How to Complete and Record an Affidavit of Death Form

To complete and record an affidavit of death, you fill out the county’s affidavit form using details copied exactly from the recorded deed and the certified death certificate, sign it before a notary under oath, and submit it to the county recorder in the county where the property is located along with a certified death certificate and the recording fee. The form itself is usually one or two pages, available from the county recorder’s office, and recording generally costs between $10 and $85 depending on the county.

When This Form Is the Right Tool

An affidavit of death only works when the ownership was already set up to pass the property automatically at death. It documents a transfer that the ownership structure itself created; it does not create one. If the deceased held the property in their sole name with no survivorship arrangement, the property goes through probate and this affidavit will not help.

The arrangements that qualify are joint tenancy with right of survivorship, community property with right of survivorship (available in about ten states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Washington), a life estate with a remainder interest, and a transfer-on-death deed naming a beneficiary. In each case, the survivor or beneficiary uses the affidavit to put the death on the public record so the chain of title is clean for a future sale, refinance, or transfer.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull everything together before you sit down with the form. A single missing piece usually means a rejection or a second trip to the recorder’s office.

  • Certified death certificate. Every recorder requires a certified copy with a raised seal or official stamp from the vital records office, not a home photocopy. Order it from the state or county vital records office where the death occurred. Fees typically run $15 to $25 per copy. Order several: banks, insurers, and other institutions will each want their own.
  • The recorded deed that created the ownership interest. This is the deed that put the deceased on title and established the joint tenancy, community property designation, life estate, or transfer-on-death arrangement. You’ll need the recording information from it — volume and page number or instrument number, the date it was recorded, and the county where it was filed.
  • The full legal description of the property. Copy it exactly from the deed. Legal descriptions come in different formats: lot and block references like “Lot 15, Block 3, Sunset Hills Subdivision,” or metes and bounds descriptions with compass bearings and measurements. Match the deed word for word. Small discrepancies can cloud the title.
  • The assessor’s parcel number (APN). Some counties require it on the affidavit or on a cover sheet. Find it on your property tax bill or on the county assessor’s website.
  • Your government-issued photo ID. You are the affiant, the person swearing to the facts. The notary will check your ID, and the form will ask for your name and your relationship to the property or the deceased.

Filling Out the Form

Most county recorder offices provide blank affidavit-of-death forms, often as downloadable PDFs. Legal document services and office supply stores carry them too. If the property was held in a living trust, use the “Affidavit of Death of Trustee” version rather than the joint-tenant form. The trustee version has fields for the trust name, the date it was executed, and the identity of the successor trustee.

Whichever version you use, expect the form to ask for the same core information:

  • Decedent’s full legal name, entered exactly as it appears on the recorded deed. If the deed says “Robert James Smith” and the death certificate says “Robert J. Smith,” note both names and clarify they are the same person. Name mismatches are one of the most common reasons recorders flag documents.
  • Date of death, taken from the certified death certificate.
  • Place of death — the city, county, and state where the person died.
  • Legal description of the property, copied verbatim from the deed. Do not paraphrase, abbreviate, or “clean up” the language.
  • Recording information for the original deed, meaning the volume and page or instrument number and the county where it was recorded. This lets anyone tracing title connect the original deed to your affidavit.
  • Your information as affiant, including your relationship to the deceased or the property and a statement that the facts in the affidavit are true.

Check every entry against the deed and the death certificate before you sign anything. Recorders will not correct your document for you. They will either reject it or record it with the error, which creates a title problem you will later have to fix with a corrective affidavit.

Getting the Affidavit Notarized

You must sign the completed affidavit in front of a notary public. For an affidavit, most jurisdictions require a “jurat,” meaning the notary administers an oath or affirmation and you swear the contents are true under penalty of perjury. This is different from an “acknowledgment,” where the notary only confirms the signer’s identity. Look at your form: if it uses language like “subscribed and sworn to before me,” it calls for a jurat.

Bring your government-issued photo ID. The notary verifies your identity, watches you sign, administers the oath, and applies their official seal and signature. Without the seal, the recorder will reject the document. Notary fees are regulated by state law and generally run $5 to $15 per signature. Mobile notaries who travel to you charge more.

Misrepresenting facts on a sworn affidavit is perjury and carries criminal penalties. If you are uncertain whether the property actually qualifies for a survivorship transfer, or whether other claimants may exist, talk to a real estate attorney before signing.

