diff --git a/backend/app/schemas/transaction.py b/backend/app/schemas/transaction.py
index 9194fee..5e29355 100644
--- a/backend/app/schemas/transaction.py
+++ b/backend/app/schemas/transaction.py
@@ -39,7 +39,15 @@ def transfer_rule_violation(
     return None
 
 
-class TransactionBase(BaseModel):
+class TransactionFields(BaseModel):
+    """A transaction's shape, without the rules that only make sense while
+    writing one. Reading goes through this: rows already in the database can
+    stop satisfying a write-time rule through no fault of their own — the
+    transfer_account_id FK is ON DELETE SET NULL, so deleting an account
+    leaves the transfers that pointed at it with no destination — and
+    refusing to serialize such a row would take the whole transactions list
+    down with it, leaving no way in the UI to find and delete the row."""
+
     account_id: int
     category_id: int | None = None
     transfer_account_id: int | None = None
@@ -57,6 +65,11 @@ class TransactionBase(BaseModel):
     def _capitalize_description(cls, value: str) -> str:
         return capitalize_first_letter(value)
 
+
+class TransactionBase(TransactionFields):
+    """The write-side shape: the fields plus the invariants a new or edited
+    row has to satisfy."""
+
     @model_validator(mode="after")
     def _validate_type_specific_fields(self) -> "TransactionBase":
         violation = transfer_rule_violation(
@@ -93,7 +106,7 @@ class TransactionUpdate(BaseModel):
         return capitalize_first_letter(value) if value is not None else None
 
 
-class TransactionRead(TransactionBase):
+class TransactionRead(TransactionFields):
     model_config = ConfigDict(from_attributes=True)
 
     id: int
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_transactions.py b/backend/tests/test_transactions.py
index 445cf0b..3426b22 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_transactions.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_transactions.py
@@ -378,3 +378,26 @@ async def test_update_rejects_a_category_on_a_transfer(client: AsyncClient, acco
     )
 
     assert resp.status_code == 400
+
+
+async def test_a_transfer_whose_destination_account_was_deleted_can_still_be_listed(
+    client: AsyncClient, account_id
+):
+    """Deleting an account nulls transfer_account_id on the transfers that
+    pointed at it (the FK is ON DELETE SET NULL), leaving a row that create
+    would reject. Refusing to *serialize* such a row takes the whole
+    transactions list down with a 500 — and with the list gone there is no
+    way left in the UI to delete the row and recover. Reading has to stay
+    possible; only writing is guarded."""
+    other = (await client.post("/accounts", json={"name": "Savings", "type": "savings"})).json()
+    created = await client.post(
+        "/transactions", json=_txn(account_id, type="transfer", transfer_account_id=other["id"], category_id=None)
+    )
+    txn_id = created.json()["id"]
+    assert (await client.delete(f"/accounts/{other['id']}")).status_code == 204
+
+    listing = await client.get("/transactions")
+
+    assert listing.status_code == 200
+    assert txn_id in [item["id"] for item in listing.json()["items"]]
+    assert (await client.delete(f"/transactions/{txn_id}")).status_code == 204