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Estate Affidavit Guide

Ohio Survivorship Affidavit

If a bank told you an account is frozen and didn't explain what that actually means, you're not stuck, and you're not the only one this has happened to. A probate attorney would typically charge $1,500–$4,200+ to walk you through exactly what Ohio law already lets you do yourself. This guide is $19, one-time, and covers the same ground — the eligibility rule, the official form, and what to say if a bank or clerk pushes back.

Ohio's survivorship affidavit — R.C. 5302.17, presented to the county auditor and recorded with the county recorder — is how a surviving owner puts the decedent's death on the record when a house was held under a survivorship deed. It applies only to property that already passed to the survivor at death, so there is no court, no cap and no waiting period: the survivor signs an affidavit reciting the other owner's name and address, the date of death and the legal description, and attaches a certified death certificate. The deed's wording decides whether it works. This is informational only, written by researchers, not attorneys.

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Why timing matters: No statute sets a deadline, but the deed's wording decides everything. A deed to "A or B" does not by itself create survivorship (R.C. 5302.20(A)), and survivorship ends if the tenants conveyed the property out from under it. Read the recorded deed before you pay for anything, because the affidavit cannot supply survivorship the deed never created. Miss the window and the estate is generally pushed into full probate instead — a probate attorney typically charges $1,500–$4,200+ for work this guide is built to help you avoid.

Ohio's Survivorship Affidavit — no dollar cap

Ohio's Survivorship Affidavit has no dollar ceiling — eligibility instead turns on the specific conditions R.C. 5302.17; R.C. 5302.20 sets out. There's no total to add up before you know whether it applies. Survivorship Affidavit is recorded at the county level — not filed with a court and not presented directly to a bank or DMV. There is no statewide form. County auditors, county recorders and law libraries post free blank affidavits of surviving joint tenant; R.C. 5302.17 lists what any of them must recite. See the how-to-file guide below for what the statute itself requires.

How to file, step by step

  1. 1

    Find and read the recorded deed

    Get the deed that put title in the decedent and the survivor from the county recorder. Look for survivorship wording — a conveyance to the grantees "for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them," or other language showing a clear intent. A deed to "A or B" does not create survivorship by itself (R.C. 5302.17, 5302.20(A)). View source →

  2. 2

    Check that the survivorship tenancy lasted until the death

    A conveyance by all of the tenants, or by all but one to the remaining one, ends survivorship, and a lien marshalling ordered by a court can turn it into a tenancy in common (R.C. 5302.20(C)).

  3. 3

    Find out whether the land is registered land

    Most parcels are recorded land. If the title is registered under Ohio's land registration chapter, the affidavit has extra recitals and must come with the owner's duplicate certificate of title (R.C. 5309.081). Ask the county recorder.

  4. 4

    Order a certified death certificate

    The statute requires a certified copy of the death certificate to accompany the affidavit (R.C. 5302.17).

  5. 5

    Get your county's blank form

    County auditors, recorders and law libraries post free forms (the Franklin County Law Library posts one). Compare it with the statute's four recitals before you use it. View source →

  6. 6

    Complete the affidavit

    State the names of the other survivorship tenant or tenants and their address, the decedent's date of death, and a description of the real property; most counties also ask for the parcel number and a reference to the recorded deed. For registered land add the certificate-of-title number.

  7. 7

    Sign it under oath before a notary

    The document is an affidavit; sign it before a notary public. The surviving tenant signs.

  8. 8

    Present it to the county auditor, then file it with the recorder

    The statute says the transfer is recorded "by presenting to the county auditor and filing with the county recorder" the affidavit and the certified death certificate. Start at the auditor's office, then the recorder; each county sets its own fees, and the recorder records the affidavit in the official records.

  9. 9

    Keep the recorded copy and update the related records

    Keep the recorded copy for any sale, refinance or insurance change. Ohio Legal Help warns that a homestead exemption does not transfer automatically to the survivor; ask the county auditor.

What it actually looks like

Sample pages from the guide

Real pages from the Ohio guide PDF. Click any page to enlarge.

Print-friendly, readable on a phone or tablet, and designed to be taken to the bank or clerk. Every operational claim cites the actual statute or official publication.

How this compares

Yes — the standard form Ohio families use is free (that's the Free standard form column below), though it isn't issued by the state itself. The $19 is for everything the free form leaves you to work out alone: the eligibility check, the filing sequence, and what to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back.

