What does a survivorship affidavit do?

It removes a deceased co-owner from the title of property held with right of survivorship, confirming the surviving owner now holds full title. It is recorded with the county along with a death certificate.

Does it avoid probate?

Yes, for that property. Survivorship property passes outside the will by operation of law, so the affidavit simply updates the record. Probate is not needed just to transfer that title.

What do I file with it?

A certified copy of the death certificate, and in many counties a preliminary change of ownership or tax form. The county recorder where the property sits handles the filing.

Survivorship Affidavit: Clearing Title After a Co-Owner Dies

General information, not legal advice. Recording rules and extra forms vary by county, and only property held with a survivorship right qualifies. Check with the county recorder, or a real estate attorney, before you file.

Here's the deal: when two people own property together with a right of survivorship and one dies, the survivor already owns it all by law, but the public record still lists the person who died. A survivorship affidavit, recorded with the county along with a certified death certificate, corrects that record so the title reads in the survivor's name alone. Draft one below.

Draft a survivorship affidavit ↓

Survivorship affidavit draft generator

Enter the survivor, the deceased co-owner, how title was held, and the property. The tool builds a draft with a notary block. Nothing is stored.

What the deed has to say first

Everything here hinges on one detail buried in the original deed: how the co-owners held title. If it reads joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy by the entirety, which is the version reserved for married couples, or community property with right of survivorship, then survivorship applies and this affidavit is the right tool. If instead the deed says tenancy in common, there is no survivorship, the deceased owner's share passes through their will or their heirs, and this affidavit will not work; that situation needs probate or an heirship route. So before anything else, pull the deed and read the vesting language. People often assume that owning a home "jointly" carries survivorship automatically, and sometimes it does not, which is a hard thing to discover only after a spouse has died.

Why no probate is needed here

Survivorship property is the classic example of an asset that skips the will entirely. The moment one joint owner dies, full ownership vests in the survivor by operation of law, not because a will says so and not because a judge orders it. That means you are not really transferring the property at all; you are updating a record to reflect a transfer that already happened automatically. The affidavit and the attached death certificate are simply the county's proof of the death and of the survivorship right, so the recorder can clear the deceased name from the chain of title. This is why it is fast and cheap compared with probate, and why banks and title companies accept it readily for qualifying property.

Recording it the right way

The affidavit only does its job once it is on record. After you sign it before a notary, you take it, together with a certified copy of the death certificate, to the county recorder for the county where the property is located. Many counties bundle in an extra form at this point, often a preliminary change of ownership report or a transfer-tax declaration, and skipping it can hold up the recording, so ask the recorder what accompanies the affidavit. Fees are modest. Keep a stamped copy, because the next time the survivor sells or refinances, the title company will want to see that the deceased owner was properly cleared from the record, and having it on hand saves a scramble later.

Questions that come up

What does a survivorship affidavit do?: It removes a deceased co-owner from the title of property held with right of survivorship, confirming the survivor now holds full title. It is recorded with the county along with a death certificate.
When can I use one?: Only when title was held with a survivorship right, such as joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy by the entirety, or community property with survivorship. Tenancy in common does not qualify.
Does it avoid probate?: Yes, for that property. Survivorship property passes outside the will by operation of law, so the affidavit updates the record. Probate is not needed to transfer that title.
What do I file with it?: A certified copy of the death certificate, and in many counties a change-of-ownership or tax form. The county recorder where the property sits handles the filing.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on property recording practice. Vesting rules and county forms vary; confirm with the county recorder or a real estate attorney before relying on this.