Oklahoma Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant and Beneficiary Affidavit

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant is the title printed on AOC Form 20, the statewide form, with the footer AOC Form 20 Revised 7 05. The statute behind it does not caption the affidavit at all: section 912 is headed Termination of Joint Tenancy Other than by Judicial Determination, and subsection (C)(2) calls the document only an affidavit by the surviving joint tenant, life tenant or remainderman. The form exists because section 912.1 orders the court administrator to prepare one and distribute it to every county clerk.

2. 2

   Nine months, and only on the transfer on death branch. Section 1252(E) tells the beneficiary to record the affidavit and related documents with the county clerk where the real estate is located within nine months of the grantor's death, otherwise the interest reverts to the deceased grantor's estate. Deaths before November 1, 2011 are outside the limit. Nothing comparable exists under section 912, which sets no period at all and says nothing about the interest reverting.

3. 3

   The two branches want different grades of death certificate, and it is easy to over or under supply. Section 912(C)(1) requires a certified copy of the certificate of death, and expressly accepts one issued by the State Department of Health or a comparable agency of the place of death, so an out of state certificate works. Section 1252(E) asks only that the grantee attach a copy of the record owner's death certificate. The word certified does not appear there at all.

4. 4

   Section 912 reaches the life estate case too, which most states never legislate. Subsection (B) covers property held by two or more persons where at least one holds a life tenancy and at least one holds a remainder interest, and lets any surviving life tenant or remainderman, or a fiduciary of either, use the same procedure. AOC Form 20 has a check box for it. Subsection (A) also reaches mortgages owned by two or more persons in joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

5. 5

   Sworn is enough. Oklahoma legislates that twice and tells the clerk so. Both section 912(C)(2) and section 1252(E) provide that an affidavit properly sworn before a notary or notarial officer shall, notwithstanding title 16 section 26, be received for record and recorded by the county clerk without having been acknowledged, and when recorded shall be effective as if it had been acknowledged. Section 912(C)(2) adds a retroactive cure for affidavits that were acknowledged, or sworn, or both. No witnesses are required.

6. 6

   Who may sign is narrow, with no catch all. Section 912 allows the surviving joint tenant, life tenant or remainderman, or that survivor's own personal representative or duly appointed attorney in fact, and nobody else. There is no any person with knowledge of the facts opening. On the transfer on death branch, section 1252(C) since November 1, 2023 says a beneficiary may accept only on behalf of himself or herself, or a legal entity over which he or she has proper authority, and shall not accept on behalf of another beneficiary. Three beneficiaries means three affidavits.

7. 7

   Twenty dollars for a conforming two page affidavit, and the arithmetic is statewide. Title 28 section 32(A) sets flat fees to be uniform throughout the state regardless of the recording method used: 8 dollars for the first page and 2 dollars for each additional page of the same instrument. Subsection (C) adds a flat 10 dollars for each instrument recorded, for preserving and archiving records. Formatting failures are priced separately and steeply: a nonconforming first page is 25 dollars and each additional nonconforming page is 10 dollars.

Oklahoma Requirements for Affidavit of Death

• The Creating Deed, Identified by Book and Page

  The heaviest requirement in section 912(C)(2), and the one that sends people back to the courthouse. The affidavit must state that the decedent named in the certificate of death is one and the same person as the deceased joint tenant or life tenant named in a previously recorded document which created or purported to create that joint tenancy or life tenancy, and must identify that recorded document by book and page where recorded. AOC Form 20 gives you blanks for the County Clerk's records, the Book and the Page. Note the words or purported to create, which cover a creating deed whose survivorship wording is itself imperfect.

• A Certified Copy of the Death Certificate, and the Date of Death

  Section 912(C)(1) requires a certified copy of the certificate of death of the joint tenant or life tenant, issued by the court clerk as prescribed in Article 3 of the Public Health Code, title 63 section 1-301 and following, or by the State Department of Health or comparable agency of the place of the death. That last clause expressly accepts an out of state issuer. Section 912(C)(2) separately requires the date of death to be stated in the affidavit. On the transfer on death branch the grade drops: section 1252(E) asks only for a copy of the record owner's death certificate, and the word certified does not appear in that section.

