Ohio Survivorship Affidavit Checklist: How to File, Step by Step

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. Either way, R.C. 5302.17; R.C. 5302.20 is what sets out what a compliant filing must contain. Here is the full sequence, with the statutory fact behind each 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.

Who publishes the form, and what the statute requires

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. Whichever version you use, the requirements above — read directly against R.C. 5302.17; R.C. 5302.20 — are what a compliant filing has to satisfy.

Recording it is only step one

A recorded filing doesn't always finish the job on its own — some mechanisms still need a follow-up step before a sale or transfer can actually close. Free one-pager: the real scenarios that come up after recording and what resolves each, emailed now. Then a few short follow-ups over the next few weeks — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

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