Ohio Survivorship Deed Example: Language, Drafting, and Recording

An example of an Ohio survivorship deed centers on one specific line in the granting clause: the property must be granted to the co-owners “for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them.”¹ A sample granting clause reads:

John A. Smith, unmarried, grants to John A. Smith, unmarried, and Jane B. Smith, unmarried, for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them, whose tax-mailing addresses are 123 Main Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, the following real property:

That sentence is the heart of the document. Everything else in the deed — the legal description of the property, the prior instrument reference, the signatures and notarization — exists in nearly every Ohio deed. The survivorship phrase is what turns an ordinary conveyance into a deed that passes title automatically to the last surviving owner, bypassing probate entirely.

The Phrase That Makes It Work

Ohio Revised Code 5302.17 sets out a statutory form for survivorship deeds, and the operative language is unusually specific. The granting clause has to state that the property goes to the owners “for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them.”¹ Leave that phrase out and Ohio presumes the owners hold title as tenants in common, which means each person’s share becomes part of their estate at death and goes through probate.

The courts give some leeway. Ohio Revised Code 5302.20 says any deed containing language showing a “clear intent” to create a survivorship tenancy should be read generously in favor of one.² Still, relying on a court to interpret an ambiguous deed is not a gamble worth taking with a home. Writing “as joint tenants” is not enough on its own. Use the statutory phrase exactly as the code sets it out.

Breaking Down the Example

Look again at the sample sentence. Several details carry legal weight.

The grantor is John A. Smith. He is also one of the grantees, because he already owns the property and is adding Jane to the title. Ohio allows a sole owner to deed property to himself and another person as survivorship tenants in a single document; the grantor and grantee lists overlap, and that is fine.

Both parties are identified as “unmarried.” Ohio requires every deed to state whether each grantor and grantee is married or unmarried. Acceptable descriptions include “single,” “widow,” “widower,” “husband and wife,” “a married couple,” or, where applicable, “divorced and not remarried.”³ Omitting marital status is one of the fastest ways to have a deed rejected at the recorder’s window.

The survivorship phrase sits inside the granting clause itself, not tucked away in a recital or a signature block. That placement matters. The granting clause is where the conveyance happens, and the survivorship language has to be where the conveyance is described.

Tax-mailing addresses follow the names. The statutory form puts them there so the county knows where to send property tax bills and legal notices. Finally, the sentence ends with “the following real property:” because what comes next in the deed is the full legal description of the land being conveyed.

Information to Gather Before You Draft

A survivorship deed is a short document, but each field has to be exact. Collect the following before you start filling in a form:

Full legal names of every grantor and grantee, spelled the same way they appear on the current recorded deed. If the existing deed says “Robert J. Smith,” the new deed should not say “Bob Smith.”
Marital status for each party, in one of the forms Ohio accepts.³
Current tax-mailing addresses for the grantees.
The legal description of the property, copied exactly from the most recent recorded deed. This is the technical metes-and-bounds or lot-and-plat description, not the street address. Even small transcription errors can cloud the title for years.
The prior instrument reference, meaning the volume and page or instrument number of the deed currently on file with the county. The recorder uses it to trace the chain of ownership.⁴
The parcel or tax identification number, available on the county auditor’s website or on a recent property tax bill.

Most Ohio county recorder websites post blank deed forms, and legal document providers sell them as well. The form supplies the structure; you supply the information above.

Who Can Be Named as Co-Owners

A survivorship tenancy needs at least two owners.¹ The arrangement is built for people, not business entities. The core language refers to joint lives and a survivor, which only works for individuals who can actually outlive each other. If a deed names an LLC or corporation alongside individuals, the entity’s interest will not fit the survivorship structure and would likely be read as a tenancy in common.

Unless the deed says otherwise, each survivorship tenant holds an equal share with an equal right to use the property, share in any profits, and split ownership costs.² Unequal shares are possible, but the deed has to say so explicitly. When one owner dies, that owner’s portion vests proportionally in the remaining co-owners until a single person holds the full title.

Recording the Deed

Drafting the deed is only part of the job. For the survivorship to appear in the public record, the signed and notarized deed has to pass through two county offices in a specific order.

First comes the county auditor. Every real estate transfer document in Ohio has to be presented to the auditor before recording.⁵ The auditor reviews the deed, confirms the property description, and collects any conveyance fee. Bring a completed Real Property Conveyance Fee Statement of Value and Receipt: form DTE 100 when a sale price is involved, or form DTE 100(EX) when the transfer qualifies for an exemption.⁶

Many survivorship deeds qualify for an exemption. Ohio waives the conveyance fee for gifts between spouses, between parents and children, for transfers where no money changes hands, and for transfers to a surviving tenant after a co-owner’s death, among other situations.⁶⁵⁷ Where the fee applies, most counties charge the full amount, totaling $4 per $1,000 of value.⁸ There is also a $0.50 flat transfer fee per parcel.

Once the auditor stamps the deed, take it to the county recorder. Recording fees start at $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each additional page.⁹ The recorder scans the deed into the county database, which puts the public on notice of the new ownership. Both steps can be handled in person or by mail with the correct fees. The original deed is typically returned within a few weeks.

Mistakes That Defeat the Example

The most consequential error is omitting or paraphrasing the survivorship phrase. If the granting clause says “as joint tenants” without “for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them,” Ohio does not automatically create a survivorship interest, and the deceased co-owner’s share passes through probate.

A handful of other errors cause rejections at the recorder or trouble down the road:

Names on the new deed that do not match the names on the existing recorded deed, which can create a gap in the chain of title.
Missing marital status for any grantor or grantee.
Legal description transcribed from the previous deed with errors, even something as small as a transposed digit in a lot number.
Missing prior instrument reference, which the recorder needs to tie the new deed to the previous one.
Going directly to the recorder without the auditor’s stamp and the completed DTE conveyance form.

Each of these is correctable, but every correction means a new document, another notarization, and another trip through both county offices. Getting the first version right is cheaper and faster.

What Happens After a Co-Owner Dies

When a survivorship co-owner dies, the property does not go through probate, but the public record does not update itself. The surviving owner should file an affidavit of joint survivor with the county recorder, usually accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate.¹⁰ That filing confirms that sole ownership now rests with the survivor. Until it is recorded, the county’s records still show both names, which creates headaches when the survivor tries to sell, refinance, or borrow against the property. Transfers to a surviving tenant are exempt from the conveyance fee, so recording the affidavit does not trigger that charge.⁶

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5302.17 – Survivorship Deed Form
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5302.20 – Survivorship Tenancy
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5309.80 – Statements or Indorsements Contained in Instruments Presented for Registration
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5310.41 – Registered Land After Abolition of System
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 319.54 – Fees Charged and Collected by County Auditor
6
Ohio Department of Taxation. DTE 100EX – Statement of Conveyance of Real Property Exempt from Fee
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code Chapter 322 – Real Property Transfer Tax
8
Ohio Department of Taxation. Real Property Conveyance Fee
9
Ohio County Recorder. State of Ohio County Recorder Table of Fees
10
Franklin County Law Library. Ohio Deeds – Affidavit of Joint Survivor