This guide Probate attorney Free standard form Doing nothing
Cost $19 $1,500–4,200+ $0 Eventually full probate, if the estate is never settled
Time to filed Same week 2–6 weeks If you can decode it alone Not until you act
Bank/DMV/clerk pushback script Yes Sometimes No n/a
Statute citations Yes n/a n/a n/a
Delivery time Instant download After consult + retainer Instant n/a

Attorney costs reflect typical Ohio probate-attorney retainers for this kind of filing.

The most-searched sticking point

What to do when a bank, DMV, or clerk pushes back

A facially valid filing still gets rejected on the first try more often than it should — usually because front-line staff have never processed one before, not because anything is actually wrong. This is the single biggest gap in every free state resource: none of them tell you what to actually say. The guide's Section 5 gives you the exact script and citation for each of these:

  • The recorder or auditor says the deed does not create survivorship
  • Office wants a certificate of transfer from the probate court instead
  • The land is registered land and the affidavit was refused
  • Missing a required recital
  • A title company or lender asks for more

Each one has a specific script and statutory citation behind it — not just "you're right, they're wrong," but exactly what to say and what document to hand over. That's in the guide.

If a bank, DMV, title company, or court clerk rejects your filing for a reason traceable to following this guide, you get a full refund.

Email the stated rejection reason to support@estateaffidavitguide.com within 30 days of purchase and we refund the full purchase price within one business day. No phone tag, no forms, no fight. Not covered: an estate that turns out to be over the dollar limit, a dispute among heirs, or a missing document unrelated to the filing itself. Changed your mind for any other reason? You have 7 days, no questions asked. Full refund policy.

Avoid these

6 common reasons filings get rejected

The deed does not create a survivorship tenancy
The conveyance must be to two or more persons for their joint lives and then to the survivor or survivors, or otherwise show a clear intent to do so. The word "or" between names does not by itself do it. — R.C. 5302.17; R.C. 5302.20(A)
Survivorship ended before the death
A conveyance from all of the survivorship tenants, or from all but one to the remaining one, ends the tenancy and vests title in the grantee; a court-ordered lien marshalling can turn the tenancy into a tenancy in common. — R.C. 5302.20(C)(2), (4)
No certified death certificate is attached
The affidavit must be accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate. — R.C. 5302.17
The affidavit omits a statutory recital
It must recite the other survivorship tenant's or tenants' names and address, the decedent's date of death, and a description of the real property. — R.C. 5302.17
Registered land without the title certificate
For registered land the affidavit must also certify the certificate-of-title number and come with the owner's duplicate certificate. — R.C. 5309.081
The affidavit was filed with the wrong county
The recorded transfer is presented to the county auditor and filed with the recorder of the county where the real property is located. — R.C. 5302.17

Before you record the Ohio Survivorship Affidavit

The recorded filing isn't automatically the end of the story — a title company or other relying party can still ask for more. This free one-pager has the real scenarios that come up after recording and what resolves each, emailed now. We'll also send a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

