California Affidavit of Death

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   California Probate Code Section 210 is the authority, and it is permissive: it says any person MAY record, in the county where the property is located, an affidavit executed by a person having knowledge of the facts. Nothing is forfeited by not recording one, because the interest has already passed. What is left behind is a record-title gap.

2. 2

   Two items are statutory contents, not optional attachments. Section 210(a) requires a particular description of the real property, and an attested or certified copy of a record of the death. The certified death certificate goes with the affidavit, so order certified copies from vital records before you file.

3. 3

   Section 211(b) is the provision that makes it work, and it is worth understanding before you sign. The recorder indexes the document in the grantor and grantee index, the entry is made for the grantor, and the person whose death is established is deemed to be the grantor. The death is indexed under the dead person's name, which is where a title searcher will look for it.

4. 4

   There is no statewide California form. County recorders publish their own courtesy forms and they are split by fact pattern: San Diego County prints REC330 for the joint tenancy case and REC340 for the trustee case, and Los Angeles County publishes the same two-form split. The joint tenancy forms include a recital of the total value of the decedent's real and personal property that the trustee form does not carry.

5. 5

   Probate Code Section 210 names no tenancy type, so one section covers the surviving joint tenant, the successor trustee, the remainder holder after a life estate and the transfer on death deed beneficiary. That is why picking the right county form matters more in California than picking the right statute.

6. 6

   A revocable transfer on death deed needs TWO recorded affidavits in California, not one. Section 5682(b) requires the Section 210 affidavit of death. Section 5682(c) then requires a second recorded affidavit saying, in substantially those words, that the beneficiary served the notice required by Section 5681. Section 5681(b) prescribes the notice wording, and it tells the transferor's heirs they have only 120 days from the date of that notice to file a fully effective challenge.

7. 7

   A second, separate clock runs on the tax side and people miss it because it arrives with the same paperwork. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 480(b) requires a change in ownership statement, form BOE-502-D, filed with the county recorder or assessor within 150 days of the date of death. Section 480(e) provides that recording may not be denied or delayed for failure to file it, so the affidavit and the statement have separate consequences.

California Requirements for Affidavit of Death

• A Particular Description of the Real Property

  Probate Code Section 210(a) requires that the affidavit include a particular description of the real property. Copy the legal description character for character from the recorded deed rather than describing the property from memory, and add the street address and the assessor parcel number. This is one of only two content items the statute actually specifies, so it is not a formality.

• An Attested or Certified Copy of the Death Record, Attached

  The other statutory content item. Section 210(a) says the affidavit shall include an attested or certified copy of a record of the death made and filed in a designated public office as required by law, so the certified copy is part of the instrument rather than something shown at the counter. A photocopy will not do. Order several certified copies at the outset, because the recorder keeps one and the bank, the insurer and the assessor will each want their own.

• The Deceased Person's Name as It Appears on the Deed, and Any Variant

  The full legal name as on the death certificate, plus every variant appearing in the recorded instrument, with a statement that they are the same person. Because Section 211(b) indexes the document under the deceased person as grantor, the name is the key a future title search runs on. A deed reading one form of the name against a death certificate reading another is the most common reason one of these has to be re-recorded.

• The Recorded Instrument, by Document Number or Book and Page

  The type and date of the deed under which the deceased person held title, and its instrument number or book and page in the Official Records of the county. The affidavit has to attach itself to a specific recorded document. Pull that deed before drafting, because its exact wording is what created the joint tenancy, the trust or the beneficiary designation, and it decides which county form you need.

• Your Capacity, and How You Know the Facts

  Section 210(a) asks only for a person having knowledge of the facts, which is wider than the survivor and helps where a family member is handling the paperwork. State the capacity plainly: surviving joint tenant, surviving successor trustee, transfer on death deed beneficiary, or a person with knowledge. On the trustee form you will additionally swear that you are the surviving successor trustee of the same trust under which the decedent held title, and you will need the trust's name and date.

• The Right County Form for Your Fact Pattern

  California publishes no statewide form, and the county courtesy forms are split by fact pattern rather than by statute. San Diego County prints REC330 for the joint tenancy case and REC340, titled Affidavit of Death of Trustee, for the trust case, and Los Angeles County publishes the same two-form split. The joint tenancy forms carry a recital of the total value of all real and personal property the decedent owned at the date of death, including this property, which the trustee form omits. Start from your own county recorder's form.

• A Notarial Jurat

  Section 210(a) calls the instrument an affidavit executed by a person having knowledge of the facts, so it is sworn by definition, and every California county recorder form reviewed carries both a sworn-deposition recital and a notarial jurat reading subscribed and sworn to before me on the stated date by the named person. California notary certificates also print the standard disclaimer that the notary verifies only the identity of the signer and not the truthfulness of the document. Use the printed jurat on your county's form rather than a paraphrase.

• The Extra Steps if the Property Came Through a Transfer on Death Deed

  This branch needs two recorded affidavits, not one. Section 5682(b) requires that an affidavit of death has been recorded under the Section 210 chapter. Section 5682(c) then requires a second recorded affidavit stating, in substantially those words, that the beneficiary served the notice required by Probate Code Section 5681. Section 5681(a) is the duty: after the transferor's death the beneficiary shall serve notice on the transferor's heirs, with a copy of the deed and a copy of the death certificate. Section 5681(b) prescribes the notice wording and tells the heirs they have only 120 days from the date of that notice to file a fully effective challenge. Completing both is what gives a later good-faith purchaser the protection of a final distributee. Note that Sections 5681 and 5682 each carry the trailer repealed as of January 1, 2032, so check the part is still in force before relying on it.