Transfer on Death Deed for Bayfield County, Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notary, then recorded with the county before the owner's death. In Bayfield County, the Register of Deeds records it for $30 flat, regardless of page count.

Progress0%

Your Information

Enter your information as the property owner (transferor). If the property is jointly owned, you’ll add the second owner below.

How is the property owned?*

Choose “Jointly owned” if two people are on the title (e.g. spouses as joint tenants or tenants by the entirety). Both owners must sign.

I am the sole ownerJointly owned with one other person

First Name*

Middle Name

Last Name*

Street Address*

City*

State*

ZIP Code*

State Where Property Is Located*

County Where Property Is Located*

Email Address*

Phone Number*

Marital Status*

Wisconsin is a community property state. Marital status determines whether spouse consent may be required.

SingleMarriedDivorcedWidowed

FREE & PRIVATE: This form is free—no account or credit card required. Your document contents and generated PDF never leave your browser—SimplyTrust does not transmit or store them. Contact details you provide (name, email, phone, state) are transmitted only to send the updates you agree to receive at download. You are responsible for saving your completed document.

SELF-HELP SERVICE: SimplyTrust provides a self-help document preparation service. We are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice, select forms for you, or tell you how to complete forms. Our role is limited to providing a platform where you input your own information into document templates.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: This document was created entirely based on your selections. SimplyTrust does not review, analyze, or verify your entries, nor do we verify your identity, capacity, or authority to act. You are solely responsible for determining whether this document meets your needs and for completing all required execution formalities (signatures, witnesses, notarization, or recording) in accordance with your state's laws. For any legal questions, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Wisconsin prescribes no form. The deed identifies the property, names the beneficiary and states that the transfer takes effect at the owner's death.

A Wisconsin transfer on death deed is recorded with the Register of Deeds for the county where the property sits and must be on record before the owner's death to take effect. The designation is not effective unless the document, and any fees required to record it, are submitted for recording to the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located before the death of the sole owner or the last to die of multiple owners. Wis. Stat. 705.15(2)(c). After the owner's death, the beneficiary records the termination of decedent’s interest to put the death on the land records.

Co-owners may sign one deed together. Wisconsin requires the owner's spouse to join in the deed; the document carries the spouse's signature line.

Wisconsin passes the share of a beneficiary who dies before the owner to that beneficiary's descendants under its antilapse rule. The deed can name a successor beneficiary to take in that case. If a designated beneficiary does not survive the owner, a contingent beneficiary designated in this document takes in preference to any substitute.

The beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens and other encumbrances on it at death. Wisconsin can recover correctly paid medical assistance and long-term care benefits from property that passes by a TOD deed. The deed moves this parcel alone; a revocable living trust set up with SimplyTrust carries the rest of the estate.

Recording a Transfer on Death Deed in Bayfield County

A transfer on death deed for Bayfield County property is recorded with the Register of Deeds at 117 East 5th Street, Washburn, WI 54891. Phone: 1-715-373-6119. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM.

Recording costs $30 flat, regardless of page count; a 2-page TOD deed records for $30; TOD deeds are exempt from transfer tax. Page count, cover sheets, and any local transfer-tax add-ons can change the final amount, so confirm the total with the Register of Deeds before submitting. Bayfield County accepts e-recording through Simplifile.

Before recording, a Wisconsin transfer on death deed needs notary acknowledgment. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death to take effect.

If submitting by mail, use the office's mailing address: P.O. Box 813, Washburn, WI 54891. Include any required return envelope or recording cover sheet requested by the Register of Deeds.

After the owner's death, the beneficiary records the termination of decedent’s interest with the Register of Deeds to put the death on the land records: prepare it for Bayfield County.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 17, 2026

Legal Sources

Wis. Stat. 705.15
Wis. Stat. 59.43(2)(ag)
bayfieldcounty.wi.gov
simplifile.com

Data sourced from Wisconsin statutes and official state code and Register of Deeds primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.

Is this your situation?

Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.

New Home

How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.

Learn more

Retirement

Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.

Learn more

Free tools for planning your estate in Wisconsin: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for Wisconsin.

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Wisconsin authorizes transfer on death deeds: a recorded, revocable deed that passes real property at death outside probate.

Get the Answer

Do I Need a Vehicle TOD?

Wisconsin does not offer a transfer-on-death designation on a vehicle title; a vehicle passes by will, trust, joint title, or probate.

Get the Answer

How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?

Whether a gift owes federal gift tax, how much of the annual exclusion and lifetime exemption it uses, and whether Form 709 is due.

Calculate the Tax

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Wisconsin runs $3,320 to $4,980 and a simple will $981 to $1,962, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In Wisconsin, four years at a public university cost about $73,752 and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. average; no state estate or inheritance tax applies.

Calculate the Amount

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Wisconsin automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

Get the Answer

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

In Wisconsin, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and notarization is not required.

Check the Rules

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

Wisconsin recognizes a will signed under the law of the place where it was signed; a will signed in Wisconsin itself needs 2 witnesses, and notarization is not required.

Get the Answer

All Wisconsin tools

Wisconsin Estate Planning Resources

In-depth guides covering Wisconsin probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.

Transfer on Death Deed for Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Your Information

Is this your situation?

New Home

Retirement

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Wisconsin

Healthcare Power of Attorney

HIPAA Release

Financial Power of Attorney

Living Will

Last Will and Testament

Codicil to a Will

Tools for Planning Your Estate in Wisconsin

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Do I Need a Vehicle TOD?

How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

When you're ready, we're here.

Wisconsin Estate Planning Resources

Transfer on Death Deed for Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Your Information