Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Title-Clearance Requirements in New Hampshire

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The ordinary public-record story

New Hampshire starts with the deed. RSA § 477:18 makes a conveyance or devise to two or more people a tenancy in common unless the instrument expressly says the owners are joint tenants, gives the estate to them and the survivor, or uses other words clearly creating joint tenancy. The phrases “as joint tenants with rights of survivorship” and “as tenants by the entirety” are expressly sufficient.

The post-death recording rule is general rather than form-specific. Under § 477:3-a, every court order or other instrument affecting title to an interest in real estate must be recorded at length in the registry of deeds for the county or counties where the land lies. Until recording, that instrument is not effective against a bona fide purchaser for value.

The complete current Chapter 477 does not name an “affidavit of surviving joint tenant,” say that the survivor must sign, list affidavit recitals, require a certified death certificate or court order, prescribe an oath or acknowledgment, or set a post-death recording deadline. Those details may be addressed by local registry and title practice, but they are not statewide statutory dimensions.

Recording effect

The original deed and RSA § 477:18 establish whether survivorship exists. A later instrument documents the title-affecting death in the public record; § 477:3-a supplies the consequence for failing to record it against a bona fide purchaser for value.

The statute does not turn an affidavit into a deed, create a presumption that every recital is true, or promise marketable or insured title. It also does not say the later instrument itself transfers the deceased owner's interest.

What trips people up

The express-creation rule comes before the death record. If the vesting deed does not satisfy § 477:18, a later affidavit cannot create survivorship after death.

A registry filing duty is not an affidavit-form statute. Section 477:3-a requires recording of a title-affecting instrument but supplies none of the template-style signer, recital, attachment, or notarization fields.

The statute states no post-death clock. Do not import the separate 60-day notice-of-death affidavit deadline for transfer-on-death deeds into ordinary joint tenancy.

Common questions

Does New Hampshire require a survivor affidavit? Current Chapter 477 does not prescribe one. It requires recordation of the instrument affecting title.

Must a certified death certificate be attached? RSA 477:3-a and 477:18 do not state a certified-copy or attachment requirement.

Where is the filing made? In the registry of deeds for every county in which the affected real estate lies.

Statutes and sources

• N.H. Rev. Stat. § 477:3-a — county-registry recording and bona-fide- purchaser effect. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLVIII/477/477-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-03).
• N.H. Rev. Stat. § 477:18 — tenancy-in-common default and express joint-tenancy or entireties language. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLVIII/477/477-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-03).