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Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is a survivorship affidavit in Ohio?
A sworn statement, with a certified death certificate, that a person who held real estate as a survivorship tenant has died, presented to the county auditor and recorded by the county recorder so the record shows the survivor holds the decedent's interest. The statute is R.C. 5302.17; counties call the form an "affidavit of survivorship," "affidavit of surviving joint tenant" or "affidavit of joint survivor."
Is this probate?
No. It applies to property that already passed to the survivor at the moment of death under a survivorship deed. No court is involved. The statute lets you record either this affidavit or a certificate of transfer from the probate court (R.C. 5302.17).
What does the affidavit have to say?
The statute requires it to recite the names of the other survivorship tenant or tenants, their address, the date of death of the decedent, and a description of the real property, accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate. For registered land, it must also give the certificate-of-title number and come with the owner's duplicate certificate (R.C. 5309.081).
My deed says "or" — does it still work?
Maybe not. R.C. 5302.20(A) says the word "or" between the grantees' names "does not by itself create a survivorship tenancy" and is read as "and." A deed with only "or" and no survivor language can leave the decedent's share to pass through the estate. The statute says language showing a clear intent to create survivorship is read liberally, so the full wording of the deed matters.
Is there a deadline?
No statute read for this guide sets one. Recording matters most when the property is sold or refinanced, because the county records still show the decedent as an owner until the affidavit is recorded.
What does it cost?
County auditors and recorders set their own fees under Ohio law, and no statewide figure was verified. You also pay for a notary and certified copies of the death certificate. No Ohio attorney-cost figure was sourced for this filing.
Do I need a lawyer?
The statute does not require one, and the affidavit has four statutory recitals. If the deed's wording is unclear, a survivor's share may be at stake, the land is registered land, or the decedent had other property, a licensed Ohio attorney is worth consulting.
Does it cover bank accounts?
No. R.C. 5302.17 is about real property. Joint and payable-on-death accounts are handled with the bank; Ohio Legal Help lists them among non-probate assets.
What about the part of the estate that is not the house?
Property the decedent owned alone is probate property. If it is $35,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when a surviving spouse takes everything, a release from administration (R.C. 2113.03) can move it. A survivorship home is a non-probate asset and Ohio Legal Help says to leave it out of that total.
Does recording it end a Medicaid estate recovery claim?
This guide did not research whether Ohio's Medicaid estate recovery program can reach survivorship-held real estate; do not assume the property is exempt. If the decedent or the survivor received Medicaid long-term care, check with the Ohio estate recovery program before you rely on the recorded affidavit.
Is this the same as a transfer-on-death affidavit?
No. A transfer-on-death designation is an affidavit an owner records while alive naming a beneficiary (R.C. 5302.22), and after death the beneficiary records an affidavit of confirmation (R.C. 5302.222). This guide covers only the survivorship affidavit.
Which Ohio filing applies to my situation?
As a rule of thumb: probate assets of $35,000 or less (or $100,000 or less when a surviving spouse is entitled to everything) point to a release from administration (R.C. 2113.03), a court application. A very small estate and a person who paid the funeral — no more than the lesser of $5,000 or the funeral bill, or a surviving spouse within $40,000 plus up to $5,000 — points to the summary release (R.C. 2113.031). A house the decedent held with a survivor under a survivorship deed is a different matter: it passed outside probate, and the survivorship affidavit (R.C. 5302.17) records it. The filings cover different property, and one family can need more than one. Probate assets above the limits need a full administration. This is informational only, not legal advice or a determination of which filing applies to your estate.
Does Ohio have a small estate affidavit?
Not under that name, as far as this research found. People search "ohio small estate affidavit," but the small-estate procedures read for this guide are court applications: a release from administration (R.C. 2113.03) and a summary release (R.C. 2113.031). The affidavits Ohio does have — a survivorship affidavit, a transfer-on-death affidavit of confirmation and an heir's affidavit for the auditor — record property that passed outside the court process.
Is an Ohio "affidavit of heirship" the same thing?
No single Ohio instrument goes by that name. R.C. 317.22 lets an heir present to the county auditor an affidavit giving the date and residence at death, the fact that the decedent died intestate, and each heir's name, relationship and share, so the auditor can move real estate that passed by descent into the heirs' names on the tax records; the recorder records it. R.C. 5301.252 allows an affidavit of facts affecting title, including heirship, to be recorded. Separately, Chapter 2123 lets the probate court determine who the heirs are, by a verified complaint and a civil-action process with service on the heirs. Whether a title company will insure on a recorded heirship affidavit without a court order was not verified. This guide does not cover those filings.
Can I get the title to a house with a certificate of transfer alone?
Sometimes. R.C. 2113.61(D) lets an heir or devisee apply to the probate court for a certificate of transfer of real property when no administration was had or is contemplated, and the application must state that the known debts are paid or secured (or that the estate is insolvent and the transfer is of the mansion house toward the spouse's allowance). The court issues the certificate within five days of an application that complies. The statute sets no dollar cap. It is not covered by a separate guide here.
What about a transfer-on-death deed or affidavit?
Those are not covered by this guide. An owner records a transfer-on-death designation affidavit while alive (R.C. 5302.22), and after death the beneficiary records an affidavit of confirmation with a death certificate (R.C. 5302.222). Ohio Legal Help describes the process.
Does Ohio require a lawyer for these filings?
No statute requires one for any of them. Courts are cautious about the court filings: Delaware County strongly recommends counsel and says deputy clerks cannot help prepare forms, and Cuyahoga warns incorrect filings are not refunded. County recorders and auditors cannot give legal advice on the survivorship affidavit.

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Primary sources

State sources

Every claim here cites the actual statute or an official publication — see them