When an Affidavit of Death is used
- Joint tenancy. The surviving joint tenant records an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant.
- Spouses. When a spouse dies and the home was held as community property with right of survivorship, the survivor records an Affidavit of Death of Spouse.
- Trusts. When the trustee dies, the successor trustee records an Affidavit of Death of Trustee.
- Transfer on death deeds. The beneficiary records an Affidavit of Death of Transferor.
What you’ll need
A certified copy of the death certificate, the property address, and your contact information. We pull the current deed and legal description and prepare the affidavit and county forms. You sign it in front of a notary, and we record it with the death certificate attached.
When it isn’t enough
If the home was in the person’s name alone, with no trust and no transfer on death deed, it usually has to go through probate or another court process before a new deed can be recorded. That’s work for an attorney. If we can’t prepare your document, you get every dollar back.
Property taxes
Transfers between spouses, and some transfers from parents to children, can keep the old property tax base, but some require a claim form filed by a deadline. Your county assessor’s office can tell you what applies. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
How it works
- Buy and tell us who and where. Checkout takes about a minute. We need the property address and how the new title should read.
- We research and prepare. We pull the current deed and legal description, then prepare your document and the county forms.
- Notarize, and we record. Sign in front of a notary (free at our Redding, Roseville, or Sacramento office, or at most banks), upload it, and we e-record it with your county. The recorded copy comes back by email.