Minnesota Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Affidavit of identity and survivorship is the state's own term, used word for word in subdivision 20 of Minnesota Statutes 507.071, which describes an affidavit of identity and survivorship with a certified copy of a record of death as an attachment. The same name covers three different printed blanks, so the name alone will not tell a recorder which situation you are in. The form number does.

2. 2

   Three state forms, picked by caption, not by guesswork. Blank 50.2.2 (2017) is for joint tenancy or a life estate and recites that on the date of death the decedent was an owner as a joint tenant or life tenant. Blank 50.2.3 (2022) is for a transfer on death deed and recites that the decedent was the Grantor Owner in one. Blank 50.2.4 (2025) covers a decedent spouse who was not in title. Their authority is Minnesota Statutes 507.09, under which the blanks are approved and recommended for use and kept on file by the commissioner of commerce.

3. 3

   A certified copy of the Certificate of Death is an attachment, not something shown at a counter. Every blank opens by having the affiant swear that the decedent is the person named in the certified copy of the Certificate of Death attached hereto and made a part hereof. On blank 50.2.3 there can be more than one: item 4 requires a certified copy of the Certificate of Death for each deceased Grantee Beneficiary who did not survive the decedent by 120 hours.

4. 4

   Abstract land or Torrens land changes the office and the fee clause. Abstract property goes to the County Recorder, and Minnesota Statutes 357.18, subdivision 1, clause 1, sets 46 dollars for indexing and recording any deed or other instrument, split 10 dollars 50 to the state treasury, 10 dollars to a technology fund and 25 dollars 50 to the county. Registered property goes to the Registrar of Titles, where Minnesota Statutes 508.82, subdivision 1, clause 4, sets 46 dollars for the entry of each memorial on a certificate and 20 dollars for each additional certificate entry.

5. 5

   On a transfer on death deed, blank 50.2.3 makes you choose between two printed branches on the 120-hour question. Either all of the Grantee Beneficiaries named in the deed survived the decedent by 120 hours, which you then list, or one or more did not, which opens two lists, those who survived by 120 hours and those who did not. The 120-hour period is printed on the form itself; it does not appear in the text of 507.071.

6. 6

   The clearance certificate is Minnesota's distinctive step and it has no counterpart elsewhere. Subdivision 23 of 507.071 lets a person claiming an interest, or their attorney or agent, apply to the county agency where the property is located. The application and the certificate must each contain the legal description of every parcel, and the county agency supplies enough certificates to record one in each county the land touches. If the certificate shows the continuation of a medical assistance claim or lien, the property remains subject to it.

7. 7

   On registered land the clearance certificate is a gate, not a courtesy. Subdivision 23 provides that if the real property is registered property, a new certificate of title must not be issued until the clearance certificate is recorded, and that the clearance certificate must be carried forward as a memorial in any new certificate of title. Blank 50.2.3 therefore prints an election at item 5, a clearance certificate is or is not attached to this affidavit, with instructions to check only one box.

Minnesota Requirements for Affidavit of Death

• The Right Uniform Conveyancing Blank: 50.2.2, 50.2.3 or 50.2.4

  Minnesota publishes the form, so the first requirement is picking it. Blank 50.2.2 (2017) is captioned FOR JOINT TENANCY OR LIFE ESTATE. Blank 50.2.3 (2022) is captioned FOR TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED. Blank 50.2.4 (2025) is captioned DECEDENT SPOUSE NOT IN TITLE and exists to evidence that the decedent spouse's marital rights in the property have terminated. All three are titled Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship, so the caption and the number are what distinguish them. Their authority is Minnesota Statutes 507.09, under which the blanks are approved and recommended for use and kept on file by the commissioner of commerce.

