You want things to be simple for your kids when you’re gone. A friend, a neighbor or someone at the bank says the easy way is to put your daughter’s name on the house, or add your son to your checking account. It sounds kind, it costs almost nothing, and it speaks to a real wish: I don’t want to be a burden on my kids.
The advice is half right. When you and your child own a house or an account together with what’s called a right of survivorship, your child takes it when you die without going through probate, the court process that transfers what someone owned in their own name. That part works, and it’s one of several ways to avoid probate.
Here’s what the advice leaves out. Adding your child to your deed doesn’t only decide who gets the house later. It gives your child a share of it now. That changes who has to sign to sell it, whose debts can reach it, and how taxes are figured when it’s sold. Missouri and Arkansas both offer tools that skip probate without giving anything away today, and we’ll cover those too.
Adding your child to your deed or bank account gives them a share now, not just at your death.
In Missouri, a deed to two unmarried people is a tenancy in common unless it expressly says joint tenancy, so adding a name may not avoid probate at all.
In Missouri, once your child co-owns the house, selling or refinancing takes their signature and their spouse’s, and their debts can reach it.
A gifted house generally keeps your original tax basis, while an inherited house generally gets a step-up to its value at death. That difference can mean a much larger tax bill when your child sells.
To get help paying bills without making your child an owner, use a convenience signer or a durable power of attorney.
A beneficiary deed or a payable-on-death account skips probate without giving anything away today, in both Missouri and Arkansas.
What joint tenancy with right of survivorship means
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship means two or more people own the whole property together, and when one of them dies, the others keep it automatically. The house or account doesn’t go through probate, and the will doesn’t decide who gets it. Whoever is left on the deed at the county recorder’s office, or on the signature card at the bank, owns it.
The other common way to own property together is called tenancy in common. Each owner has their own share, and when an owner dies, that share passes under their will or through probate. It doesn’t go to the other owner automatically.
The wording on the deed decides which one you have. In Missouri, when a house is deeded to two or more people who aren’t married to each other, they own it as tenants in common unless the deed expressly says joint tenancy. So a Missouri deed that simply adds your child’s name may not pass your share to your child at your death at all. Whatever state the house is in, it’s worth having someone read the actual wording.
Bank accounts usually work the way people expect. A joint account set up with survivorship goes to the surviving owner. You can read more about what passes outside probate. Survivorship does what people hope at death, but the ownership starts the day you sign.
What changes when your child’s name goes on the deed
A few years from now, you decide to sell the house or refinance it, and the title company says your son has to sign. So does his wife.
That’s because a joint tenancy is a present transfer of a real share in the property, not a note about who gets it later, as The Missouri Bar explains. That article lays out what changes in Missouri:
Selling or refinancing: every joint owner, and their spouses, must sign the deeds and contracts to sell the house.
Changing your mind: except for joint bank accounts, you can’t undo a joint tenancy without your child’s cooperation, and for a house, your child’s spouse’s cooperation too.
Your child’s money troubles: a jointly owned asset is subject to court judgments against every owner and can be lost in any owner’s bankruptcy.
It’s a gift: when you give someone property without receiving full value, the IRS counts it as a gift for federal tax purposes. The tax section below covers what that means.
Those points come from Missouri sources. If the house is in Arkansas, ask an attorney how the same questions work there. If there’s still a mortgage on the house, ask about that before changing the deed, too.
One more thing to know if long-term care might ever come up: federal Medicaid rules look back 60 months at assets given away for less than they were worth, so ask about this before you add anyone to a deed.
None of this means your child would ever do anything wrong. It means the house is now partly theirs, and the law treats it that way.
Adding your child to a bank account: owner or helper?
The reason may be practical: so my daughter can pay my bills if I’m in the hospital. The line on the bank’s signature card decides whether she’s a joint owner or a helper.
On a joint account with right of survivorship, any owner can take money out while you’re living, and the survivor takes the account when one owner dies, in both Missouri and Arkansas. In Missouri, if there’s ever a dispute over the account, opening it in that form is “conclusive evidence” that everyone meant the survivor to own it, unless there was fraud or undue influence. In plain words, saying later that your child was only on the account to help with bills is very hard to show.
Arkansas goes a step further for accounts opened on or after June 1, 2015. If the account papers don’t say what kind of ownership it is, Arkansas treats the account as joint with right of survivorship, unless the papers say the owners are married. What the account documents say is treated as conclusive evidence of what you meant, so read your signature card.
There are helper options that don’t make your child an owner. A convenience signer, sometimes called an agency or authorized signer, can deposit, withdraw and write checks without owning the money or getting it when you die, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB also notes that a helper can still misuse the account, so choose someone you trust. A power of attorney, a signed document that names someone to handle your money for you, keeps the account in your name with an agent helping. Not every bank offers a convenience signer, so ask yours.
The Missouri Bar answers the question directly. Asked whether to use a joint account for help writing checks, its answer is “No,” and it suggests a durable power of attorney or an agent on the account instead.
We also cover what happens to bank accounts in probate. The short version: a joint owner shares your money, and a signer does a job with it.
The tax side, in plain terms
For most families, putting a child on a deed means a tax form, not a tax bill. In 2026, gifts of up to $19,000 to one person generally don’t have to be reported, and the federal basic exclusion, the amount you can give over your lifetime and at death before gift or estate tax is owed, is $15,000,000. A gift above $19,000 to one person generally means filing Form 709, which is generally due April 15 of the year after the gift.
Timing differs between houses and bank accounts. The IRS says that with a joint bank account, the gift generally happens when your child withdraws money for their own use, not when their name goes on the account. With a house, the gift generally happens once the transfer of the share to your child is complete, and a tax advisor can tell you when that is.
The point that changes real dollars is basis. Basis is roughly what you paid for the house plus improvements, and it’s the number taxes on a sale are measured from. Two IRS rules matter here:
Property you receive as a gift generally keeps the giver’s basis (IRS Publication 551).
Property you inherit generally gets a basis equal to its value on the date of death, often called a step-up (26 U.S.C. 1014).
Here’s an example for illustration only, with round numbers. A parent paid $100,000 for a house that’s now worth $400,000. If the parent gave the whole house to their child, and the child later sold it for $400,000, the child’s basis would generally be $100,000, for a gain of about $300,000. If the child inherited the house instead, the basis would generally be the $400,000 value at death, for a gain of about $0. The example leaves out selling costs, improvements, the home-sale exclusion and other adjustments.
Adding a child as a joint owner gives away part of the house, not all of it, and how basis works for each share is a question for a tax advisor. Before you change a deed, talk to one, and bring the purchase price and your records of improvements.
Better tools in Missouri and Arkansas: beneficiary deeds and payable on death accounts
You can get the same result at death, no probate, without your child owning anything today.
In Missouri, that tool is a beneficiary deed. It’s a deed that names who gets the house and says it doesn’t take effect until you die. To work, it has to be signed and recorded with the county recorder of deeds before your death. Your child doesn’t pay anything and doesn’t even need to receive a copy. Until you die, the person you name has no rights in the property, and you don’t need their signature to sell or borrow against the house. If the person you named dies before you and is your child or other descendant, Missouri law generally passes their share to their own descendants unless the deed says otherwise; if no beneficiary survives, it goes to your estate.
Arkansas has a beneficiary deed too, which many people call a transfer on death deed. It’s valid only if it’s recorded in the county recorder’s office before you die. You can revoke it any time, as long as the revocation is signed and recorded with the county recorder before your death, and your will can’t change it. The person you name gets nothing until your death, and the house passes with any mortgage or lien still on it. You can also name backup beneficiaries.
Missouri beneficiary deed
Arkansas beneficiary (transfer on death) deed
Law
RSMo 461.025 and 461.031
Ark. Code 18-12-608
Where it’s recorded
County recorder of deeds, before death
County recorder’s office, before death
Your child’s signature to sell or borrow
Not needed
Child has no interest until your death
If the person you named dies first
Their descendants generally take their place if they’re your descendant; otherwise it goes to your estate
You can name backup beneficiaries in the deed
Bank and investment accounts have a matching tool. A payable on death account stays yours while you live and goes straight to the person you name when you die. In Missouri, an account can be registered with “pay on death to” or “transfer on death to” and the beneficiary’s name. In Arkansas, a POD account pays you during your life and the named beneficiary at death, and you can change the beneficiary while you’re living (Ark. Code 23-47-204). The Missouri Bar notes that these designations can be revoked, pass outside probate, don’t need the beneficiary’s consent to sell or mortgage, and aren’t a gift, because nothing transfers today.
