When a Brooklyn family sits down to transfer the home they have owned since 1985 into a revocable living trust, the first question I ask is simple. Who, exactly, is on the deed? This usually prompts a frantic search through basement filing cabinets and safe deposit boxes for a faded, trifolded piece of paper. The family assumes that without this original physical document, their ownership is in jeopardy—or that their estate plan must grind to a halt.
You cannot pass on what you do not properly own. Securing a copy of your property deed is the foundational step of any deliberate estate plan, and obtaining it is simply a matter of accessing the municipal archives.
Locating the Public Record
Many homeowners believe the physical document they received at the closing table holds mystical power. If it is destroyed in a fire or lost in a move, they fear their legal claim to the property is compromised. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of property law. The original paper you take home is merely a receipt of a transaction immortalized in the public record.
Your ownership is validated by the recording of that instrument with the government. If you lose your original deed, you have lost a piece of memorabilia—not your property rights. We simply need to pull the official recorded copy to see precisely how your title is held.
If your property is located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx, retrieving a copy means accessing the Automated City Register Information System—commonly known as ACRIS. This digital database holds property records dating back decades. You can search ACRIS by party name, but the most precise method is searching by your Borough, Block, and Lot (BBL) number. Your BBL is the unique identifier the city uses for tax purposes, eliminating the confusion of searching for common surnames. Once you locate the correct conveyance document, you can view and print the recorded deed directly from your computer.
For properties in Staten Island, or if you are looking across the city limits into Nassau or Suffolk counties, the system changes. These jurisdictions do not use ACRIS. Instead, you must request the document through the local County Clerk’s office. Many of these offices now offer online portals, though older deeds may still require a written request or an in-person visit to the clerk’s records room.
Reading the Deed Through an Estate Planning Lens
Getting the document is only the first hurdle. Understanding what it dictates is where true legacy stewardship begins. Often, clients bring me a deed assuming they own the property entirely, only to discover an old business partner, a deceased relative, or a former spouse is still legally listed on the title.
This is where the exact phrasing becomes a matter of strict legal interpretation. Under New York EPTL § 6-2.2, a disposition of real property to two or more persons creates a tenancy in common unless it is expressly declared to be a joint tenancy.
If a deed simply reads “To Arthur and David,” they are tenants in common. If Arthur dies, his half does not automatically transfer to David. Instead, Arthur’s half-interest must pass through Surrogate’s Court and be distributed according to his will. If Arthur died without a will, his share passes to his blood relatives under the laws of intestacy. If the intention was for the survivor to take full ownership, the deed needed to contain the specific language of survivorship. Failing to recognize this distinction early on can destroy otherwise prudent generational planning.
If the deed says “Arthur and Mary, his wife,” New York law presumes a tenancy by the entirety. This is a special form of joint ownership reserved exclusively for married couples, offering built-in survivorship rights and creditor protection. But if Arthur and Mary divorce, that protection dissolves—they automatically become tenants in common. If the deed is never updated post-divorce, a subsequent death guarantees a complicated court battle.
Aligning the Title With Your Intent
When clients finally secure a copy of their deed, they often ask how we can simply attach a beneficiary designation to it. They read financial articles online suggesting they file a “Transfer on Death” (TOD) deed to automatically pass the house to their children while avoiding probate. New York does not recognize Transfer on Death deeds for real estate.
If you attempt to file a TOD deed here, the clerk will reject it. To pass real estate outside of probate in this jurisdiction, we must rely on deliberate mechanisms. In cases like this, we typically consider drafting a life estate deed, wherein you retain the absolute right to live in the home for the rest of your life, with the remainder interest passing to your children upon your passing. Alternatively, we might execute a new deed transferring the property into an irrevocable Medicaid trust, protecting the asset from future long-term care recovery while ensuring a smooth transition to your heirs.
A deed is not a static artifact. It is an active legal instrument that must constantly align with your broader estate plan. If you go through the effort of creating a revocable living trust to keep your family out of court, your house must actually be transferred into that trust. We call this funding the trust. I frequently review estate plans drafted decades ago where a trust was signed, but the deed to the primary residence was never updated to reflect the trust as the new owner. A trust holding no assets is legally valid but practically useless. The house remains in the individual’s name, and the family is forced to petition the Surrogate’s Court anyway.
Stewardship. That is the core of asset protection. It means verifying the details today so your family does not have to litigate them tomorrow. Before you assume you know exactly how your property is titled, pull the public record. Read the grantee clause. Confirm that the legal reality matches your intentions.
Bring your current property deed and your existing estate planning documents to our Madison Avenue office, and schedule a title and trust funding review so we can verify your real estate is properly aligned with your legacy goals.
