Georgia Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship Deed Form

A Georgia joint tenancy with right of survivorship deed form has to do three things to work: use one of the specific survivorship phrases the state recognizes by statute, be signed in front of two witnesses (one of them a notary public or other authorized officer), and be recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the property sits. Miss the survivorship language and Georgia’s default rule treats the deed as a tenancy in common, which means the automatic transfer at death you were trying to set up never happens.

The Survivorship Language the Deed Must Contain

Georgia’s default rule works against you. Any deed naming two or more owners is treated as a tenancy in common, with no survivorship rights, unless the deed explicitly says otherwise.¹ To override that default, use one of the phrases recognized under O.C.G.A. § 44-6-190:

“Joint tenants”
“Joint tenants and not as tenants in common”
“Joint tenants with survivorship”
“Jointly with survivorship”

The statute also accepts “language essentially the same” as these phrases, but there’s no reason to test how creative you can be. Most Georgia real estate attorneys write “as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common” into the granting clause because it checks every box. Leave the language out, even by accident, and the surviving owner will have to go through probate to claim the deceased owner’s share.

Warranty Deed or Quitclaim Deed

Georgia law allows joint tenancy to be created through any “deed or other instrument of title,” so either a warranty deed or a quitclaim deed will work.¹ Which one fits depends on the situation.

A warranty deed is used when buying property from a third party and taking title as joint tenants. The grantor guarantees clear title and the legal right to transfer.

A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has, with no guarantees. This is the typical choice when an existing owner adds a spouse, child, or partner to the title, or when two owners already holding as tenants in common want to convert to joint tenancy with survivorship. The statute specifically permits a person to convey property to themselves along with one or more other people in a single deed, which is how you add someone to your existing title. The new co-owner gets no protection against title defects that surface later, so a quitclaim is appropriate mainly among people who trust each other.

What to Have on Hand Before You Draft

Correcting a recorded deed is expensive and slow. Get every piece of information right the first time.

Full legal names of every grantor (the person transferring the interest) and every grantee (each person who will hold title as a joint tenant). When an existing owner is adding someone, that owner appears as both grantor and grantee.
The property’s legal description. Not the street address. Copy the metes-and-bounds description or plat reference from the most recently recorded deed, word for word. Even minor discrepancies can cloud title.
The tax parcel identification number assigned by the county tax assessor. Georgia clerks typically require it on the face of the deed.
A return address for the clerk to mail the recorded deed after processing.

The existing legal description and parcel number can be pulled from the county’s deed records online through the GSCCCA search portal or in person at the local Clerk of Superior Court. The GSCCCA provides electronic filing tools and the PT-61 form, but it does not publish blank deed templates. For a template, use a legal document service or have an attorney draft one.

Signing and Witnessing

Before a deed can be recorded in Georgia, it must be an original instrument that has been properly attested.² Two witnesses have to watch the grantor sign, and every signature must be in original ink. Counties generally reject photocopied or digitally reproduced signatures.

One of the two witnesses must be an “official” witness. Georgia law authorizes judges of courts of record (including municipal court judges), magistrates, notaries public, and clerks or deputy clerks of superior court to serve in that role.³ In the vast majority of transactions, that means a notary public, who signs the deed and applies a seal. The second witness can be any competent adult without a financial stake in the transfer.

If more than one grantor is transferring the property, every grantor must sign in the presence of both witnesses. Each signature should match the name printed in the granting clause. Georgia does not currently have a permanent remote online notarization law for real estate deeds, so plan on signing in person.

When a Grantor Signs Outside Georgia

Out-of-state signing has slightly different rules. The deed still needs two witnesses, but the official witness must be a U.S. consul or vice-consul, a judge of a court of record, a court clerk, or a notary public with an official seal attached.⁴ If the out-of-state notary doesn’t have a seal (some states make seals optional), a court clerk in that notary’s jurisdiction has to certify their official capacity.

The PT-61 Form and Transfer Tax

Georgia requires a completed PT-61 Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration before any deed can be recorded.⁵ File the PT-61 electronically through the GSCCCA portal, which will generate a confirmation number. Hand that number to the clerk when you submit the deed.

The tax rate is $1.00 for the first $1,000 of consideration and $0.10 for each additional $100, applied to the value being conveyed minus any preexisting liens not removed by the transfer.⁶ On a $300,000 property with no preexisting lien, that works out to roughly $301.

