Who will prevail when a mother records a deed conveying a vacation cabin to her daughter, daughter dies before the reunion, and the daughter’s will leaves the cabin to a best friend?

• A. The best friend, because the mother recorded the deed.
• B. The best friend, because the mother’s intent is evidenced by a valid deed in writing.
• C. The mother, because there was no actual delivery to the daughter.
• D. The mother, because the daughter’s death voids the transfer.

Answer: (A)

Delivering a deed and the effect of recording are the core ideas. When someone signs a deed and it is delivered to the grantee with present intent to transfer, the transfer is effective. If, as in this scenario, the deed is recorded to the daughter, that recording is treated in many jurisdictions as delivery to the grantee and serves to fix the daughter’s title immediately, even though the grantor may still be alive. Once the deed has been recorded, the daughter holds title, and her subsequent death doesn’t void that transfer; it simply becomes part of her estate.

Because the daughter’s will disposes of the cabin, the property passes according to the will. The will leaves the cabin to the best friend, so the best friend receives the cabin. The key idea is that recording the deed to the daughter constitutes delivery for transfer purposes, so the daughter’s ownership is fixed and then passes under her will to the named beneficiary.