Property Title · Deed Recording

Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant

When a co-owner or spouse passes away, you may already own the home — but their name stays on the title, which can block a sale or refinance until it’s cleared. We prepare your affidavit and e-record it the same day, for $325 plus recording costs.

Get Started Today Call (408) 766-3532
Same day
E-recorded in all 58 California counties
$325
Published fee, no hourly billing
LDA #268
Registered & bonded in Santa Clara County
Surviving husband embracing his wife at home after losing a joint owner
Recorded for you
Prepared, notarized, and e-filed

What happens after you click

  1. A ten-minute form online — the property and the date of death. No payment to start.
  2. We review it, confirm your fee, and email a secure payment link.
  3. You sign with any notary in California, another state, or overseas and send the certified death certificate — you never come to our office.
  4. E-recorded with your county the same business day — stamped copy emailed to you.

An affidavit of death of joint tenant is $325, plus your county’s recording fee and any add-ons you choose. No probate and no court filing — the surviving owner is shown on record once it is recorded. See every fee →

What it is

An Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant is a document recorded with the county when one owner of jointly held real property dies. Because joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship, the surviving owner already owns the property outright — but the deceased owner’s name stays on the title until this affidavit is recorded, which can stall a sale or refinance. TruPoint Legal prepares the affidavit, attaches the certified death certificate, and e-records it the same day in any of California’s 58 counties — for $325 plus recording costs, with no probate and no attorney retainer.

Family members comforting one another after the death of a co-owner
Why it matters

You may own it already — but the title says otherwise

With a right of survivorship, the home passes to you automatically the moment a co-owner dies. The public record, though, still lists the person who passed — and until that name is cleared, the property’s marketability is impaired.

  • A sale or refinance can stall while the deceased’s name is on title.
  • Title companies and lenders want recorded proof of the death first.
  • Recording the affidavit clears it — no probate, no court.

It’s a straightforward filing, and getting it on record is what lets you move forward on your own terms.

How it works

Three steps, and the title is yours alone

1

We confirm how title is held

We review the current deed to confirm the property is held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

2

We prepare the affidavit

We draft the affidavit, attach the certified death certificate, and arrange notarization for the surviving owner.

3

We e-record it for you

We submit it to the county the same day through electronic recording, then send you the recorded copy.

What you’ll need

A short list, and we take it from there

  • A certified copy of the deceased co-owner’s death certificate.
  • The current recorded deed, showing how title is held — we can pull it for you.
  • The property address — we’ll locate the legal description.

Clearing title is often one step among several. We can prepare what comes next, too:

Property title report Deed Transfer Living Trusts Probate
Who prepares it

Every affidavit is prepared and reviewed by Quinnie Do, a registered and bonded Legal Document Assistant, #268 in Santa Clara County — with service in English and Vietnamese, and Spanish through an on-staff partner.

Verify LDA #268 (.gov) CALDA member profile

Using the documents abroad?

If a death certificate or the recorded affidavit needs to be used in another country — for foreign property, banks, or family overseas — our affiliate Fingerscan Digital provides apostille certification.

Fingerscan apostille
Loved ones holding hands together while settling a jointly owned family home
Peace of mind

Handle the home when you’re ready

There’s no rush the moment a loved one passes. But when you’re ready to sell, refinance, or simply put the title in your name alone, we make that step calm and clear.

Published pricing, plain answers, and the recording handled for you. If more than one property is involved, we prepare an affidavit for each.

Talk with us
Published pricing

Know the price before we begin

Affidavit preparation
$325 per affidavit

Includes drafting the affidavit and attaching the certified death certificate. No documentary transfer tax applies to this filing. We confirm everything at your free consultation before any work begins.

Optional add-ons
Same-day e-recording$50
Notary, per signature$15
Title report$30
BOE$100
Homestead$15
Documentary transfer taxNot owed

County recording fees are collected at intake and remitted to the county on your behalf. The fees shown are TruPoint Legal’s preparation fees only.