People creating a joint tenancy often catch a break here. The transfer tax only applies when there’s actual consideration. Adding a spouse or child to the deed as a gift, with no money changing hands, still requires filing a PT-61, but the tax itself may be minimal or zero because the consideration is zero. You must still disclose the property’s full value on the form to claim any exemption.⁷

Recording With the Superior Court Clerk

Take the signed deed and the PT-61 confirmation number to the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the property is located. The filing fee is a flat $25 per instrument, regardless of page count.⁸ Payment methods vary by county, but cash, check, and credit card are usually accepted.

You can file in person, by mail, or electronically through the GSCCCA’s eFiling system. In-person filing gives you immediate confirmation. Mailed filings should include the fee and the PT-61 confirmation number; expect a turnaround of a few weeks. The clerk assigns a book and page number that becomes the permanent public record reference, then stamps the original with the recording date and returns it to the address listed on the deed.

That recorded deed is your proof of joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Keep it somewhere safe. If it goes missing, the record in the clerk’s office is the controlling document, and certified copies are available for a fee.

Federal Gift Tax When Adding a Non-Spouse

Adding a non-spouse to your deed as a joint tenant is a gift of a share of the property. Add one person to a property you own alone, and you’ve gifted them half of its fair market value.

The IRS allows gifts of up to $19,000 per recipient per year (for 2025 and 2026) without a gift tax return.⁹ If the gifted interest is larger, you must file IRS Form 709, which reports the gift and applies the excess against your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption.¹⁰ On a $400,000 home, adding one joint tenant creates a $200,000 gift, well above the annual exclusion. You likely won’t owe tax because the lifetime exemption is large, but skipping the return is a compliance problem.

Transfers between spouses who are both U.S. citizens generally qualify for the unlimited marital deduction and don’t trigger gift tax or a Form 709. That’s a big part of why joint tenancy between spouses is simpler than between other relatives.

What Happens When a Joint Tenant Dies

The whole point of this deed structure is what happens at death. When one joint tenant dies, their interest passes automatically to the surviving owner or owners by operation of law, completely outside probate.¹¹ The surviving owner typically records an affidavit of survivorship together with a certified copy of the death certificate in the county deed records to clean up the public title.

The Basis Step-Up Trade-Off

Probate avoidance is the headline benefit, but there’s a tax cost worth understanding. When property passes through joint tenancy survivorship, only the deceased owner’s share gets a stepped-up tax basis to the current fair market value.¹² The surviving owner’s share keeps its original cost basis.

Take two siblings who buy a house together for $200,000 as joint tenants. Years later, one dies when the house is worth $500,000. The surviving sibling’s half keeps its original $100,000 basis, while the deceased sibling’s half steps up to $250,000. Total basis is $350,000. Sell for $500,000, and there’s potential capital gains tax on $150,000. For high-value property, the difference from a full step-up (which some estate structures achieve) can run into tens of thousands.

How Joint Tenancy Can Be Severed

This arrangement isn’t permanent. Any co-owner can unilaterally break the survivorship feature by recording a deed transferring all or part of their interest to someone else, including to themselves individually.¹ Georgia courts have confirmed that even a quitclaim deed is enough of a lifetime transfer to sever the joint tenancy. Once severed, the ownership converts to a tenancy in common, and automatic survivorship disappears.

One exception: if all the joint tenants sign a single recorded transfer together (for example, jointly selling to a buyer), no severance occurs against any individual owner. Creditor judgments can also complicate things. A lien may attach to a debtor-tenant’s interest, and whether the lien survives depends on who dies first. Because severance, creditor claims, and tax consequences can reshape the value of the arrangement in ways that aren’t obvious from the deed itself, having a Georgia real estate attorney review the deed before recording is worth the cost for anything beyond a straightforward spousal transfer.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 44-6-190 – Creating Joint Tenancy With Survivorship; Severance; Effect of Code Section on Other Laws
2
Justia. Georgia Code 44-2-14 – Requirements for Recordation
3
Justia. Georgia Code 44-2-15 – Officers Authorized to Attest Registrable Instruments
4
Justia. Georgia Code 44-2-21 – Recording Instrument Executed Out of State
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Real Estate Transfer Tax
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Justia. Georgia Code 48-6-1 – Transfer Tax Rate
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Justia. Georgia Code 48-6-2 – Exemption of Certain Instruments From Real Estate Transfer Tax
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Justia. Georgia Code 15-6-77 – Fees; Construction of Provisions
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Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Title Application Disclosing Joint Ownership or Joint Tenants
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent