,160,000 for 2025 deaths and $7,350,000 for 2026 deaths. Because of New York’s “cliff,” estates just over the line can owe tax on the whole estate; see inheriting a house in New York for the details.
• Federal estate tax. The IRS filing threshold is $15,000,000 for 2026 deaths.

A simple planning checklist

1. 1

   Find your deed or stock certificate

   Look up how title is held on ACRIS (houses and condos) or check your co-op share certificate and proprietary lease.
2. 2

   Decide who should get the home

   Name backups. Think about whether one heir will live there and others want cash.
3. 3

   Pick a method

   TOD deed for a simple one-house plan; a trust for minors, blended families or co-ops; a will as the backstop for everything else.
4. 4

   Plan for the mortgage and carrying costs

   Debts stay on the home. If you have a reverse mortgage, heirs must repay it or sell; see our reverse mortgage guide.
5. 5

   Sign, record and store

   Record any TOD deed or trust deed before death, keep copies with your will, and tell your executor where they are.
6. 6

   Review after big life events

   Marriage, divorce, a death, a sale or a refinance can all change what you need.

Recorded documents are public, so keep an eye on your property records. Read how to protect your home from deed theft.

When to see an estate attorney

• Your estate may be near the New York estate tax threshold.
• You own a co-op, a multi-family house with tenants, or property in more than one state.
• An heir is a minor, has a disability or receives public benefits.
• You are in a blended family or expect a dispute.
• You are thinking about Medicaid planning for long-term care.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.