Howard County Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Form (Iowa)

All Howard County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Form

Howard County Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Howard County compliant document last validated/updated 5/27/2025

Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Guide

Howard County Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Howard County compliant document last validated/updated 4/30/2025

Completed Example of the Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Document

Howard County Completed Example of the Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Howard County compliant document last validated/updated 6/6/2025

When using these Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Howard County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

Howard County Recorder

Howard County Courthouse 137 N. Elm ST., Cresco, Iowa 52136

Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm.Monday through Friday

Phone: 563-547-9210

Local jurisdictions located in Howard County include:

  • Chester
  • Cresco
  • Elma
  • Lime Springs
  • Protivin
  • Riceville

How long does it take to get my forms?

Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.

How do I get my forms, are they emailed?

Immediately after you submit payment, the Howard County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.

What does "validated/updated" mean?

This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:

  • Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
  • Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Howard County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Howard County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Howard County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can the Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant forms be re-used?

Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Howard County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Howard County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Iowa or Howard County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.

What type of files are the forms?

All of our Howard County Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I need any special software to use these forms?

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I have to enter all of my property information online?

No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.

Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?

Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.

Are there any recurring fees involved?

No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

Transferring Title to Iowa Real Estate after a Joint Tenant Dies

Joint tenancy is a form of ownership where two or more people share title rights to a specific parcel of real property. If one joint tenant dies, his/her portion of property rights transfers to the remaining owners by function of law. If there are multiple surviving co-owners, they each receive an equal share of the rights. Property held in joint tenancy does not pass to the owners' estates in a will. Therefore, it avoids distribution via the probate process.

Iowa Code 558.66 (2013) governs the different requirements for completing the transfer of title rights under joint tenancy. Specifically, the living joint tenant may execute and record an affidavit of surviving joint tenant, which the recorder attaches to the previously recorded deed. An affidavit is a document containing statements, made under oath, which identify the person presenting the material (affiant); the name of the surviving co-owner (often the affiant); details about the deceased owner; the legal description of the property being transferred; recording information from the deed granting joint tenancy; and a request to update the records with the county auditor ( 558.66(3)(b)). In addition, many people include an official copy of the deceased owner's death certificate.

Completing this process is an essential step in preserving a clear chain of title to the property, meaning that there is an unbroken history of owners, which reduces the likelihood of unexpected claims of rights to the real estate. A clear chain of title also makes the property easier to sell or mortgage because title agencies will provide the insurance that is usually required as part of the sale. In addition, because grantors (owners) must sign deeds when property is sold or otherwise conveyed, the recorded affidavit serves as evidence proving why one of the named owners cannot sign the transfer.

Real estate held in joint tenancy is often one aspect of an overall estate plan. Good practice dictates frequent updates of items such as wills, trusts, and other associated documents. As such, executing an affidavit of surviving joint tenant soon after a co-owner dies protects the rights and interests of everyone involved by ensuring that the relevant land records contain the most current information.

Each situation is unique, so for complex issues or with additional questions, please contact a local real estate attorney or other estate planning professional.

(Iowa Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Howard County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your Howard County Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4563 Reviews )

JAMES D.

July 10th, 2025

Slick as can be and so convenient.rnrnWorked like a charm

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

MARY LACEY M.

June 30th, 2025

Great service! Recording was smooth and swiftly performed. Deeds.com is an excellent service.rn

Reply from Staff

We are delighted to have been of service. Thank you for the positive review!

Robert F.

June 30th, 2025

Breeze.... It feels silly to hire an attorney to do this for just one beneficiary. Thanks.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Thomas M.

May 20th, 2021

Thomas hopefully these are the correct forms I need wish me luck

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Gary G.

November 4th, 2020

I'm glad I found this service . Very useful. Time saving

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Clifford K.

February 17th, 2024

got the forms we needed, and ones we did not even know we needed!

Reply from Staff

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience!

Hamed T.

January 12th, 2022

Easy Process! Realy recommend them for E-Recording!

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Steve M.

January 24th, 2020

I was only able to download the QC form. Had to print the other docs

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Bennie W.

January 9th, 2021

I used the Quitclaim form. The form was easy to complete without using the example or guide. $21 was a fair price compared to paying a lawyer.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Jose G.

April 12th, 2022

One of the best downloads ever. Very easy to do.
For the price, well worth it.
Thanks

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Jules S.

May 6th, 2020

I can't believe I haven't been using this service since inception. The only thing I would recommend is to allow us to delete an erroneous upload. I accidentally uploaded the same document twice but I saw no way for me to correct my mistake other than to send an email.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Carol S.

April 10th, 2025

Was very easy to use with the information and samples supplied.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Carol. We appreciate you.

David L.

March 9th, 2021

You did refund my payment, but were unable to provide the deed i needed.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Patricia C.

July 11th, 2019

The website works fine. The process of changing my Mineral Deed is sure more expensive in Texas. But I appreciate the convenience of the website and the pages of directions.

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

James S.

January 21st, 2019

Order Process: 5 Stars - very easy
Material Received: 2 Stars
Issues:
1. Printing- Document would not print in format displayed. Format would continually shrink to approx 2/3 size thus not useable for formal doc submission to County Records office.
2. Document Format- Data insertion fields (addresses) were not of correct size for data input. I needed a 4 line input space but was limited to only 3 lines. Also, Date field (year) was mis-oriented in-so-much that the 3rd digit (inputted) overlapped on 2nd digit (pre-printed) and also was of noticeably different font.
3. Useability- Hand-written input space provided (for Notary) was deficient in space and spacing. It was a challenge to utilize the space available to complete fully and maintain legibility.

Overall - the document worked marginally as advertised, I did need to re-write the entire document myself. It is a good concept but I'd recommend that Deeds company improve the downloaded forms for actual useability, readability, functionability.
regards,
Jim S

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!