These tools pass property, but they don’t erase debts. In Missouri, a deceased owner’s creditors keep rights to the value of property passed this way.
People bring me a deed they found online and ask if it’s enough. Sometimes it is. A transfer on death deed lets your house pass to the person you name without going through court, and you keep full ownership and can change your mind while you’re living. What I check is the rest of the picture: whether the deed actually got recorded with the county, whether it agrees with your will, what happens if the person you named dies before you, and whether you own property in another state.
Our guide to transfer on death deeds in Missouri and Arkansas goes deeper, and we also explain what happens when a beneficiary you named dies first. Some families use a living trust to handle everything in one place instead; we compare living trusts and wills and explain how to put a house into a trust. Both states’ beneficiary deed laws allow naming a trust as the beneficiary.
Matching what you want to the right tool
Here’s how common goals line up with the tools.
What you want
What adding your child does
What fits better
Skip probate on the house
Can work, but your child owns a share now
Beneficiary deed (Missouri) or transfer on death deed (Arkansas)
Someone to help pay your bills
A joint owner can withdraw for themselves and, on a survivorship account, inherits it
Convenience or authorized signer, or a durable power of attorney
Skip probate on a bank account
Works if it’s a survivorship account
Payable on death beneficiary
Keep things fair between your kids
The child on a joint account takes it, whatever your will says about splitting evenly
Name every child as a beneficiary, or plan it together
Stay in charge while you’re living
Your child’s share is theirs now
Beneficiary designations you can change
The fairness row deserves a closer look. If what you want most is for your kids not to fight over the estate, a joint account with one child can work against it. The Missouri Bar is plain that joint tenancy isn’t a substitute for a will. Families with stepchildren or a second marriage have more to sort out, and we cover that in our guide to estate planning for blended families.
A short conversation with an estate planning attorney can sort out which tool fits the house and each account. Bring the deed and your latest bank statements, and know what you’d like to happen to each one. It also helps to ask your bank whether it offers payable on death accounts and a convenience signer. If you’d like to talk it through, you can reach our office here.
Frequently asked questions
Does adding my child to my deed avoid probate?
It can for that house, if the deed is worded as joint tenancy with right of survivorship. In Missouri, a deed to two people who aren’t married is a tenancy in common unless it expressly says joint tenancy, and then your share doesn’t pass to your child automatically (RSMo 442.450). A beneficiary deed reaches the same goal without giving up ownership now.
Can I take my child off the deed later?
Generally not on your own. In Missouri, undoing a joint tenancy on a house takes your child’s cooperation and their spouse’s too, because it’s a present transfer, according to The Missouri Bar. A beneficiary deed is different: you don’t need the beneficiary’s agreement to revoke or change it in Missouri or Arkansas, though co-owners of the house may need to sign, and in Arkansas the revocation has to be recorded before your death. For an Arkansas house already in joint names, ask an attorney.
Will I owe gift tax if I put my child on my house?
Usually no tax, but possibly a form. In 2026, a gift of more than $19,000 to one person generally has to be reported on Form 709, and the federal basic exclusion is $15,000,000. A tax advisor can tell you whether you need to file and explain how basis works for the share you give.
What’s the difference between a joint owner and an authorized signer on a bank account?
A joint owner owns the money, can withdraw it and generally keeps it when you die. A convenience or authorized signer can pay bills and write checks without owning the money or inheriting it, according to the CFPB. Banks label these differently, so ask yours which it offers.
What is a transfer on death deed in Arkansas?
It’s the common name for an Arkansas beneficiary deed under Ark. Code 18-12-608. It names who gets the property at your death, must be recorded with the county recorder before you die, can be revoked any time, and gives the named person no interest until your death.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. The first-person passage about beneficiary deeds is an illustrative composite drawn from common situations; it does not describe a specific client. This article is attorney advertising and shares general information only, not legal or tax advice. Reading it or contacting our office does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different, so talk with a licensed attorney and a tax advisor about yours.
