Real property ownership and conveyance is governed by Title XXII of the Kentucky Revised Statutes.
Kentucky's standard version of joint tenancy resembles tenancy in common, in that "when a joint tenant dies, the joint tenant's part of the joint estate, real or personal, shall descend to the joint tenant's heirs, or pass by devise, or go to the joint tenant's personal representative, subject to debts, curtesy, dower, or distribution" (KRS 318.120). Basically, this means that each joint tenant owns an individual share of the whole property.
Section 318.130 provides the rules for survivorship tenancy, in which the joint tenants share undivided rights to the whole property. By stating the intent to vest ownership as joint tenants with right of survivorship, when one owner dies, that portion is distributed equally among the survivors. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship is common between spouses.
In order to formalize the "automatic" transfer that occurs from a deceased joint tenant, many co-owners choose to record an affidavit of surviving joint tenant, accompanied by a certified copy of the decedent's death certificate. Recording such an affidavit provides notice to the public and any future purchasers about the updated information. It also maintains a clear chain of title (ownership history), which should reduce some of the complexity from future sales or conveyances of the real property.
Even though executing and recording an affidavit of surviving joint tenant clears the title, the deceased owner's name remains on the deed. The only way to remove that name is by executing and recording a new deed, preferably including a copy of the recorded affidavit.
Deeds.com Kentucky Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant Forms Have Been Updated as Recently as Friday January 20, 2023
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Niki G. said: Absolutely love the Golden Girls homage in the quit claim deed example. Funny stuff!
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Sharon H. said: I was able to print the deed and follow the instructions and sample deed quite easily. Thank you
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Beverly J. A. said: The forms where easy to follow with the directions showing how to fill out the forms that I needed.
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Lisa C. said: Please change on the example for the warranty deed the portion that says Source of Title: They don't use book and pages anymore They only use recording numbers. Please show an example with that for Maricopa County AZ Plus your Notary certificates should have a blank part for if it is signed in another state.
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Richard B. said: Had trouble filling in the forms not very user friendly. The text always had to be manipulated to look in the best place. Could not easily move existing text to look more professional with the text being inserted.
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