Recording It With the County

Submit the notarized affidavit to the county recorder (sometimes called the register of deeds) in the county where the property is physically located. Most counties give you three options:

  • In person. Walk the document into the recorder’s office. Staff review it on the spot, and you usually walk out with a recorded copy the same day.
  • By mail. Send the original notarized affidavit, the certified death certificate, a check for the recording fee, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. The recorded original typically comes back in two to six weeks.
  • Electronic recording. A growing number of counties accept documents through third-party e-recording platforms. Individual filers can often use these services, though you will need to upload scans in a specific format and pay a small service fee on top of the recording fee.

Formatting Requirements

Recorders are strict about formatting, and a violation can mean rejection at the counter. Rules vary by county, but common standards are white paper in 8½-by-11-inch size, black or blue ink, a minimum 10-point font on the first page, and at least half-inch side margins. The top of the first page usually needs a reserved space, often about 2½ inches on the right side, for the recorder’s stamp. Your name and return address go in the upper-left corner. Check your county recorder’s website for its specific formatting guide before you print the final version.

Fees and Any Supplemental Forms

Recording fees vary widely. Some counties charge as little as $10 for the first page, while others charge a flat $40 or more per document, and many add a small surcharge per additional page. Call the recorder’s office or check its website for the current fee schedule.

Some states require a change-of-ownership or tax form to accompany the affidavit. In California, for example, a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report must be filed with every conveyance recorded at the county recorder’s office. Ask the recorder what supplemental forms are needed when you call about the fee.

If the Property Was in a Trust or Under a TOD Deed

When the deceased held the property as trustee of a living trust, the successor trustee files an Affidavit of Death of a Trustee. It adds fields identifying the trust by name and date, names the successor trustee, and references the deed that transferred the property into the trust. A certified death certificate is still required.

When the property was held under a transfer-on-death deed, the named beneficiary files the affidavit. Some states add a notice requirement: the beneficiary must send written notice, along with copies of the deed and death certificate, to the deceased owner’s heirs before or shortly after recording. Check your state’s transfer-on-death deed statute for any notice obligations. Skipping this step can expose you to legal challenges from heirs who were not informed.

After the Affidavit Is Recorded

Once the recorder accepts the affidavit, it is stamped with an instrument number and date and indexed in the public record. From that point on, anyone searching title will see that the deceased owner’s interest has been documented as terminated and that the survivor holds clear title.

Recording is not the finish line. A few follow-ups usually matter:

  • Update property tax records. Contact the county assessor so the ownership change is reflected on future tax bills. Some states set a deadline; in California, for instance, it is 150 days from the date of death.
  • Notify your mortgage servicer. If there is an outstanding loan, tell the lender about the death. Federal law generally prevents a lender from calling the loan due solely because a joint-tenant co-borrower has died, but you still need to keep payments current and update the account records.
  • Update homeowner’s insurance. Make sure the policy reflects the current owner. A policy in a deceased person’s name can create coverage gaps.

Tax and Creditor Issues to Know About

When you inherit a property interest through survivorship, the tax basis of the inherited portion resets to fair market value on the date of death. This “step-up in basis” is established under 26 U.S.C. § 1014.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If you later sell, you report the sale on Schedule D of Form 1040 and Form 8949. If you receive a Schedule A to Form 8971 from the estate’s executor, your reported basis must be consistent with the estate tax value shown there, or you can face an accuracy-related penalty.2Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances

Property tax reassessment is the other issue to watch. In many states, a death that changes ownership can trigger a reassessment to current market value. Some states offer exclusions for transfers between spouses or between parents and children, but these often require a separate claim form filed within a set deadline. Do not assume the exclusion applies automatically. Ask the county assessor which forms to file and when.

Property that passes by right of survivorship generally stays out of the probate estate, so ordinary creditors of the deceased typically cannot reach it through the probate claims process. The protection is not absolute everywhere. Medicaid estate recovery programs in some states can pursue claims against property that passed outside probate, depending on state law. If the deceased received Medicaid benefits, check with a local attorney before assuming the property is free and clear.

One more limit worth knowing. The affidavit creates a presumption of death in the public record, but it is not a court order. If someone challenges the validity of the joint tenancy, the competence of the deceased when the original deed was signed, or whether the property actually belonged to the deceased, recording the affidavit does not resolve that dispute. Contested ownership situations still end up in court.