Affidavit of Domicile

Here are some definitions that may be useful to know:

• Affidavit – a document used to make a written statement, which is sworn under oath to be true.
• Domicile – the permanent home of a person, meaning the residence where the person plans to live indefinitely.
• Decedent – a deceased person.
• Securities – tradable financial assets, for example, equity or interest in a company or business.
• Probate court – a judicial system segment that handles a legal process in which the estate is administered and divided among the heirs and beneficiaries.
• The executor of the estate – a person coordinating the estate distribution after the decedent’s death under the last will.

When You Need an Affidavit of Domicile

An affidavit of domicile is used whenever you need to identify the deceased person’s legal residence. It’s usually used for but not limited to transferring the decedent’s financial property or securities ownership. It’s essential to use these documents to ensure that there are no claims against the decedent’s estate in the jurisdiction of domicile or determine the applicability of inheritance taxes.

In this case, the legal representative or surviving owner of the assets uses the affidavit to certify the decedent’s domicile and transfer ownership to the heirs or other beneficiaries. It’s necessary to prepare a separate affidavit for each additional security account.

Who Can Be the Affiant

The affidavit form includes a sworn statement of the affiant declaring where the decedent legally resided at the time of the death. Depending on circumstances, the affiant can be the executor of the estate, administrator, legal representative, or surviving owner.

As a general rule, the affiant’s role goes to the executor of the estate named by the deceased in the last will. If the individual dies without the will, the court will appoint an administrator to coordinate the assets’ distribution and, as a result, create the form. Personal representatives come into play if the decedent has specifically nominated them, for example with a power of attorney.

What Information an Affidavit of Domicile Should Include

Most of the blanks ask for names, addresses and dates, so gather those details before you start. The affidavit of domicile should include components according to a specific state. Such documents consist of the following contents.

• Affiant. This section includes information about the individual filing the document, such as the name, address, and legal identification. It’s usually an executor of the estate or legal representative.
• Decedent. The affidavit should contain the deceased person’s name and the statement of when and where this person died. You may also be required to provide the death certificate.
• Legal domicile. This section describes the decedent’s domicile, the legal residence, including street address, city, county, and state. This section also contains the statement that the decedent was not a resident of another U.S. state. Please do not confuse the residence where the deceased might temporarily live before death and the place where they usually lived (the domicile). If the decedent died in Michigan but usually lived in Ohio, the latter will apply.
• Securities. You may also use the affidavit forms to describe the decedent’s securities or other property to transfer, including account number and registration details. Sometimes, the affidavit forms also require to state the decedent’s stocks and bonds details, such as business or company name, account number, registration, and instructions on how to transfer them.
• Notary. A notary public should sign an affidavit of domicile to avoid any possible validation issues.

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What Should You Gather Before You Start?

A little preparation saves time, because the template asks for personal details about two people, you and the person who died. Set out the papers below on your desk before you open the PDF.

• The death certificate. It shows the full name and the date of death exactly as they should be copied.
• Your own details. Have your full name, home address and your relationship to the deceased ready.
• Recent statements. A brokerage, bank or retirement account statement shows the holder’s name, the account number and how the holding is registered. These details help when the financial institution handles the transfer.
• Papers that show where the deceased lived. A tax return, a utility bill or a voter record can help you confirm the address and how many years the person lived there.
• A contact at the institution. Many banks and brokerages have an estate team. Ask it which version of the paperwork it expects and whether it wants the original or a copy.

Settling an estate usually involves more than one paper, from personal property and business interests to a final tax filing. Other FormsPal pages cover an affidavit of death and a small estate affidavit, which are separate from this form. If estate planning is on your mind for your own family, a trust is another page worth a look.

Filling Out the Affidavit of Domicile Form

The affidavit of domicile is not long to prepare, but you have to be very careful regarding the information you fill in. You may need to check the state and county requirements and obtain legal advice during the process. The steps below follow the FormsPal template on this page, one part of the form at a time. You can fill in the downloaded PDF on screen with the PDF editor or print it and write by hand.

The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Affidavit of Domicile template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.

1. Affidavit of Domicile: State and County. Fill in the "State of" and "County of" lines at the top of page 1, right under the title.

   

2. Date, your details and the Decedent. Enter the as-of date, then your legal name and home address. In item 3, write your relationship to the Decedent, the Decedent's name and the date of death. In item 4, tick "was" or "was not" married, and add the surviving spouse's name if there is one.

   

3. Decedent's domicile (item 6). Enter the city, county and state of the legal residence, then the number of years the Decedent lived there. In order to define the correct domicile, consider the address on the federal income tax return or where the decedent voted. Items 5 and 7 are already printed on the template.

   

4. Signature, printed name and acknowledgment. On page 2, sign and print your name under "IN WITNESS WHEREOF." The acknowledgment below it has lines for the State, County, day, month and year, the name after "by" and the Notary Public.

   

5. My commission expires. The last line of page 2 reads "My commission expires" and sits below the Notary Public line. Enter the notary's commission expiration date there.

   

How to Sign and Use the Affidavit of Domicile

Filling in the blanks is only part of the job. The steps below take you from a finished form to a paper you can hand over. Go through them in order and keep a copy for your own records.

1. Check the details. You must be sure that all the information provided in the affidavit is complete and accurate. Compare every name and date with the death certificate and the account statements. Please also make sure that the document is free from grammatical mistakes.
2. Sign the affidavit. After creating the affidavit form, you are required to sign the document before a notary public. Note that the affidavit of domicile should be notarized.
3. Ask a lawyer if you have questions. It’s never redundant to obtain help from your attorney. You are free to address your lawyer and obtain legal advice while preparing the documents.
4. Keep a signed copy. Save a scan or make a photocopy of the finished paper for your own records.
5. Hand over the original. Give the original to the bank, brokerage or other institution that asked for it. Then ask how it will review the paperwork and confirm the transfer of the account.

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Mara Erlach

Writer & Attorney

Mara has been practicing estate planning and trust law in California since 2003, taking pride in helping clients of all backgrounds and asset profiles form a complete and customized estate plan. Her specialties are: estate planning, wills and trusts, trust and probate administration.