• A Certified Copy of the Certificate of Death, Attached

  Item 1 on every blank has the affiant swear that the decedent is the person named in the certified copy of the Certificate of Death attached hereto and made a part hereof, and subdivision 20 of 507.071 describes the instrument as an affidavit of identity and survivorship with a certified copy of a record of death as an attachment. So it travels with the affidavit rather than being produced at a counter. Order more than one certified copy: the recorder keeps one, and the county agency handling the clearance certificate will want to see the facts too.

• The Survivors, or the Grantee Beneficiaries, Named

  Blank 50.2.2 asks at item 2 for the name or names of the survivor or survivors, on a line separate from the affiant block, because Minnesota does not require the affiant to be the survivor. Blank 50.2.3 instead asks for the Grantee Beneficiaries the transfer on death deed named. Blank 50.2.4 names a Surviving Spouse and recites that at the time of the decedent's death the decedent and the surviving spouse were married. Copy these names exactly as the recorded instrument spells them, and note any variant.

• The Legal Description, the Torrens Checkbox and the Certificate of Title Number

  Three linked entries. The legal description of the land, copied from the recorded instrument. The checkbox reading Check here if all or part of the described real property is Registered (Torrens). And the checkbox pair that sends the affidavit either to the County Recorder or to the Registrar of Titles, followed by the county. If the land is registered, the blank also wants the Certificate of Title number. Getting this fork wrong sends the paper to the wrong counter and changes which fee clause applies.

• The Recorded Instrument, by Date and Document Number

  Blank 50.2.2 asks for the instrument recorded on a stated month, day and year, as a stated Document Number, or in a stated Book and Page. Blank 50.2.3 asks for the recording date and document number of the transfer on death deed itself. Pull that recorded instrument before you start: its words are what created the joint tenancy, the life estate or the beneficiary designation, and they decide which of the three blanks you are filling in.

• The 120-Hour Survival Statement, on Blank 50.2.3 Only

  Item 3 of blank 50.2.3 is a forced choice between two printed branches. Either all of the Grantee Beneficiaries named in the deed survived the decedent by 120 hours, which you then list, or one or more did not, which opens two lists, those who survived by 120 hours and those who did not. Item 4 then requires a certified copy of the Certificate of Death for each deceased Grantee Beneficiary who did not survive by 120 hours. The 120-hour period is printed on the form; it does not appear in the text of 507.071, so take the wording from the blank rather than from a statute citation.

• A Public Assistance Clearance Certificate from the County Agency

  Subdivision 23 of 507.071 lets a person claiming an interest, or their attorney or agent, apply to the county agency in the county where the property is located. The application and the certificate must each contain the legal description of every parcel covered, and the agency supplies enough certificates to record one in each county the land touches. The property is bound by any conditions the certificate states, and if it shows the continuation of a medical assistance claim or lien, the property stays subject to that claim or lien. The application runs on the same terms as Minnesota Statutes 525.313 uses in a decree of descent proceeding, without the notice of hearing. On registered land this is a gate: a new certificate of title must not issue until the clearance certificate is recorded, and it is then carried forward as a memorial.

• The Oath, the Tax Statement Block and the 46 Dollar Fee

  Minnesota Statutes 507.29 makes an affidavit of this kind recordable once it is duly sworn before an officer or person authorized to administer an oath, and every blank prints the jurat: signed and sworn to before me on a stated date by a named person, a stamp area, the signature of a notarial officer, the title and rank, and the commission expiry. No witnesses. Two printed blocks close the form, THIS INSTRUMENT WAS DRAFTED BY and TAX STATEMENTS FOR THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THIS INSTRUMENT SHOULD BE SENT TO; the second satisfies subdivision 20's requirement that the affidavit include the name and mailing address of the person to whom future property tax statements should be sent. The fee is 46 dollars: Minnesota Statutes 357.18, subdivision 1, clause 1, at the County Recorder, charged in all counties under subdivision 2, or Minnesota Statutes 508.82, subdivision 1, clause 4, for a memorial entry at the Registrar of Titles, plus 20 dollars for each additional certificate entry.