Common questions

Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant, answered plainly

What is an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant?
It’s a document recorded with the county that removes a deceased co-owner’s name from the title to real property held in joint tenancy. Because joint tenancy includes a right of survivorship, the surviving owner already owns the property — recording the affidavit simply clears the record, without probate.
When do I need to record one?
Whenever a person who co-owned California real property as a joint tenant passes away and you want clear title — to sell, refinance, or hold the home in your own name. Until it’s recorded, the deceased owner’s name stays on the public record.
Does this avoid probate?
Yes. Property held in joint tenancy passes automatically to the surviving owner through the right of survivorship, so that property does not go through probate. The affidavit is simply how the public record is brought up to date.
What documents do you need from me?
A certified copy of the death certificate, the current recorded deed showing how title is held, and the property address. If you don’t have the deed or legal description, we can locate them for you.
How much does it cost?
Preparation is $325, and no documentary transfer tax applies to this filing. Optional add-ons such as same-day e-recording ($50) or notary ($15 per signature) are listed upfront, and county recording fees are collected at intake and remitted on your behalf.
How long does it take, and can you record it the same day?
Once we have your documents, the affidavit is prepared quickly, and we can e-record it the same day in any of California’s 58 counties. You’ll receive the recorded copy back for your records.
Who signs the affidavit?
A person with knowledge of the death — typically the surviving owner — signs it in front of a notary, confirming the co-owner’s death and the right of survivorship. We prepare it for signing and can arrange notarization.
We owned the home as husband and wife — is this the right form?
Often, yes. If spouses held title as joint tenants, this affidavit clears the deceased spouse’s name. If the home was held as community property with right of survivorship, a surviving-spouse affidavit may apply instead — we’ll review your deed and use the right one.
Can you handle property in any California county?
Yes. We electronically record in all 58 California counties, so it doesn’t matter where the property sits — you don’t need to travel to a recorder’s office or mail anything yourself.
Do I also need to notify the County Assessor?
Usually, yes. A co-owner’s death is treated as a change in ownership, and California generally requires it to be reported to the County Assessor within about 150 days. We can prepare that change-in-ownership filing for you so nothing slips past the deadline (listed as the BOE add-on in our pricing).
How do I remove a deceased co-owner from a house deed in California?
If the last recorded deed says the two of you held title as joint tenants, this affidavit is the document. You record an affidavit of death of joint tenant with a certified death certificate attached, and title then reflects you as sole owner by right of survivorship. Nothing is filed with a court and no judge is involved. If the deed says something other than joint tenancy, a different document applies — see which affidavit fits your situation before you record anything.
Escrow will not close because my late co-owner is still on title. How fast can this be fixed?
Usually within a day or two, and this is the most common reason people call us in a hurry. A title company will not insure or close while a deceased person remains a record owner, because that owner cannot sign. Send us the recorded deed and a certified death certificate; we prepare the affidavit and e-record it with the county, most often the same business day. Escrow then sees you as sole owner and the file moves.
Can I just use a free affidavit of death of joint tenant form off the internet?
You can, and the risk is narrower than people expect but more expensive. This affidavit has to match the vesting language on the recorded deed exactly, carry the legal description from that deed rather than the tax bill, identify the recording reference for the deed that created the joint tenancy, and attach a certified death certificate rather than a photocopy. Miss one and the recorder bounces it. Worse, if the deed never actually created a joint tenancy, this affidavit does not clear title at all — and a wrong document recorded against your property costs far more than $325 to unwind.
Can you handle this if I live out of state or outside the country?
Yes, at the same $325. We prepare the affidavit and email it to you with signing instructions. From another state, you sign before any notary public licensed where you live, scan it back to us, and we e-record it with the California county. From outside the country, the acknowledgment is normally taken at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and California also accepts a notary of that country, though some counties want the signature authenticated first. We confirm which route your county accepts before you book an appointment. You never travel to California.
My co-owner died years ago and we never recorded anything. Is it too late?
No. There is no statutory deadline and we regularly record these many years after a death. Survivorship already happened as a matter of law the moment your co-owner died; recording the affidavit simply makes the public record catch up. What the delay costs you is timing — families almost always discover the gap when they are selling, refinancing, or dealing with a second death, and by then there is a closing date attached. The document costs the same today as it will then.
What if the deed does not say joint tenancy?
Then this is the wrong document and recording it will not clear title. If the deed says community property with right of survivorship, an affidavit of death of surviving spouse applies. If the property was held in a living trust, it is an affidavit of death of trustee. If the deceased owned in their name alone, or you held title as tenants in common, nothing passes automatically and the route is a probate procedure such as a small estate affidavit or a succession petition, which is a court filing we refer out to a probate attorney. Send us the recorded deed and we will tell you which applies before you pay anything.
Now that the title is passing to you — one thing worth knowing

This time, joint ownership avoided probate.
A living trust protects the next transfer.

Recording this affidavit moves the property to you without probate — because it was held in joint tenancy. But that protection ends with you. Placing the home in a living trust means the next transfer, to your own family, skips probate too. We prepare the trust documents at your direction.

Skip probate

Property held in a living trust passes directly to your beneficiaries — no probate case, no court timeline, no public filing.

Keep it private

Probate is part of the public record. A living trust keeps who-gets-what, and the property’s value, out of public view.

Stay in control

You keep full use of your home while you’re living, name who manages it after, and can change it any time. We prepare it — you decide the terms.

See how a living trust works → Talk it through — no obligation

TruPoint Legal is a registered Legal Document Assistant, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. We prepare living trust and deed documents at your specific direction. If a living trust isn’t the right fit for your situation, that decision is yours — we’ll prepare whatever you choose.

Ready when you are

Let’s get the title in your name

Call or get started online, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s needed and the fee before any work begins.

Get Started Today Call (408) 766-3532