• A Description of the Real Property

  Required on both branches. Section 912(C)(2) requires the affidavit to describe the real property, and AOC Form 20 asks for the legal description of property situated in a named Oklahoma county. Section 1252(D)(3) requires a legal description of the real estate as one of the three affirmations a transfer on death beneficiary must make. Copy it from the recorded deed rather than from a tax statement, so that it matches the book and page reference you are also giving.

• Your Capacity, and a Fiduciary's Letters or Power of Attorney

  Oklahoma's list is short and has no catch all. Section 912(A) allows any surviving joint tenant or that survivor's personal representative or duly appointed attorney in fact; section 912(B) allows any surviving life tenant or remainderman or a fiduciary of either. State which you are. If a fiduciary signs, subsection (C)(2) requires that the letters of administration, letters testamentary, letters of guardianship or the power of attorney accompany the affidavit and be filed with the county clerk, and AOC Form 20 asks for certified copies of them. On the transfer on death branch section 1252(C) is narrower still: a beneficiary may accept only on behalf of himself or herself, or a legal entity over which he or she has proper authority.

• The Marital Recital

  Both branches ask it and both ask it narrowly. Section 912(C)(2) requires the affidavit to state that the survivor making it, or on whose behalf it is made, and the decedent were husband and wife, if such is the case. Section 1252(D)(2) requires the beneficiary to affirm whether the record owner and the designated beneficiary were married at the time of the record owner's death. On the section 912 branch the recital exists because of the old estate tax lien rule in subsection (C)(3), not to establish who inherits. AOC Form 20 presents it as a two way check box.

• Sworn Before a Notarial Officer, With No Acknowledgment Needed

  Oklahoma legislates this twice and in nearly the same words. Section 912(C)(2) and section 1252(E) each provide that an affidavit properly sworn before a notary or notarial officer shall, notwithstanding title 16 section 26, be received for record and recorded by the county clerk without having been acknowledged, and when recorded shall be effective as if it had been acknowledged. So a clerk may not turn it away for want of an acknowledgment. Section 912(C)(2) adds a retroactive cure: an affidavit filed before or after the act's effective date that was either acknowledged or sworn, or both, is validated and the title deemed marketable unless otherwise defective. No witnesses are required: neither section asks for one, and the form has no witness line.

• The Nine Month Clock, on the Transfer on Death Branch Only

  Section 1252(E) requires a transfer on death beneficiary to record the affidavit and related documents with the county clerk where the real estate is located within nine months of the grantor's death, otherwise the interest in the property reverts to the deceased grantor's estate. That is loss of the property, not a clouded title, and the property then has to come out through the estate. The limit reaches deaths occurring on or after November 1, 2011, and the same sentence provides that a death before that date is not subject to the nine month time limitation. Since November 1, 2023 each named beneficiary files their own affidavit, so each one has their own nine months to meet. Section 912 carries no deadline of any kind: searching it for month, year, within and revert returns nothing. Because this number decides whether you keep the property, confirm it against the published statute before relying on it, and attorney review is available as an option.

• The Right Form, the Filing Office and the Fee

  Use AOC Form 20 for the section 912 branch. It exists because section 912.1 requires the state court administrator to prepare forms for parties using that procedure, have them reviewed and approved by the Supreme Court, and distribute them to all county clerks. Its printed title is Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant and its footer reads AOC Form 20, Revised 7 05. No form is prescribed for the section 1252 beneficiary affidavit, because that mandate reaches only the section 911 and 912 act. Both filings go to the county clerk of the county where the property is located. Title 28 section 32(A) makes the fee uniform throughout the state regardless of recording method: 8 dollars for the first page, 2 dollars for each additional page of the same instrument, plus 10 dollars per instrument under subsection (C) for records preservation. A nonconforming first page is 25 dollars and each additional nonconforming page is 10 dollars.