Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant - South Dakota

AFFIDAVIT OF SURVIVING JOINT TENANT

South Dakota Recording Packet

Choose the statutory route before drafting.

• General route — SDCL § 21-44-2: In a joint tenancy, a duly certified
  death record may be recorded in the county where the land is situated. The
  person recording it must attach an affidavit setting out the legal
  description of the affected property. The recorded certified copy is prima
  facie evidence of death and termination of the deceased person's joint
  tenancy interest.
• Sole-surviving-spouse route — SDCL § 21-44-27: If the decedent's spouse
  is the sole surviving joint tenant in real property, any interested person
  may furnish the register of deeds an affidavit containing the four statutory
  facts listed below, accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate.

This packet can capture both routes, but it does not adjudicate a title
dispute or establish that the joint tenancy was never severed. Compare the
exact vesting language and subsequent title records before recording.

1. ROUTE AND RECORDING CONTROL

Selected route:

☐ General certified-death-record route under SDCL § 21-44-2

☐ Sole-surviving-spouse affidavit route under SDCL § 21-44-27

☐ Both routes are being documented

County where property is situated: [________________________________]

Register of Deeds recording office: [________________________________]

Vesting instrument document number: [________________________________]

Property parcel number: [________________________________]

Recording requested by: [________________________________]

After recording return to:

[____________________________________________________________]

2. PREPARED-BY LEGEND — SDCL § 7-9-1

Prepared by: [________________________________]

Address: [____________________________________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

3. AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

COUNTY OF [____________________________]

I, [AFFIANT FULL LEGAL NAME], after being duly sworn, state:

3.1 Affiant and Capacity

1. My address is [________________________________________________________].

2. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this affidavit, except
   where I identify a statement as based on the attached public records.

3. My capacity is:

☐ surviving joint tenant and surviving spouse;

☐ surviving joint tenant who is not the decedent's spouse;

☐ personal representative;

☐ titleholder, heir, fiduciary, or other interested person: [____________].

3.2 Decedent and Certified Death Record

4. The deceased joint tenant was [DECEDENT FULL LEGAL NAME].

5. The decedent died on [__/__/____] in [CITY, COUNTY, STATE].

6. Attached as Exhibit B is a copy of the decedent's death record certified
   by the officer authorized to maintain that record in the jurisdiction where
   the death was recorded.

3.3 Joint-Tenancy Instrument

7. The decedent and [NAME(S) OF SURVIVING JOINT TENANT(S)] acquired the
   property described in Exhibit A under the following instrument:

8. The instrument expressly declares the ownership to be a joint tenancy. Its
   operative vesting language reads:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

9. The affiant reviewed the record for later deeds, judgments, divorce decrees,
   agreements, or other instruments that may affect or sever the joint tenancy:

☐ No later potentially conflicting instrument was located.

☐ The following instrument or issue requires title review:

[____________________________________________________________]

3.4 Property Identification — Required for SDCL § 21-44-2 Route

10. The South Dakota real property affected by the decedent's death is situated
    in [____________________________] County and is legally described in
    Exhibit A, attached to this affidavit.

Property address, if any: [________________________________]

Parcel number: [________________________________]

3.5 Sole-Surviving-Spouse Statements — Complete Only for § 21-44-27

11. Complete each item only if the sole-surviving-spouse route is selected:

☐ The deceased joint tenant's name is [________________________________].

☐ The deceased joint tenant's date of death is [__/__/____].

☐ The property was held in joint tenancy and is legally described in Exhibit A.

☐ The decedent's surviving spouse is [________________________________].

☐ That surviving spouse is the sole surviving joint tenant in the property.

3.6 Limited Purpose

12. This affidavit identifies the property affected by the recorded death and,
    when applicable, supplies the facts required by SDCL § 21-44-27. It does not
    state that liens, creditor claims, taxes, probate issues, or other title
    defects are absent.

I declare under oath that the foregoing statements are true and correct.

AFFIANT

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

4. JURAT

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

COUNTY OF [____________________________]

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on [__/__/____] by
[AFFIANT FULL LEGAL NAME].

Notarial officer signature: [________________________________]

Printed name and title: [________________________________]

Commission expiration: [__/__/____]

[SEAL]

The notarial officer should use the current certificate and identity process
required for the place and method of notarization.

EXHIBIT A — LEGAL DESCRIPTION

The real property is situated in [____________________________] County,
South Dakota, and is legally described as follows:

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

Parcel number: [________________________________]

Use the legal description from the vesting instrument or a title professional;
a street address alone is not a substitute.

EXHIBIT B — CERTIFIED DEATH RECORD

Attach the certified copy required for the selected route. Confirm that the
recorded attachment is legible and that any redaction or separate-recording
practice is accepted by the county register of deeds.

5. RECORDING CHECKLIST

☐ The vesting instrument expressly creates a joint tenancy under SDCL § 43-2-12.

☐ The selected route matches the facts; § 21-44-27 was not used unless the
decedent's spouse is the sole surviving joint tenant.

☐ The certified death record and Exhibit A legal description are attached.

☐ The prepared-by legend includes the preparer's name, address, and telephone
number as SDCL § 7-9-1 requires.

☐ The primary document follows SDCL § 43-28-23: permitted sheet size, black
10-point-or-larger print, white twenty-pound-or-heavier paper, required first-page
space, one-inch margins, displayed title, and reproducible text. A certified
vital record attached to a document is exempt from that section's format rules.

☐ The document will be recorded in the county where the property is situated.

☐ The current statutory recording fee was confirmed. As of the verification
date, SDCL § 7-9-15 lists $30 for the first fifty pages plus $2 for each
additional page or fraction over fifty for instruments not otherwise priced.

☐ County-specific cover sheet, indexing, transfer-tax, certificate-of-value,
redaction, and attachment practices were confirmed directly with the register.

☐ Counsel or a title professional reviewed any divorce, conveyance, lien,
creditor, probate, tax, or disputed-title issue before recording.

Official Sources Verified

• SDCL § 21-44-2: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/21-44-2.html?all=true
• SDCL § 21-44-27: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/21-44-27.html?all=true
• SDCL § 43-2-12: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-2-12.html?all=true
• SDCL § 43-28-1: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-28-1.html?all=true
• SDCL § 43-28-23: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-28-23.html?all=true
• SDCL § 7-9-1: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/Statute/7-9-1
• SDCL § 7-9-15: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/7-9-15.html?all=true
• SDCL § 18-1-1: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/18-1-1.html?all=true