Iowa Surviving Joint Tenant Affidavit (Iowa Code Section 558.66)

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Section 558.66(3)(b) calls this an affidavit of or on behalf of a surviving joint tenant or a person who owns the remainder interest, and gives it no caption. It does not transfer the property and Iowa says so expressly: under Section 558.66(4) an instrument recorded under that section is not a muniment of title. Its function is to get the county's transfer books and index to show the survivor instead of the person who died.

2. 2

   Seven contents, prescribed in the statute: the name of the affiant, the name of the survivor in whose name the records should reflect ownership, the name of the deceased joint tenant or life tenant and that person's date of death, the legal description of the real estate in the county, the description and date of filing and recording of the instrument by which the survivor acquired title, the document reference number of the instrument establishing title if applicable, and a request to the auditor.

3. 3

   Two county officers, and only one of them gets the paper. The affidavit is filed with the county recorder, but Section 558.66(1) makes the AUDITOR enter the updated ownership information in the transfer books and index required by Section 558.60. That is why content item seven is a request that the auditor make the entry. Address it to the auditor even though you hand it to the recorder.

4. 4

   No death certificate is required. Checked across the full text of Section 558.66 as published in the Iowa Code 2026, the phrase death certificate appears zero times, and so do certified, notarized, acknowledged, days and within. The section asks for recitals rather than exhibits, and sets no deadline at all. Bring certified copies for the bank and the assessor, but the statute does not make one part of this filing.

5. 5

   Two fees and the recorder collects both. Section 331.604(1) sets $5 for each page or fraction of a page, charged per transaction where a page carries more than one. Section 331.604(2)(a) adds $1 per transaction for records preservation and Section 331.604(3)(b)(1) another $1 for the county land record information system. On top of that, Section 331.507(2)(a) gives the auditor $5 for each separate real estate transaction, not to exceed $50 for a transfer described in one instrument of transfer, and Section 558.66(2) makes the recorder collect that too.

6. 6

   The affiant and the survivor can be different people. The statute permits an affidavit of OR ON BEHALF OF the survivor, and then separately asks for the name of the affiant in item one and the name of the surviving joint tenant or remainder owner in item two. So an adult child or an attorney can swear it for a survivor who cannot, as long as both names appear in the right places.

7. 7

   If a life estate ended rather than a joint tenancy, there is a second filing, and that one is worded as a duty. Section 558.41(4) provides that on the termination of a life estate through the death of the life tenant, any surviving holder or successor in interest shall prepare a change of title or affidavit for tax purposes and shall deliver it to the county recorder of the county in which each parcel of real estate is located. The statute describes that instrument without giving it a number.

Iowa Requirements for Affidavit of Death

• The Name of the Affiant

  Content item one of the seven in Iowa Code Section 558.66(3)(b). Iowa keeps this separate from item two on purpose, because the paragraph permits an affidavit of or on behalf of the survivor. If an adult child, an attorney or a co-executor is swearing it for a survivor who cannot, their name goes here and the survivor's name goes in item two. If the survivor is swearing it themselves, the same name appears in both.

• The Survivor in Whose Name the Records Should Show Title

  Content item two, and the statute phrases it by function: the name of the surviving joint tenant or owner of the remainder interest, as applicable, in whose name the county records should reflect ownership of title. This is the name the auditor will carry into the transfer books, so match it to the recorded instrument and to how the survivor holds title elsewhere. Say which capacity applies, surviving joint tenant or remainder owner, because the same paragraph covers both.

• The Person Who Died, and the Date of Death

  Content item three, and it names two possible capacities: the deceased joint tenant or life tenant, and that person's date of death. Take the name as it appears in the recorded instrument and the date as the death certificate states it. No certificate is attached under this section, so the date in the affidavit is the only statement of it the county receives, which is a reason to get it exactly right.

• The Legal Description of the Real Estate Located in the County

  Content item four. Copy the legal description character for character from the instrument identified in item five rather than describing the property from memory, and add the street address. Note the statutory wording, the real estate located in the county: where a survivor takes land in more than one Iowa county, each county's recorder receives an affidavit describing the real estate in that county.

• The Instrument by Which the Survivor Acquired Title, With Both Dates

  Content item five asks for the description and date of filing and recording of the conveyance instrument by which the surviving joint tenant or owner of the remainder interest acquired title. Iowa asks for the filing date and the recording date, so pull the instrument from the recorder's records and read both off it rather than estimating. That instrument is also where the legal description for item four and the reference number for item six come from, so retrieve it before drafting anything.

• The Document Reference Number of the Instrument Establishing Title

  Content item six, qualified in the statute by the words if applicable, which is Iowa allowing for older records that carry no reference number. Where one exists, give it. Where the instrument predates the numbering and is identified by book and page, give that. The point of items five and six together is to tie this affidavit to a specific document already in the county's records, so the auditor can see the survivorship or remainder interest for themselves.

• A Request That the Auditor Enter the Information

  Content item seven, and the one most likely to be left out, because it is not a fact about anyone. The statute requires a request that the auditor enter the information on the transfer books and index pursuant to subsection 1. It is there because the two county offices have different jobs: you file with the recorder, and the auditor is the officer who changes the record. An affidavit that states all six facts correctly but carries no request to the auditor is missing a statutory content item.

• A Notarial Acknowledgment

  Section 558.66 itself says nothing about swearing; the words notarized, oath and acknowledged appear nowhere in it. Two things supply the requirement in practice. The instrument is called an affidavit, which means it is sworn. And Iowa Code Section 558.20 directs that the acknowledgment of any deed, conveyance or other instrument in writing by which real estate in this state is conveyed or encumbered shall comply with chapter 9B, Iowa's notarial acts law. Sign in front of a notary and use the acknowledgment wording your county recorder accepts rather than a paraphrase.