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Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

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I. REVOCATION BY SPOUSE NOT IN TITLE<br />

If a spouse not in title joins in a TODD, may the spouse revoke the TODD<br />

before it becomes effective?<br />

The TODD statute allows a Grantor Owner to revoke a TODD at any time<br />

before it becomes effective.<br />

Authority: Minn. Stat. § 507.071, Subd. 10.<br />

A spouse who is joining in a TODD solely for the purpose of conveying<br />

the spouse’s statutory or marital interests in the property is not a Grantor<br />

Owner or Owner as defined in Minn. Stat. § 507.071, Subd. 1, clauses (c)<br />

or (d), respectively. A spouse not in title who joins in a TODD is not<br />

allowed to revoke the TODD at a later date.<br />

PRACTICE TIP: To preserve the right of a joining spouse not in title to<br />

revoke a TODD, the spouse should insist on becoming a Grantor Owner<br />

before signing the TODD. But see <strong>Section</strong> III.J. RESERVATION OF<br />

MARITAL RIGHTS, below.<br />

J. RESERVATION OF MARITAL RIGHTS<br />

Does a TODD convey title subject to the marital rights of a surviving<br />

spouse?<br />

When a TODD becomes effective, it conveys title subject to all effective<br />

conveyances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens,<br />

security pledges, judgments, tax liens and other encumbrances made by<br />

the Grantor Owner or to which the property was subject during the<br />

Grantor Owner’s lifetime, including but not limited to, any claim by a<br />

surviving spouse.<br />

Authority: Minn. Stat. § 507.071, Subd. 3.<br />

This language might cause some confusion regarding marital rights after a<br />

TODD becomes effective. The Real Property <strong>Section</strong> Legislative<br />

Committee (RPSLC) will be proposing some technical amendments in the<br />

2014 Legislative session to avoid any confusion. In the meantime, the<br />

RPSLC takes the position that a spouse who signs a TODD releases all<br />

marital and statutory rights at the time of signing the TODD. These<br />

marital rights are not revived when the TODD becomes effective.<br />

The language referring to a claim by a surviving spouse would apply to a<br />

situation where the spouse did not sign the TODD, in which case the<br />

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