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An affidavit of domicile is a sworn statement naming a decedent's permanent home. Banks, brokerages and transfer agents ask for it before they move stocks, bonds or accounts to heirs. This guide covers each part of the form, filling it in and signing it.
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An affidavit of domicile is a sworn statement of where a deceased person legally lived, written and signed by someone who knew the decedent or manages the estate. The statement names one home state as the decedent's domicile: the place the person lived with the intention of staying indefinitely. Tax returns and voter records are evidence of that intention, not the test itself. The form helps during the probate process when someone dies and leaves securities to transfer, such as stocks and bonds. It sits among the other affidavit forms used to settle an estate.
The form uses a handful of legal words. Each one is defined below in plain terms.
An affidavit of domicile is needed when an institution transfers a decedent's securities or accounts to an heir, a beneficiary or a surviving owner. The bank, brokerage or transfer agent uses it to confirm where the decedent lived before it releases the assets.
The domicile answers two questions for the institution. It tells the institution which state's estate the assets belong to and which state's estate and tax rules it expects to apply. It also helps the institution decide whether inheritance taxes may apply.
Each account or company that asks for the affidavit gets its own copy. A decedent with shares at three companies usually means three affidavits, each naming the shares that company holds.
The form names the decedent's permanent home, not every place the person stayed. A person can have several residences at once, such as a winter home, a care facility or a child's house, but only one domicile.
The form asks for the domicile, the place the decedent treated as home and meant to return to. Papers that point to it include the address on the federal income tax return, the voter registration, the driver's license and where the person kept a home year after year.
Example: a decedent who usually lived in Ohio but died in a Michigan hospital had an Ohio domicile. The affidavit names Ohio.
When the papers point to two places, settle the question before the form is signed. An estate attorney can help when the decedent split the year between homes or moved shortly before death.
The affidavit's affiant is the person who swears where the decedent lived, most often the executor of the estate. Depending on the estate, the affiant can be the executor, the administrator, another legal representative or a surviving joint owner of the account.
The affidavit states the affiant's relationship to the decedent, so the institution can see why this person speaks for the estate. The institution often asks for proof of that role, such as letters testamentary for an executor or letters of administration for an administrator.
An affidavit of domicile includes the affiant, the decedent, the domicile and the property to transfer, followed by the signature and a notary acknowledgment. The exact wording differs between institutions, but most versions carry the parts below.
The affiant section lists the name, home address and role of the person signing. It also states the affiant's relationship to the decedent, such as spouse, child or executor.
The decedent section gives the full legal name, the date of death and the place of death. The names and date match the death certificate, which the institution often asks to see.
The domicile section gives the street address, city, county and state of the decedent's permanent home, plus how long the decedent lived there. It also states that the decedent was not a resident of another U.S. state at the time of death.
The property section describes the securities or accounts to transfer. It names the company or institution, the account number and how the holding is registered, and some versions add instructions for the transfer.
The closing section holds the affiant's signature and printed name. Below it, the notary acknowledgment records the state, county, date and the notary's commission details.
The form asks for personal details about two people, the affiant and the decedent, so the papers below save time. Set them out before you open the form.
The form is filled in from top to bottom in five parts, from the venue lines to the notary's commission date. The steps below follow the template on this page, one part of the form at a time. Fill in the PDF on screen with a 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.
Leave the signature line and the acknowledgment blank until you stand in front of the notary. The notary completes the acknowledgment, not the affiant.
The affidavit is a sworn statement, and the form on this page ends with a notary acknowledgment. An acknowledgment confirms who signed and that the signature is the signer's own; it does not by itself put the affiant under oath. Ask the notary to give the oath before you sign, or ask the institution whether it wants a jurat, the notary certificate that records a sworn statement, in place of the acknowledgment.
Some transfer agents also ask for a medallion signature guarantee, a stamp from a bank or broker that vouches for the signature. A medallion stamp and a notary seal are different things, and one does not stand in for the other. Ask the institution which of the two it accepts before you sign.
The finished affidavit goes to the institution that holds the assets, together with the papers it lists. The steps below take the form from filled blanks to a paper you hand over.
The affidavit proves only the decedent's home, so an estate often needs other papers next to it. The documents below cover different questions.
An affidavit of debts and domicile is a combined version that adds a statement about the decedent's debts and taxes to the domicile statement. Some institutions use the combined form in place of the domicile-only form; use the version the institution names.
An affidavit of death states that a person has died and is often used to clear a deceased owner's name from a title. A small estate affidavit lets heirs in many states collect a small estate without a full probate case. Both are separate from the domicile affidavit. For planning your own estate, a trust is another document worth a look.
The term means a sworn written statement of the place a deceased person treated as a permanent home. "Affidavit" is the sworn statement, and "domicile" is that permanent home.
One affidavit usually covers the holdings of one company or one institution. Prepare a separate affidavit for each company or account that asks for one, each listing its own securities.
The affidavit names one domicile even when the decedent had two homes. Use the place the tax returns, voter record and driver's license point to, and talk to an estate attorney if they disagree.
No, the two papers prove different facts. The death certificate proves the death, and the affidavit states where the decedent lived; institutions often ask for both together.
Many affiants complete the form on their own, since most blanks ask for names, addresses and dates. An estate attorney helps when the domicile is in doubt, the estate is large or heirs dispute the transfer.
Ask the bank, brokerage or transfer agent first. Some publish their own version, and others accept a general form that carries the same parts.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
